| Nigel Oscar Weiss | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 December 1936 South Africa |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Doctoral advisor | Edward Bullard |
| Doctoral students | Wayne Arter Andrew Bernoff Sean Blanchflower John Edwards Murray Frazer David Galloway Paul Glendinning David Hughes Christopher Jones Vivien Kirk Daniel Moore Gordon Ogilvie Richard Peckover Alastair Rucklidge Michael Tildesley Steven Tobias Darryl Veitch Paul Watson |
| Known for | flux expulsion |
| Notable awards | Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Nigel Oscar Weiss FRS (born South Africa, 16 December 1936) is an astronomer and mathematician, and leader in the field of astrophysical and geophysical fluid dynamics. He is currently Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge.[1]
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Born in South Africa, Prof. Weiss studied at Hilton College, Natal, Rugby School and Clare College, Cambridge, and has been a fellow of Clare College since 1965. In 1987 he became Professor of Mathematical Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1992.[2]
Between 2000 and 2002 he was President of the Royal Astronomical Society, and in 2007 was awarded the Gold Medal, the society's highest award.[1]
Prof. Weiss has published extensively in the field of mathematical astrophysics, specialising in solar and stellar magnetic fields, astrophysical and geophysical fluid dynamics and nonlinear dynamical systems.[1]
In 1966 he was the first to demonstrate and describe the process of 'flux expulsion' by which a conducting fluid undergoing rotating motion acts to expel the magnetic flux from the region of motion, a process now known to occur in the photosphere of the Sun and other stars.[3]