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Leslie Colin Woods

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Leslie Colin Woods
Born
Leslie Colin Woodhead[1]

6 December 1922
Reporoa, New Zealand
Died15 April 2007
NationalityNew Zealand
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
Doctoral advisorAlexander Thom
Doctoral studentsJason Reese

Leslie Colin Woods (6 December 1922 – 15 April 2007) was a New Zealand mathematician.

Early life and education

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Woods was born on 6 December 1922 in Reporoa, New Zealand.[1] Woods' father was a fisherman.[2] His surname was originally Woodhead.

His school education was completed in New Zealand, where he attended Seddon Memorial Technical College (where he was Head Boy).[3] In his autobiography Against the Tide: An Autobiographical Account of a Professional Outsider, he gives credit to his school teachers, including Colin Maloy and G J Park, for kindling his interest in science and encouraging him to take up a career in academia.[4]

In 1940 Woods went on to study at Auckland University College, but left to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force in December 1941. After completing his training as a pilot he was posted to the Pacific Area in 1943, serving three tours of duty in 1944 and 1945.[3]

After the war Woods returned to Auckland University College, taking his MSc in 1945 and a BE in 1947. The following year he matriculated at Merton College, Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship; he studied there until 1951, taking a DPhil in 1950, and then, unusually, a first-class BA in Mathematics in 1951.[3]

Academic career

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Woods was the Nuffield Research Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Technology at Sydney.[5] He was elected a Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford in 1961 where he researched the theory of magnetically-confined hot plasmas. Woods was professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford from 1970 until his retirement in 1990. [6]

Personal life

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In 1943, Woods married Gladys Elizabeth (Betty) Bayley; they had five daughters.[2][3]

Woods died on 15 April 2007 in Oxford.[1]

Bibliography

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His notable books include:[7]

  • The Theory of Subsonic Plane Flow (1961)
  • The Thermodynamics of Fluid Systems (1975)
  • Principles of Magnetoplasma Dynamics (1987)
  • Kinetic Theory of Gases and Magnetoplasmas (1993)
  • Thermodynamic Inequalities with Applications to Gases and Magnetoplasmas (1996)
  • Against the Tide: An Autobiographical Account of a Professional Outsider (2000)
  • Physics of Plasmas (2003)
  • Theory of Tokamak Transport: New Aspects for Nuclear Fusion Reactor Design (2006)

References

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  1. ^ a b c O'Connor, J J; Robertson, E F. "Leslie Woods (1922 - 2007)". MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive. University of St Andrews, Scotland. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b Tee, Garry; Wake, Graeme (7 June 2007). "Obituary: Leslie Woods". the Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Levens, R.G.C., ed. (1964). Merton College Register 1900–1964. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 397.
  4. ^ Woods, L. C. (1 January 2000). Against the Tide: An Autobiographical Account of a Professional Outsider. CRC Press. ISBN 9781482268751. Retrieved 16 May 2018 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "Professor Les Woods". 20 May 2007. Retrieved 16 May 2018 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  6. ^ Woods, Leslie (2006). Theory of Tokamak Transport. Oxford: Wiley-VCH. ISBN 3-527-40625-5.
  7. ^ "Leslie Colin Woods". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 16 May 2018.