Eric Fawcett
Encyclopedia
Eric Fawcett was a professor of physics
at the University of Toronto
for 23 years. He also co-founded Science for Peace
.
with a full scholarship to the University of Cambridge
. After graduation, he crossed the Atlantic to take up a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Research Council
in Ottawa
in 1954. Two years later Fawcett returned to England, where he worked at the Royal Radar Establishment
in Malvern
. In 1961 he moved to the United States and worked as a research physicist at Bell Laboratories
in Murray Hill, New Jersey
. In 1970, he accepted a Professorship in the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto, where he remained until his retirement in 1993.
Besides first observing cyclotron resonance in metals, Fawcett is credited with discovering the Hall effect
in type-II superconductors. While he used many different experimental techniques over his career, including neutron scattering
, magnetostriction
was a technique that Fawcett especially developed as an effective probe of magnetism in metals and alloys.
who had been fired from their positions in leading research institutes and universities and denied access to research facilities. Notable among these was the eminent physicist, Andrei Sakharov
. He and other physicists from the West helped these "refuseniks" to keep up in current research by organizing seminars in the living rooms and kitchens of cramped apartments in Moscow
. KGB
agents were all around and Eric later admitted he was often fearful for his own safety.
Eric also publicly expressed shame over Canada's role in the massacres of East Timor
.
, a group dedicated towards the goal of universal peace. His dedication to the University of Toronto based program demonstrated his belief that science should be used to further the cause of worldwide peace.
. While studying at Cambridge, he met Cambridge native Patricia Egan, his wife-to-be. The two married on October 9, 1954. Together, they moved to Ottawa
, where they lived for two years. In 1956 they returned to England, this time moving to Malvern
, where their children Clare (1956), Andrew (1958) and Ruth
(1961) were born.
In September 1961, the family relocated to New Jersey
, where they lived for ten years before moving north to Toronto
, Canada
in 1971, where Eric would spend the rest of his life.
A year after the birth of his first grandchild, Michael, in late 1991, Fawcett chose to retire, doing so in 1993. Fawcett's retirement was a busy one. Three more grandchildren were born, Marc and Peter in 1994, and Robert in 1997. Eric also spent much time practicing yoga
and the piano
, though generally not at the same time. In the academic world, Fawcett's greatest contribution during his retirement was his work for Science for Peace
. A co-founder, he threw himself into the pursuit of world peace through science. Eric's retirement was cut short in September, 2000, as he succumbed to liver cancer
.
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
for 23 years. He also co-founded Science for Peace
Science for Peace
Science for Peace is an organization of mainly Canadian scientists working together to promote peace worldwide. It was co-founded by mathematical psychologist Anatol Rapoport, and physicist Eric Fawcett, both former professors at the University of Toronto. It is based in Toronto, Ontario.-External...
.
Academic and Professional Life
Fawcett began his prestigious career in physicsPhysics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
with a full scholarship to the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. After graduation, he crossed the Atlantic to take up a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Research Council
National Research Council of Canada
The National Research Council is an agency of the Government of Canada which conducts scientific research and development.- History :...
in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
in 1954. Two years later Fawcett returned to England, where he worked at the Royal Radar Establishment
Royal Radar Establishment
The name Royal Radar Establishment was given to the existing Radar Research Establishment following a visit by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Both names were abbreviated to RRE. The establishment had been formed, under its first name, in 1953 by merging the Telecommunications Research Establishment ...
in Malvern
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
. In 1961 he moved to the United States and worked as a research physicist at Bell Laboratories
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
in Murray Hill, New Jersey
Murray Hill, New Jersey
Murray Hill is an unincorporated area within portions of both Berkeley Heights and New Providence, located in Union County in northern New Jersey, United States....
. In 1970, he accepted a Professorship in the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto, where he remained until his retirement in 1993.
Besides first observing cyclotron resonance in metals, Fawcett is credited with discovering the Hall effect
Hall effect
The Hall effect is the production of a voltage difference across an electrical conductor, transverse to an electric current in the conductor and a magnetic field perpendicular to the current...
in type-II superconductors. While he used many different experimental techniques over his career, including neutron scattering
Neutron scattering
Neutron scattering,the scattering of free neutrons by matter,is a physical processand an experimental technique using this processfor the investigation of materials.Neutron scattering as a physical process is of primordial importance...
