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Authorised form of nameDavies; Sir; David Evan Naunton; engineer
NationalityBritish
Place of birthCardiff, Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom
Date of birth28 October 1935
Date of death19 August 2025
OccupationEngineer
Research fieldMaterials Science
Antennas
Optoelectronics
Radar
Engineering
ActivityEducation:
University College London
Career:
Assistant Director of Research, British Railways Derby (1967); Professor of Electrical Engineering, University College London, later serving as Vice-Provost (1971); Vice Chancellor, Loughborough University (1988); Chief Scientific Adviser to the Ministry of Defence (1993); commissioned to advise the government on automatic train protection (1999); Chair, Railway Safety Ltd (2000); Chair of the Hazards Forum (2002).
Honours:
CBE 1986; Kt 1994
Memberships:
FREng (President 1996-2001)
Institution of Electrical Engineers (now part of the IET) (President 1994-95)
Awards/Medals:
Rank Prize for excellence in optoelectronics
Faraday Medal of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election15/03/1984
Age at election48
RSActivityRoyal Society roles:
Council: 1991-1993
OtherInfoAdvanced the practical implementation and effectiveness of antenna arrays and radar. This includes solving problems of efficiently exciting spatial harmonics in circular arrays to synthesise directional patterns. The invention of sensors to measure quantities such as strain and temperature followed directly from his joint work on optical fibres.
David’s radar system expertise meant he was often consulted by the UK Ministry of Defence, and he became its Chief Scientific Adviser in 1993. In his early career, David conducted research for the pre-privatisation railways, and in 1999, he was appointed to head the inquiry on advanced automatic train protection following the disastrous Ladbroke Grove crash.
SourceThe Royal Society Fellows Directory, Sir David Davies CBE FREng FRS, [URL: https://royalsociety.org/people/david-davies-11304/; last accessed: 22/08/2025]
Royal cademy of Engineering, Sir David Davies CBE FREng FRS, [URL: https://raeng.org.uk/about-us/history/sir-david-davies-cbe-freng-frs; last accessed: 22/08/2025]
CodeNA7225
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNoTitleDate
EC/1984/09Davies, Sir David Evan Naunton: certificate of election to the Royal Society1981
IM/GA/Baron/9628Davies, David Evan Naunton1984
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