Sir William Ian Axford (2 January 1933 – 13 March 2010) was a New Zealand
space scientist
The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to space science:
Space science encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that involve space exploration and study natural phenomena and physical bodies
In common usage ...
who was director of Germany's
Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy
The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (abbreviation: MPS; german: Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung) is a research institute in astronomy and astrophysics located in Göttingen, Germany, where it relocated in February 2 ...
from 1974 to 1990. Axford's research was focused on the interaction of the sun with the magnetic field of earth (
magnetosphere
In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior dynam ...
) or the interstellar medium (
heliosphere
The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun. It takes the shape of a vast, bubble-like region of space. In plasma physics terms, it is the cavity formed by the Sun in the surrounding interstell ...
).
Life and work
Axford studied at
Canterbury University
The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...
in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
for his double bachelor's degrees in science and engineering, followed by a double Master's in science with first class honours and in engineering with distinction, then undertook doctoral studies at the
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
and received his PhD in 1960.
After a year at the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
in 1960, where he played two matches of
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...
for the
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club, first recorded in 1817, is the representative cricket club for students of the University of Cambridge. Depending on the circumstances of each individual match, the club has always been recognised as holding ...
, Axford then joined the Defence Research Board of Canada, where he published one of his most cited papers: ''A unifying theory of high-latitude geophysical phenomena and geomagnetic storms'', in 1961.
He became a professor of physics and astronomy at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
,
Ithaca, New York
Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...
in 1963. He later moved to the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
.
Axford became a director at the
Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy
The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (abbreviation: MPS; german: Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung) is a research institute in astronomy and astrophysics located in Göttingen, Germany, where it relocated in February 2 ...
(since renamed the
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (abbreviation: MPS; german: Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung) is a research institute in astronomy and astrophysics located in Göttingen, Germany, where it relocated in February 201 ...
) in 1974. He held that position, with a short break in which he was
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 is ...
of the
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand.
The university is well know ...
from 1982 to 1985, until his retirement in 2001. The institute participated in the international missions
Giotto
Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...
to
Halley's Comet
Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the o ...
, solar observatories
Ulysses
Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature.
Ulysses may also refer to:
People
* Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name
Places in the United States
* Ulysses, Kansas
* Ulysse ...
and
SOHO
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
while Axford was director of the institute.
The science of all three missions had a strong connection to the activity of the sun: SOHO and Ulysses monitored solar activity, and the Giotto mission was able to monitor the interaction of solar particles with Halley's Comet. Most of Axford's research was associated with the
magnetosphere
In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior dynam ...
and the
heliosphere
The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun. It takes the shape of a vast, bubble-like region of space. In plasma physics terms, it is the cavity formed by the Sun in the surrounding interstell ...
.
He died at his home in
Napier on 13 March 2010, aged 77, following a long illness.
Honours
Axford received several awards, for example the
John Adam Fleming Medal
John Adam Fleming, (January 28, 1877 – July 29, 1956) was an American geophysicist interested in the magnetosphere and the atmospheric electricity.
Fleming worked first at the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey with his superior Louis Agricola Ba ...
in 1972, the Tsiolkovsky Medal in 1987, the
Chapman Medal, and the
Rutherford Medal in 1994. In 1995 he was named
New Zealander
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
of the Year. In the
1996 New Year Honours, Axford was appointed as a
Knight Bachelor
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...
, for services to science.
Since 1986 he was a
Fellow of the Royal Society in London and since 1993 he was a
Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
.
On his 60th birthday, the asteroid
5097 Axford was named in his honour at an astronomical symposium in Germany.
In 2021,
Mount Axford, a mountain in
Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is by far the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of , and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site. The park i ...
, was named in his honour.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Axford, Ian
1933 births
2010 deaths
New Zealand cricketers
20th-century New Zealand astronomers
University of Canterbury alumni
Cambridge University cricketers
Cornell University faculty
University of California, San Diego faculty
Recipients of the Rutherford Medal
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
People from Dannevirke
New Zealand Knights Bachelor
Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand
New Zealand Fellows of the Royal Society
People from Napier, New Zealand
Vice-chancellors of Victoria University of Wellington
Planetary scientists
Max Planck Institute directors