Ronald Nathan Arnold (23 December 1908 – 30 December 1963)

PhD 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 graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

(Sheffield) MS (Illinois)

DSc DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

(Glasgow 1943) DEng (Sheffield 1947) MIMechE MICivilE was a distinguished British engineer.

Life

Born in Glasgow on 23 December 1908, he was schooled at Albert Road Academy and Shawlands Academy in Glasgow before completing, in 1932, a BSc with first-class honours in mechanical engineering at the Royal Technical College (now the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

), Glasgow. He graduated with a PhD from

Sheffield University The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth College in 1879 ...

in 1934, and (as a Commonwealth Fund Fellow) an MS from Illinois in 1936, where he studied impact stresses in beams. His early training was conducted with Mirrlees Watson Ltd, in Glasgow. As a mechanical engineer he was appointed as assistant lecturer in engineering and applied mechanics from 1936 to 1940 in the

Royal Technical College The Royal College of Science and Technology was a higher education college that existed in Glasgow, Scotland between 1887 and 1964. Tracing its history back to the Andersonian Institute (founded in 1796), it is the direct predecessor instituti ...

in Glasgow. For his research on ships' propellers, he was awarded jointly with a colleague the gold medal of the

Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland The Institution of Engineers in Scotland (IES) is a multi-disciplinary professional body and learned society, founded in Scotland, for professional engineers in all disciplines and for those associated with or taking an interest in their work. I ...

and the Thomas Lowe Gray prize of the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 110,000 member ...

. His war service, from 1939 to 1945, was conducted in the Research Department of the Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Company. He was subsequently appointed in 1944 as Professor of Engineering at

University College, Swansea Swansea University () is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it chang ...

. Finally, he was appointed Regius Professor of Engineering in the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in 1946, a position he retained until his death in 1963. At Edinburgh, he instituted two postgraduate schools, one in electronics and radio (1950), the other in applied dynamics (1957). An expert in fluid dynamics, metals, and stress analysis, Arnold devoted much time to research into mechanical vibration, dynamics, the properties of metals, gyrostatics, and foundations. He published numerous papers in Engineering, the ''

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers In academia and librarianship, conference proceedings are a collection of academic papers published in the context of an academic conference or workshop. Conference proceedings typically contain the contributions made by researchers at the confere ...

'', the Proceedings of the Royal Society, and other journals. He was recognized with honorary doctorates from the Universities of Glasgow and Sheffield, as well as the Thomas Hawksley Gold Medal (1946), the Institution Prize from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (1952), and the T Bernard Hall Prize (

) (1957). He was elected

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

in 1947. Arnold died on 30 December 1963, survived by his widow, Jessie Beattie Blake, and a son.

Publications

"Gyrodynamics and its Engineering Applications", published with Leonard Maunder by

Academic Press Academic Press (AP) is an academic book publisher founded in 1941. It launched a British division in the 1950s. Academic Press was acquired by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1969. Reed Elsevier said in 2000 it would buy Harcourt, a deal complete ...

in 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Ronald Nathan 1908 births 1963 deaths British mechanical engineers Engineers from Glasgow Alumni of the University of Sheffield Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Academics of Swansea University Academics of the University of Edinburgh Regius Professors of Engineering in Edinburgh University Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh