Michael John Rycroft (born 15 July 1938) is an ionospheric physicist.

Early life

After

Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Small things grow in harmony , established = , closed = , coordinates = , pushpin_map = , type = Independent day school , religion = Church o ...

(1951–57) his first degree was in physics from

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

(1960) and his PhD was in meteorological physics from

Churchill College Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but still retains a strong interest in the arts and humanities. In 1958, a trust was establish ...

Cambridge (1964), supervised by Dr T.W. Wormell who had in turn been supervised by Prof C.T.R. Wilson.

Career

His research is principally in

solar-terrestrial physics Space physics, also known as solar-terrestrial physics or space-plasma physics, is the study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the Earth's upper atmosphere (aeronomy) and within the Solar System. As such, it encompasses a far-ranging number of ...

and

atmospheric electricity Atmospheric electricity is the study of electrical charges in the Earth's atmosphere (or that of another planet). The movement of charge between the Earth's surface, the atmosphere, and the ionosphere is known as the global atmospheric electri ...

. In 1977, he was a British finalist in a selection process for European astronauts. He began his career at the

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

(1966-1979) and then moved to the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

(1979-1990), where he became director of physical science. Subsequently, he was professor of aerospace at Cranfield University (1990-1994), then at the

International Space University The International Space University (ISU) is dedicated to the discovery, research, and development of outer space and its applications for peaceful purposes, through international and multidisciplinary education and research programs. ISU was f ...

where he remains ''emeritus'' professor. He was a visiting senior research fellow at the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering,

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

(2006-2016). He is also a member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

and was general secretary of the European Geophysical Society from 1996 to 2003 (part of the

European Geosciences Union The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is a non-profit international union in the fields of Earth, planetary, and space sciences whose vision is to "realise a sustainable and just future for humanity and for the planet." The organisation has headq ...

). He has published around 170 papers in the refereed literature, edited a significant encyclopedia, and co-authored two books on space research. He is currently editor-in-chief of the journal ''Surveys in Geophysics'' and was, until 1999, editor-in-chief of ''

Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics The ''Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering the atmospheric and solar-terrestrial physics. It was established in 1950 as the ''Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics'', ...

''. He edited a Golden Jubilee edition of this journal to commemorate its 50th anniversary in 2000, and wrote a highly cited paper on the global atmospheric electric circuit for the same issue. On 16 November 2018 a special symposium was held in Bath, UK, to mark Rycroft's 80th birthday, with a biographical tribute paper published in May 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rycroft, Michael Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge Alumni of Imperial College London British Antarctic Survey English physicists Members of Academia Europaea People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood 1938 births Living people