BV Bowden, Baron Bowden

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Bertram Vivian Bowden, Baron Bowden (born January 18, 1910 in Chesterfield , Derbyshire , † July 28, 1989 in Bowdon (Greater Manchester) ) was a British natural scientist who mainly dealt with the development of secondary radar and commercially used computers . He was largely responsible for the development of today to the University of Manchester belonging to University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) to an independent university in 1964 as a Life Peer due to the Life Peerages Act 1958 a member of the House of Lords .

Life

Radar scientist and university rector

After schooling completed Bowden studying science at Emmanuel College of University of Cambridge , where he graduated 1,931th There he worked at the chair of Ernest Rutherford . He then obtained a Philosophiae Doctor (Ph.D.) in nuclear physics and was then research scientist at the University of Amsterdam between 1934 and 1935 with financial support from the chemical company Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) .

After working as a physics teacher at the Liverpool Collegiate School between 1935 and 1937 and at the Oundle School from 1937 to 1940 , he joined the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) in 1940 , where he worked on the development of radar and secondary radar technology and together with FC Williams developed a system for friend-foe recognition ( Identification Friend Foe ). In 1943 he moved to the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), where he continued his research and development work. In particular, he developed the friend-foe detection system IFF Mark V, which was adapted for series production under the name United Nations Beacon (UNB).

After the end of the Second World War he worked in various professions until 1953, for example as a partner of Robert Watson-Watt and was active in the sale of the early commercial computers manufactured by the electronics company Ferranti , such as the Ferranti Mark I manufactured in 1951 . In 1953 his book Faster than Thought was published. A symposium on digital computing machines , in which he presented his ideas for future technological developments.

In 1953, Bowden was appointed principal of the Manchester College of Science and Technology and at the same time dean of the faculty of technology at the University of Manchester . In the following years he campaigned for the development and expansion of this educational institution, which was given the status of an independent university by a Royal Charter as the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in 1956 .

Member of the House of Lords and Minister of State

For his services, Bowden was appointed by a letters patent from January 18, 1964 as a life peer with the title Baron Bowden , of Chesterfield in the County of Derbyshire, in the nobility and was thus a member of the House of Lords until his death. In the following years he was also temporarily chairman of the Electronics Research Council of the Ministry of Aviation .

After the Labor Party won the general election on October 15, 1964 , Baron Bowden was appointed Minister of State for Education and Science by Prime Minister Harold Wilson and as such was one of the closest collaborators to the then Minister of Education and Science until his resignation in January 1965 ( Secretary of State for Education and Science ) Michael Stewart .

He then returned to the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology as a principal and held this position until his retirement in 1976. During this time, he received the 1973 pioneering award from the New York City- based Institute of Electrical and Electronics for the development of secondary radar Electronics Engineers (IEEE) awarded. In addition, he became an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in 1975 and a Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society (BCS) in 1976 .

In addition to his work as a scientist, Baron Bowden was interested in Islamic finance and worked in this area with Salim Al-Hassani .

Fonts

  • as editor: Faster Than Thought. A symposium on digital computing machines , Pitman, 1953
  • Proposals for the development of the Manchester College of Science and Technology , 1956
  • The functions of universities in modern society , Birbeck College, 1964
  • University finance , Manchester Statistical Society, 1966
  • Science and the university , Macmillan of Canada, 1967
  • The language of computers , 1969
  • Inflation accounting , University College, Cardiff, 1974
  • The Role of Universities in the Modern World , University of Science and Technology, 1978

Web links

biography

Publications

Individual evidence

  1. ^ New Scientist, August 13, 1959
  2. ^ New Scientist, March 5, 1964
  3. ^ The Pioneer Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
personal data
SURNAME Bowden, BV, Baron Bowden
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bowden, Bertram Vivian, Baron Bowden (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British naturalist, university professor and politician
DATE OF BIRTH January 18, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Chesterfield , Derbyshire
DATE OF DEATH July 28, 1989
Place of death Bowdon , Cheshire