David Wallace (physicist)

Last updated

Elizabeth Anne Yeats
​
​
(m. 1970)​
[1]
Sir David Wallace
CBE FRS FRSE FREng
Higgs, Peter (1929)2.jpg
David Wallace (left) and Peter Higgs
6th Master of Churchill College, Cambridge
In office
2006–2014
Awards
Education Hawick High School
Alma mater University of Edinburgh (BSc, PhD)
Scientific career
Institutions University of Cambridge
Princeton University
University of Southampton
Loughborough University
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre
Harrow School [2]
Institute of Physics
Thesis Applications of current algebras and chiral symmetry breaking  (1971)
Doctoral advisor Peter Higgs [3]
Doctoral students Christopher Bishop
Neil Gunther [3]

Sir David James Wallace CBE FRS FRSE FREng (born 7 October 1945) is a British physicist and academic. [1] He served the Vice-Chancellor of Loughborough University from 1994 to 2005, [4] and the Master of Churchill College, Cambridge from 2006 to 2014. [5] [6]

Contents

Early life and education

Wallace was born on 7 October 1945. [1] [7] He was educated at Hawick High School [1] in Hawick, Scotland and went to the University of Edinburgh where he earned a degree in Mathematical Physics and a PhD in Elementary particle theory, under the supervision of Peter Higgs. [3] [8] [9]

Career

After postdoctoral research work as a Harkness Fellow at Princeton University, Wallace became a physics lecturer at the University of Southampton in 1972.

In 1979 he became the fourth Tait Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Edinburgh, succeeding Nicholas Kemmer. He won the James Clerk Maxwell Medal and Prize in 1980. He became Director of the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC) and in 1996 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his computing work. [1]

Wallace is currently[ when? ] Vice-President for Physical Sciences of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, of which he was made a Fellow of in 1982. [10] [11] He was formerly Vice-President and Treasurer of the Royal Society and Chair of the Council for the Mathematical Sciences. From 1994 to January 2006 he was the Vice-Chancellor of Loughborough University. From 2006 to 2011 he served as director of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge. [12] Wallace has also been President of the Institute of Physics and Deputy Lieutenant of Leicestershire. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) [9] in 1998, and was a commissioner of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 from 2001-2011. [1]

In 2014, the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Loughborough University launched a series of public lectures honouring Wallace. The Sir David Wallace lectures are hosted by the University. Speakers have included Cédric Villani and Michael Berry. [13]

Personal life

Wallace married Elizabeth Yeats in 1970 [1] [2] and has a daughter, Sara.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Anon (2024). "Wallace, Sir David (James)" . Who's Who (176th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 2736. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U38671. ISBN   9781399409452. OCLC   1402257203.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. 1 2 "David Wallace CV" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 David Wallace at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  4. ↑ Archive Version of Loughbourgh University: Vice-Chancellor's Office at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 February 2005)
  5. ↑ Cam.ac.uk: "Master Appointed to Churchill College
  6. ↑ Number-10.gov.uk: "Master Of Churchill College, Cambridge" (via The National Archives, UK)
  7. ↑ "Birthdays". The Guardian . Guardian News & Media. 7 October 2014. p. 37.
  8. ↑ Wallace, David (1971). Applications of Current Algebras and Chiral Symmetry Breaking. ed.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Edinburgh. hdl:1842/13177.
  9. 1 2 "List of Fellows". Archived from the original on 8 June 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "Royal Society of Edinburgh Council". The Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows" (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  12. ↑ University of Cambridge: "Director of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences appointed"
  13. ↑ "Sir David Wallace Lectures". Loughborough University. Retrieved 12 February 2018.


Academic offices
Preceded by Vice-Chancellor of
Loughborough University
1994–2005		Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of
Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences
2006–2011		Succeeded by
Preceded by Master of Churchill College
2006–2014		Succeeded by
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