Roger William Ainsworth (17 November 1951 – 23 February 2019) was

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. In 1974, it was also one of the first men's colleges to admit women. It has 528 un ...

and Professor of

Engineering Science Engineering physics (EP), sometimes engineering science, is the field of study combining pure science disciplines (such as physics, mathematics, chemistry or biology) and engineering disciplines (computer, nuclear, electrical, aerospace, medica ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Education

Ainsworth was educated at

Lancaster Royal Grammar School Lancaster Royal Grammar School (LRGS) is an 11–18 boys grammar school in Lancaster, England, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. Old students belong to The Old Lancastrians. The school's sixth form opened to girls in 2019. LRGS is also in the Unit ...

. After an apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce Aeroengines, he studied at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

and was awarded a First Class BA in 1973, and became

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in 1976.

Industry and academic career

Ainsworth then worked in industry, initially for

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

and later for the

Atomic Energy Research Establishment The Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE), also known as Harwell Laboratory, was the main Headquarters, centre for nuclear power, atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from 1946 to the 1990s. It was created, owned ...

. He returned to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in 1985 as a Tutorial Fellow of St Catherine's College and, from 1998, as Professor of Engineering Science. He was elected Master of St Catherine's in 2002, a role he continued until his death. He was a Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

from 2003 onwards. In the academic year 1998/99 he served as Senior Proctor. He also served as chair of the board of the Department for Continuing Education.

Appointments and accolades

Among his other appointments Ainsworth was a visiting professor at the

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (, EPFL) is a public university, public research university in Lausanne, Switzerland, founded in 1969 with the mission to "train talented engineers in Switzerland". Like its sister institution E ...

. He was a member of the Science Review Panel which advised the

Irish Government The Government of Ireland () is the executive authority of Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet – is composed of ministers, each of whom must be a member of the , which consists of ...

on the funding of universities; a technical evaluator for the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Advisory Group for Research and Development; an advisor to Oxford Catalysts Group plc; a member of the

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a British UK Research Councils, Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical scienc ...

; a member of the

British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a Charitable organization, charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Scienc ...

; a member of the Oxford Philomusica Advisory Council; Chairman of the Hinksey Fields Protection Group; Chairman of the Broad Street Plan Group of the Oxford Preservation Trust; and a trustee of the Oxford School of Drama. He was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog by HM The Queen of Denmark in recognition of his promotion of the work of

Arne Jacobsen Arne Emil Jacobsen, Honorary Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects, Hon. FAIA (; 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to functionalism (architec ...

, the Danish architect who designed St Catherine's. He was unable to attend the ceremony at the Danish Embassy and instead the honour was presented to him by the

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

, His Excellency Mr Tom Risdahl Jensen, during a college feast. In 2002, he became an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, president, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as ...

of his alma mater, Jesus College, University of Oxford. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, elected in 2004 in recognition of his work in the field of jet engine research. In 2017, he became a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, a distinction which acknowledged his academic excellence in the subject of mechanical engineering. He was chairman of the Governors at Dragon School and a former governor (and vice-chairman) of

Abingdon School Abingdon School is an independent day and boarding school in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It is the List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, twentieth oldest Independent School (UK), independent British school. In May 202 ...

and was awarded an Honorary Old Abingdonian status.

Personal life

He married Sarah Ainsworth in 1978, with whom he had three children. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

on 23 February 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ainsworth, Roger 1951 births 2019 deaths People from Lancaster, Lancashire People educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Masters of St Catherine's College, Oxford Fellows of St Catherine's College, Oxford English engineers Engineering academics Pro-vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Governors of Abingdon School Deaths from cancer in England

Education

Industry and academic career

Appointments and accolades

Personal life

See also

References