Professor Elfyn John Richards (28 December 1914 – 7 September 1995) was a Welsh

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...

and acoustical engineer, the first professor of either of these subjects at

Southampton University , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

, where he founded the

Institute of Sound and Vibration Research , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

, and was the second

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

Loughborough University of Technology Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when ...

Life

Richards (sometimes known as "Sam") was born in

Barry, Glamorgan Barry ( cy, Y Barri; ) is a town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, on the north coast of the Bristol Channel approximately south-southwest of Cardiff. Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the resurrected Ba ...

on 28 December 1914, and studied at Barry Grammar School,

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

, and St John's College, Cambridge, where he read mathematics and physics.The Independent, 9 October 1995
Obituaries: Professor Elfyn Richards
History – Vice-Chancellors of Loughborough University He married 3 times: first in 1941 to Eluned Jones (d. 1978) with whom he had 3 daughters, then in 1986 to Olive Meakin (d. 1989) and in 1990 to Miriam Davidson, who survived him. He died in Romsey,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

on 7 September 1995.

Work

Richards began his career at the Bristol Aeroplane Company, then moved to the National Physical Laboratory studying

aerofoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. ...

design. In 1945 he became Chief Aerodynamicist at

Vickers-Armstrong Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

, working on designs for the Vickers Valiant,

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...

and Vickers Valiant aircraft. During this period he developed a research interest in aircraft noise. In 1950 he became the first Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at Southampton University, and in 1963 became Professor of Applied Acoustics at the same university and founded the

.The Foundation of the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research
/ref> From 1967 to 1975 he was Vice-Chancellor of Loughborough University of Technology. After this he returned to Southampton University, taking up a chair in the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research.

Honours

Richards was awarded the OBE in 1958 for his work on noise. (believe it was for the Acoustic design concepts of the de Havilland Comet) He was awarded the Taylor Gold Medal of the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows, ...

, the

James Watt Medal The James Watt Medal is an award for excellence in engineering established in 1937, conferred by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the United Kingdom. It is named after Scottish engineer James Watt (1736–1819) who developed the Watt stea ...

of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

, and the Silver Medal of the Royal Society of Arts. He served as President of the British Acoustical Society (1968–70) and President of the

Society of Environmental Engineers The Society of Environmental Engineers (SEE) was a British professional engineering institution founded in 1959, which ceased operations in 2019. It was licensed by the Engineering Council UK to assess candidates for inclusion on ECUK's Register ...

(1971–73). He is commemorated in Elvyn Richards student accommodation at Loughborough University. Richards also received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 1983

Publications

''Noise and Acoustic Fatigue in Aeronautics'' by Elfyn John Richards & D. J. Mead (Wiley)

References

External links

My father and mother
(page by daughter of Elfyn Richards) {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Elfyn 1914 births 1995 deaths Welsh aerospace engineers Engineering academics People from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Vice-Chancellors of Loughborough University Academics of the University of Southampton