John Ffowcs Williams
Encyclopedia
Professor John Eirwyn Ffowcs Williams BSc PhD Hon DSc Soton
MA ScD Cantab
FREng is Emeritus Rank Professor of Engineering at the University of Cambridge
and a former Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
(1996-2002).
Prof. Ffowcs Williams is best known for his contributions to Aeroacoustics
, in particular for his work on Concorde
.Together with his student David L. Hawkings he has introduced the far-field integration method in Computational Aeroacoustics
based on Lighthill's acoustic analogy
- Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings analogy (FW-H).
ship with Rolls-Royce
before going to the University of Southampton, he always maintained a strong commitment to bring academic research to bear on industrial problems. He cofounded Topexpress Ltd, a consultancy company in Cambridge specialising in engineering science, was executive consultant to Rolls Royce and a director of VSEL plc.
For 25 years he led the division in which Cambridge University’s Fluid Mechanics
, Aeronautics
, Thermodynamics
, and Turbomachinery
work is concentrated.
Shôn Ffowcs Williams was admitted to his Professorial Fellowship at Emmanuel in 1973; he was the longest-serving professor in the University when he retired from his chair in 2002. He taught engineering for the College but, before becoming Master his main College contribution was serving on the Governing Body and its committees, particularly those concerning Work and Stipends, Finance and Investments, Wine and the Fellowship. He used to enjoy playing bowls after lunch in the Fellows’ garden and hopes for a revival in the popularity of that game.
He was the first holder of the Rank Chair of engineering established in 1972 in the field of Acoustics, coming to Cambridge from Imperial College London, where he held the Rolls-Royce Chair in theoretical Acoustics. His speciality was noise and vibration caused by unsteady flow. His main achievement was to persuade very good research students to tackle important but interesting problems which ranged from the aeroacoustics of supersonic flight, to the quietening of underwater platforms. His work helped make anti-sound useful for noise control and for stabilising unstable aeromechanical systems. He was prominent in the Concorde programme for directing the research to control its takeoff noise.
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
MA ScD Cantab
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...
FREng is Emeritus Rank Professor of Engineering at 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...
and a former Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
(1996-2002).
Prof. Ffowcs Williams is best known for his contributions to Aeroacoustics
Aeroacoustics
Aeroacoustics is a branch of acoustics that studies noise generation via either turbulent fluid motion or aerodynamic forces interacting with surfaces. Noise generation can also be associated with periodically varying flows...
, in particular for his work on Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
.Together with his student David L. Hawkings he has introduced the far-field integration method in Computational Aeroacoustics
Computational Aeroacoustics
While the discipline of Aeroacoustics is definitely dated back to the first publication of Sir James Lighthill in the early 1950s, the origin of Computational Aeroacoustics can only very likely be dated back to the middle of the 1980s...
based on Lighthill's acoustic analogy
Acoustic analogy
Acoustic analogies are applied mostly in numerical aeroacoustics to reduce aeroacoustic sound sources to simple emitter types. They are therefore often also referred to as aeroacoustic analogies....
- Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings analogy (FW-H).
Biography
Born in Wales in 1935, schooled in England and serving an engineering apprenticeEngineering apprentice
An engineering apprenticeship is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering. A typical example is the apprenticeships formerly available at the BTH and EEC at Rugby in England...
ship with Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce plc
Rolls-Royce Group plc is a global power systems company headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines , and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Through its defence-related activities...
before going to the University of Southampton, he always maintained a strong commitment to bring academic research to bear on industrial problems. He cofounded Topexpress Ltd, a consultancy company in Cambridge specialising in engineering science, was executive consultant to Rolls Royce and a director of VSEL plc.
For 25 years he led the division in which Cambridge University’s Fluid Mechanics
Fluid mechanics
Fluid mechanics is the study of fluids and the forces on them. Fluid mechanics can be divided into fluid statics, the study of fluids at rest; fluid kinematics, the study of fluids in motion; and fluid dynamics, the study of the effect of forces on fluid motion...
, Aeronautics
Aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...
, Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a physical science that studies the effects on material bodies, and on radiation in regions of space, of transfer of heat and of work done on or by the bodies or radiation...
, and Turbomachinery
Turbomachinery
Turbomachinery, in mechanical engineering, describes machines that transfer energy between a rotor and a fluid, including both turbines and compressors. While a turbine transfers energy from a fluid to a rotor, a compressor transfers energy from a rotor to a fluid...
work is concentrated.
Shôn Ffowcs Williams was admitted to his Professorial Fellowship at Emmanuel in 1973; he was the longest-serving professor in the University when he retired from his chair in 2002. He taught engineering for the College but, before becoming Master his main College contribution was serving on the Governing Body and its committees, particularly those concerning Work and Stipends, Finance and Investments, Wine and the Fellowship. He used to enjoy playing bowls after lunch in the Fellows’ garden and hopes for a revival in the popularity of that game.
He was the first holder of the Rank Chair of engineering established in 1972 in the field of Acoustics, coming to Cambridge from Imperial College London, where he held the Rolls-Royce Chair in theoretical Acoustics. His speciality was noise and vibration caused by unsteady flow. His main achievement was to persuade very good research students to tackle important but interesting problems which ranged from the aeroacoustics of supersonic flight, to the quietening of underwater platforms. His work helped make anti-sound useful for noise control and for stabilising unstable aeromechanical systems. He was prominent in the Concorde programme for directing the research to control its takeoff noise.
Awards
- In 1984 he was awarded the Rayleigh MedalRayleigh MedalThe Rayleigh Medal is a prize awarded annually by the Institute of Acoustics for "outstanding contributions to acoustics". The prize is named after John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh.-List of recipients:...
by the UK Institute of AcousticsInstitute of AcousticsThe Institute of Acoustics is a British professional engineering institution founded in 1974. It is licensed by the Engineering Council UK to assess candidates for inclusion on ECUK's Register of professional Engineers. The Institute's address is 77A St Peters Street, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3BN,...
. - For his contributions to the foundations and applications of Aeroacoustics, which have enabled dramatic reductions in the noise of aircraft and submarines he was awarded the Sir Frank Whittle MedalSir Frank Whittle MedalThe Sir Frank Whittle Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Academy of Engineering to an engineer,normally resident in the United Kingdom, for outstanding and sustained achievement which has contributed to the well-being of the nation. The field of activity the medal is awarded in changes...
by the Royal Academy of EngineeringRoyal Academy of Engineering-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
in 2002.
External links
Selected publications
- Ffowcs Williams, J. E. and Hawkings, D. L.: Sound Generation by Turbulence and Surfaces in Arbitrary Motion. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol. A264, Nr. 1151, 1969, S. 321-342.