Duncan Dowson
Duncan Dowson CBE FRS FREng[1] (31 August 1928 - 6 January 2020)[2] was a British engineer and professor emeritus at the University of Leeds.
Biography[]
Dowson's father, Wilfrid Dowson, was an ornamental blacksmith, and as a child his son helped him in his work.[3] Dowson himself was educated at Lady Lumley's Grammar School and studied mechanical engineering at the University of Leeds, from which he held the degrees of BSc, PhD and DSc.[4]
Academic career[]
After completing his PhD in 1952, Dowson worked as a Research Engineer at Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Company. He returned to the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Leeds as a Lecturer in 1954,[5] ultimately becoming Professor of Engineering Fluid Mechanics and Tribology there.[6]
He was best known for his work on elastohydrodynamic lubrication.[7] In 1974, he received the International Award from the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers.[8] In 1979, he was awarded the Tribology Gold Medal by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers[9] and the Mayo D. Hersey Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.[10]
Dowson was Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Leeds from 1987 to 1992 and director of the Institute of Tribology there from 1967 to 1986.[11] He was also Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Leeds from 1983 to 1985. He retired in 1993 with the title Emeritus Professor.[12]
Dowson was President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1992.[13] The Duncan Dowson prize is named in his honour.[14]
In 2016, he presented the Higginson Lecture in Durham University.
Honours[]
Dowson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1987.[15] He was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1989.[16] He was elected a Fellow[17] for the Royal Academy of Engineering[18] (FREng) in 1982.
Dowson received the following honorary degrees:[19]
- DSc - Chalmers University of Technology - 1979
- Docteur - INSA Lyon - 1991
- DSc - University of Liège - 1995
- DEng - University of Waterloo - 2001
- DEng - University of Bradford - 2002
- DEng - University of Leeds - 2003
- DSc - Loughborough University - 2005
Works[]
- Duncan Dowson, Gordon Robert Higginson, Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication J. F. Archand, 1966; 2 edn, 1977
- History of Tribology Longman, 1979, ISBN 978-0-582-44766-0; Wiley, 1998, ISBN 978-1-86058-070-3
- Biomechanics of Joints and Joint Replacements (1981)
- Ball Bearing Lubrication (1981)
- Advances in medical tribology, Mechanical Engineering Publications, 1998, ISBN 978-1-86058-069-7
References[]
- ^ "List of Fellows".
- ^ University of Leeds, obituary notice, published 9 January 2020
- ^ "Like father, like son - two generations of ingenuity". Gazette and Herald. 9 March 2001. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ Taylor, Christopher M (15 April 2020). "In Memoriam: Professor Duncan Dowson (1928–2020)". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology. 234 (6). Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Duncan Dowson
- ^ Royal Society, biography of Duncan Dowson
- ^ Hamrock, B. J.; Dowson, D. (1 April 1977). "Isothermal Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication of Point Contacts: Part III—Fully Flooded Results". Journal of Lubrication Technology. 99 (2): 264–275. doi:10.1115/1.3453074. ISSN 0022-2305.
- ^ "International Award | STLE". www.stle.org. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ "IMechE Tribology Gold Medal Laureates | Institution of Mechanical Engineers". www.imeche.org. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ "Mayo D. Hersey Award". www.asme.org. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ University of Leeds, staff profile
- ^ University of Leeds, List of Emeritus Professors Archived 26 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ http://heritage.imeche.org/Biographies/DuncanDowson
- ^ http://www.imeche.org/knowledge/industries/medicine-and-health/prizes/dowson-prize
- ^ Duncan Dowson, Royal Society Fellow page, last accessed 2015-10-28.
- ^ "University of Leeds, Details of honorary graduates". Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ^ "List of Fellows".
- ^ "List of Fellows".
- ^ University of Leeds, staff profile, Professor Duncan Dowson
External links[]
- 1928 births
- 2020 deaths
- 20th-century British engineers
- British mechanical engineers
- Tribologists
- Academics of the University of Leeds
- Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering
- Fellows of the Royal Society
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire