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Duncan Dowson

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Duncan Dowson
Born31 August 1928 Edit this on Wikidata
Died6 January 2020 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 91)
Awards
Websitehttps://engineering.leeds.ac.uk/staff/142/duncan_dowson Edit this on Wikidata

Duncan Dowson CBE FRS FREng[1][2] (31 August 1928 – 6 January 2020)[3] was a British engineer and Professor of Engineering Fluid Mechanics and Tribology 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.[4] 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.[5]

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,[6] ultimately becoming Professor of Engineering Fluid Mechanics and Tribology there.[7]

He was best known for his work on elastohydrodynamic lubrication.[8] In 1974, he received the International Award from the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers.[9] In 1979, he was awarded the Tribology Gold Medal by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers[10] and the Mayo D. Hersey Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.[11]

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.[12] He was also Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Leeds from 1983 to 1985. He retired in 1993 with the title Emeritus Professor.[13]

Dowson was President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1992.[14] The Duncan Dowson prize is named in his honour.[15]

In 2016, he presented the Higginson Lecture in Durham University.

Honours

Dowson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1987.[16] He was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1989.[17] He was elected a Fellow[18] for the Royal Academy of Engineering[19] (FREng) in 1982.

Dowson received the following honorary degrees:[20]

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

  1. ^ "List of Fellows".
  2. ^ Bradley, Derek (2022). "Duncan Dowson. 31 August 1928—6 January 2020". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 73: 177–196. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2021.0036. S2CID 250093342.
  3. ^ University of Leeds, obituary notice, published 9 January 2020
  4. ^ "Like father, like son - two generations of ingenuity". Gazette and Herald. 9 March 2001. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  5. ^ 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): 986–988. doi:10.1177/1350650120917261. S2CID 218616793.
  6. ^ Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Duncan Dowson
  7. ^ Royal Society, biography of Duncan Dowson
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "International Award | STLE". www.stle.org. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  10. ^ "IMechE Tribology Gold Medal Laureates | Institution of Mechanical Engineers". www.imeche.org. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Mayo D. Hersey Award". www.asme.org. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  12. ^ University of Leeds, staff profile
  13. ^ University of Leeds, List of Emeritus Professors Archived 26 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "Engineering Heritage Awards - IMechE".
  15. ^ http://www.imeche.org/knowledge/industries/medicine-and-health/prizes/dowson-prize
  16. ^ Duncan Dowson, Royal Society Fellow page, last accessed 2015-10-28.
  17. ^ "University of Leeds, Details of honorary graduates". Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  18. ^ "List of Fellows".
  19. ^ "List of Fellows".
  20. ^ University of Leeds, staff profile, Professor Duncan Dowson
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