Robert Jones (7 November 1891 – 17 March 1962) was a Welsh

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and

aerodynamicist Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an important domain of ...

. He was one of the world's leading experts on the stability of

airships An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding ai ...

. He was born at

Criccieth Criccieth, also spelled Cricieth (), is a town and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, Wales, on the boundary between the Llŷn Peninsula and Eifionydd. The town is west of Porthmadog, east of Pwllheli and south of Caernarfon. It had a ...

, Caernarfonshire to John Jones and his wife Sarah Mary. He attended the local Board School and Porthmadog County School before entering the

University College of North Wales Bangor University () is a public research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 became one of the founding institutions of the federal ...

in 1908. His primary course of study was in mathematics which he was taught by Professor

George H. Bryan George Hartley Bryan Royal Society, FRS (1 March 1864 – 13 October 1928) was an English applied mathematician who was an authority on thermodynamics and aeronautics. He was born in Cambridge, and was educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge, obtainin ...

, F.R.S., an English

applied mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History One ...

who was an authority on

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, Work (thermodynamics), work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed b ...

and

aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design process, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred ...

. Additionally Jones studied Welsh philology taught by Sir J. Morris-Jones. He won prizes including the R.A. Jones prize in mathematics (1910) and was considered an extraordinary student. In 1911 he graduated with a second class honours degree in Pure Mathematics, following this with a first class honours degree in Applied Mathematics in 1912. From 1913 to 1916 he held an 1851 Exhibition Science Research Scholarship studying at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

and later at the National Physics Laboratory in Teddington. In this period he published an important paper with George H. Bryan called "Discontinuous Fluid Motion Past the Bent Plane, with Special Reference to Aeroplane Problems", which was seen as an important development in the understanding of aerodynamics. After this he joined the staff of the Aerodynamics Division of the National Physical Laboratory, staying there until his retirement in 1953. His initial work at the National Physical Laboratory was on the mathematical theory of aeroplane stability. Later he focused on wind tunnel experiments aimed at developing the stability of airships and also

torpedoes A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

. In 1923 he was granted the R.38 Memorial Prize of the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest Aeronautics, aeronautical society in the world. Memb ...

. Following the loss of the Airship R101 he took a leading role in the investigation into the accident. He died on 17 March 1962 at

Stanwell Stanwell is a village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Spelthorne district, in Surrey, England. It is west of central London. A small corner of its land is used as industrial land for nearby Heathrow Airport. The rest of the village is made up o ...

, aged 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Robert 1891 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Welsh mathematicians Aerodynamicists Alumni of Bangor University People from Criccieth