Granville Beynon
Encyclopedia
Granville Beynon was a Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...

 who took active part in preparation and performance of the International Geophysical Year
International Geophysical Year
The International Geophysical Year was an international scientific project that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West was seriously interrupted...

 1957/8 which is known as a breakthrough in international cooperation in geophysics. Beynon became thereafter one of the leading personalities in international scientific cooperation. His perseverance saved the European Radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 project EISCAT
EISCAT
EISCAT is an acronym for the European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association. It operates three incoherent scatter radar systems, at 224 MHz, 931 MHz in Northern Scandinavia and one at 500 MHz on Svalbard, used to study the interaction between the Sun and the Earth as revealed by disturbances in...

 by which important progress was reached in understanding the particular atmospheric phenomena at high latitudes.

From 1946 on he performed studies in physics at the welsh university of Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

. By his strong interest in Radio propagation
Radio propagation
Radio propagation is the behavior of radio waves when they are transmitted, or propagated from one point on the Earth to another, or into various parts of the atmosphere...

 he obtained contact with (later Sir ) Edward Appleton who had detected the terrestrial ionosphere
Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...

. This fruitful cooperation should persist over a few decades during which Beynon headed several international scientific projects. 1958 Beynon started teaching at the University of Aberystwyth where he later became full professor and remained until 1991. He was president of the International Union of Radio Science
International Union of Radio Science
The International Union of Radio Science is one of 26 international scientific unions affiliated to the International Council for Science.- History and objectives :...

 1972-75, of EISCAT, of the "Year of the quiet Sun", Fellow Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...

1973, Sir 1976.
In 1942 he married Megan James. The couple had two sons and one daughter.
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