, magnetostriction
Magnetostriction
Magnetostriction is a property of ferromagnetic materials that causes them to change their shape or dimensions during the process of magnetization. The variation of material's magnetization due to the applied magnetic field changes the magnetostrictive strain until reaching its saturation value, λ...
was a technique that Fawcett especially developed as an effective probe of magnetism in metals and alloys.
Russia
In the 1980s, Eric showed leadership in the international effort to assist physicists (mainly Jewish) in the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
who had been fired from their positions in leading research institutes and universities and denied access to research facilities. Notable among these was the eminent physicist, Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. He earned renown as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the...
. He and other physicists from the West helped these "refuseniks" to keep up in current research by organizing seminars in the living rooms and kitchens of cramped apartments in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
agents were all around and Eric later admitted he was often fearful for his own safety.
Canada's Foreign Policy
Eric strongly disagreed with Canada's position in NATO. He felt that NATO's militaristic foreign policy was contrary to its ostensibly peaceful objective.Eric also publicly expressed shame over Canada's role in the massacres of East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
.
Science for Peace
Fawcett was the co-founder of Science for PeaceScience for Peace
Science for Peace is an organization of mainly Canadian scientists working together to promote peace worldwide. It was co-founded by mathematical psychologist Anatol Rapoport, and physicist Eric Fawcett, both former professors at the University of Toronto. It is based in Toronto, Ontario.-External...
, a group dedicated towards the goal of universal peace. His dedication to the University of Toronto based program demonstrated his belief that science should be used to further the cause of worldwide peace.
Influence
Fawcett's work with the Hall effect in type-II superconductors is still studied today. His name is also carried on by the biannual Eric Fawcett Memorial Forum hosted by Science for Peace.Personal life
Fawcett was the second son to Harold and Florrie Fawcett, the younger brother of Roy. Eric and Roy attended Queen Elizabeths Grammar School, Blackburn. At various times the family lived in Mellor, in Longridge and on East Park Road and then finally at 2 Tarbert Crescent, Shadsworth, Blackburn. Blackburn was a textile town, and Fawcett's mother, Florrie, had worked in the Sunnyside Mill in Blackburn as a child. This experience led her to drive Eric in his studies. His hard work paid off, as he won a full scholarship to study physics at University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. While studying at Cambridge, he met Cambridge native Patricia Egan, his wife-to-be. The two married on October 9, 1954. Together, they moved to Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, where they lived for two years. In 1956 they returned to England, this time moving to Malvern
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
, where their children Clare (1956), Andrew (1958) and Ruth
Ruth Fawcett
Ruth Fawcett is the daughter of British-Canadian physicist Eric Fawcett, and the sister-in-law of historian Roger Sarty. She is the author of Nuclear Pursuits, the biography of Canadian nuclear-industry pioneer Wilfrid Bennett Lewis.Fawcett currently lives with her family in Ottawa, Canada...
(1961) were born.
In September 1961, the family relocated to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, where they lived for ten years before moving north to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1971, where Eric would spend the rest of his life.
A year after the birth of his first grandchild, Michael, in late 1991, Fawcett chose to retire, doing so in 1993. Fawcett's retirement was a busy one. Three more grandchildren were born, Marc and Peter in 1994, and Robert in 1997. Eric also spent much time practicing yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
and the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, though generally not at the same time. In the academic world, Fawcett's greatest contribution during his retirement was his work for Science for Peace
Science for Peace
Science for Peace is an organization of mainly Canadian scientists working together to promote peace worldwide. It was co-founded by mathematical psychologist Anatol Rapoport, and physicist Eric Fawcett, both former professors at the University of Toronto. It is based in Toronto, Ontario.-External...
. A co-founder, he threw himself into the pursuit of world peace through science. Eric's retirement was cut short in September, 2000, as he succumbed to liver cancer
Liver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
.