Erskine Douglas Williamson (born 10 April 1886 in Edinburgh – 25 December 1923) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

geophysicist 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 ...

Life

Following degrees from the University of Edinburgh and a period on a Research Scholarship from the Carnegie Trust of Scotland, he was hired in 1914 by the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution in Washington DC, USA. In the nine years till his early death in 1923, he became known for experimental studies and theoretical calculations in

high-pressure In science and engineering the study of high pressure examines its effects on materials and the design and construction of devices, such as a diamond anvil cell, which can create high pressure. By ''high pressure'' is usually meant pressures of th ...

physics, physical chemistry,

petrology Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous and metamorphic petrology are commonly taught together ...

, glass science and geodynamics. Shortly before his death, he published with

Leason H. Adams Leason Heberling Adams (January 16, 1887 – August 20, 1969) was an American geophysicist and researcher. His principal achievement was his research on the properties of materials exposed to very high pressures, which he used to derive info ...

what is regarded as one of the most important contributions to geophysics in the first half of the 20th century. The famous Adams–Williamson equation derived in that paper laid the theoretical foundations for determining the interior structure of the Earth from seismic velocities, and remains widely known and used to this day. Erskine_Williamson_Building

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Erskine Douglas 1886 births 1923 deaths Scottish physicists British geophysicists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh