Fritz Ursell

Infobox_Scientist
name = Fritz J. Ursell


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birth_date = 1923
birth_place = Düsseldorf, Germany
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field = Applied mathematics
work_institution = University of Manchester, Cambridge University
alma_mater = Cambridge University
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doctoral_students = J. N. Newman, E. O. Tuck, David Evans
known_for = Ursell number
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Fritz Joseph Ursell FRS (born 1923, Düsseldorf) is a British mathematician noted for his contributions to fluid mechanics, especially in the area of wave-structure interactions [cite book| author=Fritz Ursell | title=Ship Hydrodynamics, Water Waves and Asymptotics: Collected Papers of F. Ursell, 1946–1992 | date=1994 | publisher=World Scientific | location=Singapore | isbn=981-02-1455-3 | series=Advanced Series on Fluid Mechanics In two volumes, 1004 pp.] . He held the Beyer Chair of Applied Mathematics at the University of Manchester from 1961–1990 [Cite journal
volume = 33
issue = 1
pages = 1-6
last = Abrahams
first = I. D.
coauthors = P. A. Martin, A. N. Norris
title = GR Wickham: an appreciation
journal = Wave Motion
date = 2001 [http://www.maths.manchester.ac.uk/~dabrahams/papers/wm_apprec.pdf] This contains also information on Fritz Ursell and the Beyer Chair.] , was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1972 and retired in 1990. He is currently emeritus professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Manchester.

Ursell came to England as a refugee in 1937 from Germany. From 1941 to 1943 he studied at Cambridge University, graduating with a bachelor degree in mathematics. At the end of 1943 he joined the Admiralty (British Navy Department) as a part of a team—headed by George Deacon—whose task is to formulate rules for forecasting waves the 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 mathematicsat Manchester University without a doctorate. In 1950 he returned to Cambridge as a 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.

Ursell has an Erdős number of 3.

See also

*Ursell number — nonlinearity parameter for gravity surface waves in shallow water.

References