Keith Moffatt

Henry Keith Moffatt, FRS, FRSE (born 12 April 1935) is a Scottish applied mathematician with principal research interests in the field of fluid dynamics. He was Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge from 1980 to 2002.

Research

Moffatt's main research interests lie in fluid dynamics, particularly magnetohydrodynamics and the theory of turbulence.

His Ph.D. thesis was on the subject of Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence, and he has published more than 200 papers.

Education

Moffatt was educated in Edinburgh and Cambridge. He attended George Watson's College, then read Mathematical Sciences at Edinburgh University, graduating in 1957. He then went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read Mathematics and was a Wrangler in 1959. He was awarded a Smith's Prize in 1960 while preparing his Ph.D., on the subject of Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence, which he completed in 1962.

Career

After completing his Ph.D., Moffatt joined the staff of the Mathematics Faculty in Cambridge as an Assistant Lecturer and became a Fellow of Trinity College. He was appointed a Lecturer in 1964, and held the office of Tutor, then Senior Tutor, at Trinity between 1970 and 1976.

In 1977 he was appointed to the Chair of Applied Mathematics at Bristol University. He held this position until 1980 when he returned to Cambridge to accept a Chair in Mathematical Physics, renewing his Fellowship of Trinity College. In 2002 he was made an Emeritus Professor of the University (he remains a Fellow of Trinity).

Appointments

• DAMTP, University of Cambridge: Assistant Lecturer, 1961–1964; Lecturer, 1964–1976
• Trinity College, Cambridge: Fellow, 1961–76; Tutor, 1970–1974; Senior Tutor, 1975–1976
• Bristol University: Professor of Applied Mathematics, 1977–1980
• DAMTP, University of Cambridge: Professor of Mathematical Physics, 1980–2002; Head of Department, 1983–1991; Emeritus Professor, 2002--
• Trinity College, Cambridge: Fellow, 1980–-
• Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge: Director, 1996–2001; Senior Fellow, 2001--
• Editor, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 1966–1983
• École Polytechnique, Palaiseau: Visiting Professor (professeur d'exercise partiel), 1992–1999
• École Normale Supérieure, Paris: Chaire Internationale de Recherche Blaise Pascal, 2001–2003
• African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Muizenberg, South Africa: Trustee and Member of Council, 2003
• Leverhulme Emeritus Professor, 2003–2005
• International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM): Member of Bureau, 1992–2000; President, 2000–2004; Vice-President, 2004--

Honours and awards

• Fellow of the Royal Society, 1986
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1987
• Foreign Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1991^[1]
• Member of Academia Europæa, 1994
• Foreign Member of the Academie des Sciences, Paris, 1998
• Officier des Palmes académiques, 1998
• Foreign Member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, 2001
• Panetti-Ferrari International Prize and Gold Medal, Academy of Sciences, Turin, 2001
• Fellow of the American Physical Society, 2003
• Euromech Prize for Fluid Mechanics, 2003
• Caribbean Award for Fluid Dynamics, 2004
• Senior Whitehead Prize of the London Mathematical Society, 2005
• Hughes Medal of the Royal Society, 2005

See also

• Euler's Disk

References

Sources

• Home page
• Biography
• Publications list
• CV