Sir Alan Hugh Cook FRS (2 December 1922 – 23 July 2004) was an English

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

who specialised in

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

and particularly precision measurement.

Early life and family

Cook was born in

Felsted Felsted (sometimes spelt Felstead) is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Bannister Green, Bartholomew Green, Causeway End, Coblers Green, Cock Green, Frenches Gre ...

, Essex in 1922. He was the eldest of the six children of Reginald Thomas Cook, a customs and excise officer, and his wife, Ethel, Saxon, who was active in the

Congregational church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

. His family were active churchgoers and Cook retained a lifelong Christian commitment. He was educated first at the village school at Felsted, then at West Leigh School and finally (from 1933) at

Westcliff High School for Boys Westcliff High School for Boys (WHSB) is an 11–18 selective academy grammar school for boys in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England. In September 2001 the school was awarded ‘Beacon’ status for its breadth of achievements and quality of work. T ...

. In 1939 he won a major entrance scholarship to

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

.Malcolm S. Longair
Cook, Sir Alan Hugh (1922–2004)’
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Jan 2008; online edn, Oct 2008 accessed 25 Nov 2010 On 30 January 1948 he married Isabell Weir Adamson. The couple had a son and a daughter. He died from cancer on 23 July 2004 at Arthur Rank House, Cambridge.

Academic and scientific career

Cook entered Corpus Christi College in 1940, reading 'the natural science tripos' (

physical sciences Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Phy ...

biological sciences Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

and the

history and philosophy of science The history and philosophy of science (HPS) is an Discipline (academia), academic discipline that encompasses the philosophy of science and the History of science and technology, history of science. Although many scholars in the field are trained ...

) and geology, receiving a BA in 1943. On graduation, he was drafted into the Admiralty Signals Establishment (now part of the

Admiralty Research Establishment The Admiralty Research Establishment (commonly known as ARE) was formed on 1 April 1984 from various Admiralty establishments. It became part of the Defence Research Agency on 1 April 1991. Constituent parts on formation * Admiralty Surface We ...

) as a temporary experimental officer, in the field of

electronic counter-measures An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...

. After the war he returned to Cambridge, where he studied for his doctorate under

Edward Bullard Sir Edward Crisp Bullard FRS (21 September 1907 – 3 April 1980) was a British geophysicist who is considered, along with Maurice Ewing, to have founded the discipline of marine geophysics. He developed the theory of the geodynamo, pioneered ...

and B. C. Browne. His dissertation was on precise measurements of gravity in the British Isles. This developed into his core research interest: precision measurement in a wide range of areas the physical sciences. Thereafter, he did post-doctoral work there in

geodesy Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...

and

.Sir Alan Cook
obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 6 August 2004 Cook followed Bullard to the National Physical Laboratory at

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

, working at the meteorological department, where he carried out a number of experiments, including the absolute measurement of the density of mercury, important for precise estimates of atmospheric pressure; measuring the absolute acceleration of falling bodies, and determining the Earth's gravitational potential, by using the precisely known orbits of the Sputnik satellites. His interests included precision measurement for time and length standards, particularly using hyperfine lines in the spectrum of cadmium and interference

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

, laser

interferometry Interferometry is a technique which uses the ''interference'' of superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber opt ...

and

maser A maser (, an acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. The first maser was built by Charles H. Townes, Ja ...

s. In 1966 he became superintendent of the Laboratory's quantum metrology division. In 1969 he became professor of

at Edinburgh University, founding that university's geophysics department. Three years later, he was appointed

Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy The Jacksonian Professorship of Natural Philosophy is one of the senior chairs in natural philosophy, Natural and Experimental philosophy at University of Cambridge, Cambridge University, and was founded in 1782 by a bequest from the Reverend R ...

at the

Cavendish Laboratory The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the School of Physical Sciences. The laboratory was opened in 1874 on the New Museums Site as a laboratory for experimental physics and is named ...

, University of Cambridge, where he set up the laboratory

group. His work there included experiments in microwave spectroscopy and tests of the inverse square law of gravitation at short distances. In 1979 he became head of the Laboratory, and from 1983 to 1993 was master of Selwyn College. His PhD students included the future astronaut

Michael Foale Colin Michael Foale (; born 6 January 1957) is a British-American astrophysicist and former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of six space missions, and is the only NASA astronaut to have flown extended missions aboard both Mir and the Internati ...

. After retiring he took a strong interest in the

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal. Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Meso ...

, and was the editor, from 1996, of ''Notes and Records of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

of London'', that Society's main journal on the history of science.

Honours and awards

*1969: Fellow of the

. *1988: President of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

. *1988: Knighthood *1993: The Chree Medal and Prize

Publications

* ''Gravity and the earth'' (1969) * ''Celestial Masers'' (1977) * ''Gravitational experiments in the laboratory'' (1993) *
The observational foundations of physics
' (1994) * ''Edmond Halley: charting the heavens and the seas'' (1998)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Alan 1922 births 2004 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society British physicists Masters of Selwyn College, Cambridge Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Jacksonian Professors of Natural Philosophy Knights Bachelor Presidents of the Royal Astronomical Society People from Felsted Scientists of the Cavendish Laboratory Deaths from cancer in England