| Authorised form of name | Soward; Andrew Michael; fluid dynamicist |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Date of birth | 20 October 1943 |
| Date of death | 20 July 2025 |
| Occupation | Fluid dynamicist |
| Research field | Theoretical physics |
| Applied mathematics |
| Astrophysics |
| Geophysics |
| Fluid dynamics |
| Magnetohydrodynamics |
| Activity | Education: Queens' College, Cambridge BA; PhD
Career: Emeritus Professor, Department of Mathematics of the University of Exeter |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 14/03/1991 |
| Age at election | 47 |
| OtherInfo | Well known for his work on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and especially dynamo theory, and also for his significant contributions to linear and nonlinear stability theory. By powerful use of asymptotic analysis, he solved a number of very difficult problems in applied mathematics. By a new pseudo-Lagrangian technique for studying lightly damped fluid systems, he elucidated previously inexplicable features of Braginskii's geodynamo. Andrew also provided explicit examples of steady fast dynamo action, so disproving a conjecture that such dynamos did not exist. Andrew identified new rotating modes of nonlinear convection in rotating systems, and in collaboration with Steven Childress, established a now celebrated MHD dynamo model in a rapidly rotating Benard layer; he also gave the first demonstration that situations exist where oscillatory MHD dynamos generate magnetic fields more readily than steady flows can. Assisted by Eric R. Priest, he provided the first mathematically satisfactory account of the Petschek mechanism of magnetic field line reconnection. Andrew also gave the first complete solution of the Stefan (freezing) problem in cylindrical geometry. |
| Source | The Royal Society Fellows Directory, Professor Andrew Soward FRS, [URL: https://royalsociety.org/people/andrew-soward-12324/; last accessed: 20/08/2025] |
| Code | NA4312 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| IM/004329 | Soward, Andrew Michael | 1991 |
| EC/1991/31 | Soward, Andrew Michael: certificate of election to the Royal Society | 1987 |