Keith Moffatt

This article is about the Scottish mathematician. For the American high jumper, see Keith Moffatt (athlete).
Keith Moffatt
Born 12 April 1935
Edinburgh
Residence Cambridge
Fields magnetohydrodynamics
Institutions University of Cambridge
Alma mater University of Edinburgh
University of Cambridge
Doctoral advisor George Batchelor
Doctoral students Thomas Felici
Andrew Gilbert
Konrad Bajer
Susan Nightingale
Michael Proctor
Henrik Rasmussen
Renzo Ricca
Glyn Roberts
Alfred Sneyd
Andrew Soward
Juri Toomre
Michal Branicki
Notable awards Smith's Prize (1960)
Senior Whitehead Prize (2005)
Hughes Medal (2005)

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 130 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

Honours and awards

See also

Sources