Fritz Ursell

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Fritz Joseph Ursell FRS[1] (28 April 1923 – 11 May 2012) was a British mathematician noted for his contributions to fluid mechanics, especially in the area of wave-structure interactions.[2] He held the Beyer Chair of Applied Mathematics at the University of Manchester from 1961 to 1990,[3] was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1972 and retired in 1990.[4]

Education

Ursell came to England as a Jewish[5] refugee in 1937 from Germany,[6][7] and was educated at Marlborough College.[8] From 1941 to 1943 he studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating with a bachelor degree in mathematics.

Career

At the end of 1943 Ursell joined the Admiralty as a part of a team—headed by George Deacon —whose task was to formulate rules for forecasting waves for the allied landings in Japan. Their findings have become the basis of modern wave-forecasting. Ursell stayed in the Admiralty until 1947. In 1947 he was appointed to a post-doctoral fellowship in applied mathematics at Manchester University without a doctorate. In 1950 he returned to Cambridge as lecturer. There he met G. I. Taylor. In 1957 he spent a year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, having been invited by Arthur Ippen. In 1961 Ursell moved back to Manchester.[9]

In 1994 Ursell was awarded the Gold Medal of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications in recognition of his "outstanding contributions to mathematics and its applications over a period of years".[10]

Scientific work

In 1957 he published together with Clive R. Chester and Bernard Friedman a classic paper that introduced a method to find asymptotic expansions for contour integrals with coalescing saddle points.[11] The method is now called method of Chester–Friedman–Ursell.

Personal life

Fritz Ursell was married to Katharina Renate Zander in 1959. They had two daughters.[6] Susie and Ruth, Susie is married and has two children.[12] Following his death on 11 May, in hospital, Ursell's funeral took place on 15 May 2012 at Manchester Crematorium.[13]

References

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Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/checkTemplate:Succession box/check Beyer Chair of Applied Mathematics at University of Manchester
1961 – 1990 Template:S-ttl/check
Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by

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