Hugh Ford (engineer)
Encyclopedia
Sir Hugh Ford FREng FRS (16 July 1913 – 28 May 2010) was a British engineer. He was Professor of Applied Mechanics at Imperial College London
from 1951 to 1978.
Ford was educated at Northampton Grammar School and served an apprenticeship at the Great Western Railway
. He studied at City & Guilds College (Imperial College London
) on a Whitworth scholarship, where he would earn a first class degree, and win the Bramwell Medal. He earned a PhD in heat transfer and fluid flow.
During World War II
, he worked at Imperial Chemical Industries
in Cheshire.
He studied operations at strip mills, earning the Thomas Hawksley Gold Medal in 1948.
Beginning in 1948, he was Reader in Applied Mechanics at Imperial College.
He was president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
from 1977 to 1978.
Ford was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1967 and knighted
in 1975. In 1985 he received the James Watt International Medal
.
Shortly after his death Ford was featured on the BBC Radio 4 obituary program Last Word
.
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
from 1951 to 1978.
Ford was educated at Northampton Grammar School and served an apprenticeship at the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
. He studied at City & Guilds College (Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
) on a Whitworth scholarship, where he would earn a first class degree, and win the Bramwell Medal. He earned a PhD in heat transfer and fluid flow.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he worked at Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
in Cheshire.
He studied operations at strip mills, earning the Thomas Hawksley Gold Medal in 1948.
Beginning in 1948, he was Reader in Applied Mechanics at Imperial College.
He was president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Institution of Mechanical Engineers
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers is the British engineering society based in central London, representing mechanical engineering. It is licensed by the Engineering Council UK to assess candidates for inclusion on ECUK's Register of professional Engineers...
from 1977 to 1978.
Ford was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1967 and knighted
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
in 1975. In 1985 he received the James Watt International Medal
James Watt International Medal
The James Watt Medal is the name of two awards named after Scottish engineer James Watt, both awarded for excellence in engineering:-James Watt International Gold Medal of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers:...
.
Shortly after his death Ford was featured on the BBC Radio 4 obituary program Last Word
Last Word
Last Word is an obituary BBC radio series broadcast weekly on Radio 4. Each week the lives of several famous people who have recently died are summarised with narration, and interviews with people who knew them.-References:*...
.