Prof David Gemmell McKinlay FRSE FICE FGS (1924–1997) was a Scottish civil engineer. He specialised in hydraulics and soil mechanics.

Life

He was born in

Riddrie Riddrie ( gd, An Ruadh Ruigh) is a north-eastern district of Glasgow, Scotland. It lies on the A80 Cumbernauld Road. Location and amenities Riddrie is a residential area mainly consisting of 1920s semi-detached houses, originally built as counc ...

in eastern Glasgow on 23 August 1923. He was educated at

Allan Glen's School Allan Glen's School was, for most of its existence, a local authority, selective secondary school for boys in Glasgow, Scotland, charging nominal fees for tuition. It was founded by the Allan Glen's Endowment Scholarship Trust on the death, ...

in Glasgow. From 1941 to 1944 he studied Civil Engineering at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

graduating BSc and then doing further postgraduate research. This was concurrent with service in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

in the Pacific as an Air Engineer Officer. In 1946 he returned to Scotland and worked briefly for Dumfries County Council before taking up a role at the Royal Technical College. Here he worked for 40 years, including its transition into becoming

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal c ...

. He also was seconded to work with

Babtie, Shaw and Morton Babtie, Shaw and Morton was a firm of civil engineers based in Glasgow, Scotland, and noted for its work on bridges, dams and reservoirs. History It took its name following the 1906 merger of Babtie & Bonn (a partnership founded by John Babtie ...

. In 1972 he became the first Professor of Soil Mechanics. From the 1960s he lived with his family in Bearsden and was an elder in the local church. In 1987 Rotary International awarded him a Paul Harris Fellowship for his work in India and Malawi. In 1987 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Hugh B Sutherland, Prof Alexander Coull, William George Nicholson Geddes and John Atwell. From 1994 he worked as a consultant at Crouch Hogg and Waterman in Glasgow. He emigrated to Australia late in 1996 to be closer to his daughter, who lived there. He died in

Drysdale, Victoria Drysdale is a rural township near Geelong, Victoria, Australia, located on the Bellarine Peninsula. The town has an approximate population of over 3,700. Drysdale forms part of an urban area, along with nearby Clifton Springs, that had an estima ...

on 4 March 1997.

Family

He was married to Muriel and had two children.

References

1924 births 1997 deaths Engineers from Glasgow People educated at Allan Glen's School Scottish civil engineers Alumni of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Strathclyde Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{UK-engineer-stub