John Frederick Nye (26 February 1923 – 8 January 2019) was a British

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

and

glaciologist Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, climato ...

. He was the first to apply

plasticity Plasticity may refer to: Science * Plasticity (physics), in engineering and physics, the propensity of a solid material to undergo permanent deformation under load * Neuroplasticity, in neuroscience, how entire brain structures, and the brain it ...

to understand glacier flow.

'EC%2F1976%2F26'&dsqDb=Catalog" target="_blank" class="mw-redirect" title="Certificates of Election and Candidature, RefNo EC/1976/26: Nye, John Frederick">Certificates of Election and Candidature, RefNo EC/1976/26: Nye, John Frederick

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. Accessed 2009-04-26.

Career

His early work was on the

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

of plasticity, spanning ice

rheology Rheology (; ) is the study of the flow of matter, primarily in a fluid ( liquid or gas) state, but also as "soft solids" or solids under conditions in which they respond with plastic flow rather than deforming elastically in response to an appl ...

, ice flow mechanics, laboratory ice flow measurements,

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

surges,

meltwater Meltwater is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reducing. Meltwater can be ...

penetration in ice, and response of glaciers and ice sheets to seasonal and climatic changes. Later in his long career, he worked extensively in optics, publishing his last paper on electromagnetic wave polarization only a few days before his death. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1976. He served as president of the

International Glaciological Society The International Glaciological Society (IGS) was founded in 1936 to provide a focus for individuals interested in glaciology, practical and scientific aspects of snow and ice. It was originally known as the "Association for the Study of Snow an ...

(1966–9), who awarded him the

Seligman Crystal The Seligman Crystal is an award of the International Glaciological Society. The prize is "awarded from time to time to one who has made an outstanding scientific contribution to glaciology so that the subject is now enriched" and named after Ger ...

in 1969 for outstanding contributions to glaciology. He was also president of the International Commission of Snow and Ice of the

International Association of Hydrological Sciences The International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) is a non-profit non-governmental scientific organisation committed to serving the science of hydrology and the worldwide community of hydrologists. The IAHS was established in 1922, ...

(1971–5). The

Cryosphere ] The cryosphere (from the Ancient Greek, Greek ''kryos'', "cold", "frost" or "ice" and ''sphaira'', "globe, ball") is an all-encompassing term for those portions of Earth's surface where water is in solid form, including sea ice, lake ice, ri ...

Focus Group of the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's act ...

hosts a Nye Lecture each year at its fall meeting.AGU Cryosphere Focus Group Nye Lecture History
American Geophysical Union website. Accessed 2009-04-26.

Awards and recognition

Nye won the

Chree medal and prize The Edward Appleton Medal and Prize is awarded by the Institute of Physics for distinguished research in environmental, earth or atmospheric physics. Originally named after Charles Chree, the British physicist and former President of the Physica ...

in 1989. He was

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

in Physics at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, UK.John Nye: Home page
University of Bristol. Accessed 2009-04-26. In addition to glaciology, his research interests included

caustic Caustic most commonly refers to: * Causticity, a property of various corrosive substances ** Sodium hydroxide, sometimes called ''caustic soda'' ** Potassium hydroxide, sometimes called ''caustic potash'' ** Calcium oxide, sometimes called ''caus ...

s and

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ran ...

probes. Nye died on 8 January 2019 at age 95 from heart failure.

Books

* J.F. Nye, 1957, ''Physical Properties of Crystals: Their Representation by Tensors and Matrices''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. * J.F. Nye, 1999, ''Natural Focusing and Fine Structure of Light: Caustics and Wave Dislocations''.

CRC Press The CRC Press, LLC is an American publishing group that specializes in producing technical books. Many of their books relate to engineering, science and mathematics. Their scope also includes books on business, forensics and information tec ...

Scientific publications

*1951, The flow of glaciers and ice-sheets as a problem in plasticity.

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London ''Proceedings of the Royal Society'' is the main research journal of the Royal Society. The journal began in 1831 and was split into two series in 1905: * Series A: for papers in physical sciences and mathematics. * Series B: for papers in life s ...

Series A-Mathematical And Physical Sciences, 207(1091),554-572. *1952, The mechanics of glacier flow. J. Glaciol. 2 (1952), pp. 82–93 *1953, The flow law of ice from measurements in glacier tunnels, laboratory experiments and the Jungfraufirn Borehole Experiment.

Series A-Mathematical And Physical Sciences, 219(1139), 477–489. *1958, Surges in Glaciers,

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

181, 1450–1451 *1959. The motion of ice sheets and glaciers. J. Glaciol., 3(26), 493–507.

References

External links