Andrew Michael Soward (born 20 October 1943) is a British fluid dynamicist. He is an emeritus professor at the Department of Mathematics of the University of Exeter.

Education

Soward was educated at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

. He earned his PhD in 1969, under the supervision of Keith Moffatt.

Research

Soward is known for his work on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and especially dynamo theory, and also for his contributions to linear and nonlinear

stability theory In mathematics, stability theory addresses the stability of solutions of differential equations and of trajectories of dynamical systems under small perturbations of initial conditions. The heat equation, for example, is a stable partial diffe ...

. He used

asymptotic analysis In mathematical analysis, asymptotic analysis, also known as asymptotics, is a method of describing limiting behavior. As an illustration, suppose that we are interested in the properties of a function as becomes very large. If , then as beco ...

to solve a number of outstanding problems in applied mathematics. By a new pseudo-Lagrangian technique for studying lightly damped fluid systems, he elucidated previously inexplicable features of Braginskii's geodynamo. Soward has provided explicit examples of steady fast dynamo action, thus disproving a conjecture that such dynamos did not exist. He identified new rotating modes of nonlinear convection in rotating systems, and in collaboration with Steven Childress, established an MHD dynamo model in a rapidly rotating Bénard layer; he also gave the first demonstration that situations exist where oscillatory MHD dynamos generate

magnetic field A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...

s more readily than steady flows can. He collaborated with Eric Priest to provide the first mathematically consistent account of the Petschek mechanism of magnetic field line reconnection. Soward also gave the first complete solution of the Stefan (freezing) problem in cylindrical geometry; with C.A. Jones, he provided the first completely correct solution of the spherical Taylor problem.

Awards and honours

Soward was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1991. One or more of the preceding sentences may incorporate text from the royalsociety.org website where "all text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License." , "Intellectual property rights"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soward, Andrew 1943 births Living people British mathematicians Fluid dynamicists Fellows of the Royal Society Academics of the University of Exeter Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge