Sir bernard lovell biography of albert einstein

Lovell, emeritus professor of radioastronomy, was the founder and first director of the University of Manchester’s Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, England.

Born in 1913 in Oldland Common, Gloucestershire, Lovell studied at the University of Bristol before coming to Manchester to work in the department of physics in 1936. During the World War II, Lovell led the team that developed H₂S radar, work for which he was later awarded the OBE.

Lovell returned to the Manchester physics department in 1945 and began work on cosmic rays using ex-military radar equipment. He brought this equipment to a university botany site at Jodrell Bank in late 1945, founding the world-famous observatory that now exists there.

The 76-meter Lovell Telescope dominates Jodrell Bank. Lovell worked with engineer Sir Charles Husband to build the telescope, which has become an icon of British science and engineering and a landmark in the Cheshire countryside.

A hugely ambitious project, the telescope was by far the world’s largest when it was completed in 1957, and within days, it tracked the rocket that carried Sputnik 1 into orbit, marking the dawn of the Space Age. It is still the third-largest steerable telescope in the world, and a series of upgrades mean it is now more capable than ever.

Today, the Lovell Telescope plays a key role in world-leading research on pulsars, testing our understanding of extreme physics, including Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

In 2011, the Jodrell Bank Observatory was placed on the British government’s shortlist for World Heritage Site status, recognizing its unique role in the development of our understanding of the universe.

The observatory continues to play a major role in astronomical research. It is now home to the e-MERLIN array of seven radio telescopes spread a

The structure remains the third largest steerable telescope in the world and plays a key role in global research on pulsating stars, testing extreme physics theories including Einstein's general theory of relativity.

The telescope and his other contributions to radio astronomy led to him being knighted in 1961.

Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, said: "Bernard Lovell ranks as one of the great visionary leaders of science.

"He had the boldness and self-confidence to conceive a giant radio telescope, and the persistence to see it through to completion, despite the risk of bankruptcy.

"What is even more remarkable is that, more than 50 years later, this instrument (after several upgrades) is still doing 'frontier' science.

"I recall the celebrations of the telescope's 50th anniversary in 2007. Lovell, though nearly blind, played a full part in the festivities and made a superb speech.

"He rightly took great pride in this lasting monument."

A spokesman for the university said Sir Bernard was "warm and generous".

He said the astronomer had "retained a keen interest in the development of science at Jodrell Bank and beyond," and added: "Indeed he continued to come in to work at the Observatory until quite recently when ill health intervened."

It’s not long after noon at Jodrell Bank; a warning siren shrieks, cutting through the white Cheshire sky. Outside the high windows of the control room, the Lovell Telescope begins to move – almost imperceptibly at first. It is 90 metres high, nearly 80 metres across and weighs roughly 3,200 tonnes, and yet as it begins to turn, the great bowl to tip, it is, extraordinarily, nearly completely silent. Somehow the silence makes its movement all the more awesome, nearly preternatural; though for the astronomers and engineers here nothing particularly extraordinary is happening. The telescope is being “parked” – its face pointing straight to the sky – so that an adjustment can be made to the equipment at the top of the focus tower; something not working quite as it should. A little team, wearing hard hats, sets off to go up into the dish.

Watching with us through the glass is Sir Bernard Lovell, after whom the telescope is now named. Fifty years ago and more he imagined this place might exist and, with the support of the University of Manchester and the help of an indefatigable engineer called Charles Husband, he brought it into being. Since that time it has been at the forefront of radio astronomy, so much so that the science as it is now would be totally unrecognisable to those who, decades ago, approved the audacious project. As Lovell says: “If I had mentioned any of the objects which the telescope is studying now they would have thought I was crazy. The very words were unknown: quasars, pulsars, gravitational lenses and so on. Such is the advance of science. It was difficult, you know, when I was proposing this telescope, to persuade people that it would be useful astronomically in 15 years’ time – and the engineers said it would be lucky if it lasted that long. That was 50 years ago. So as often in science, the solution of one problem creates another – everywhere. It seems that one can never reach finality.” But

Sir Bernard Lovell, who died on 6 August aged 98, built the Jodrell Bank telescope. This achievement, at a time of post-war austerity in the Fifties, cannot be over-estimated. Some 55 years later, this giant radio telescope continues as a national icon for British science and engineering. It maintains an active UK presence in the fast-developing worlds of astronomy and space exploration. In the 1950s, the 250ft diameter steerable dish was enlisted by both the Americans and the competing Russians as the unique instrument in the world with the power to track their rocket probes into space.

Lovell's vision as director of the Manchester University's Observatory at Jodrell Bank has enabled a wealth of discoveries. Recently, the Jodrell Bank Observatory has been chosen as the headquarters of the world's biggest radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array. This international £1bn facility, with its square kilometre array packed with mini radio telescopes, offers the most sensitive instrument yet for radio discoveries in space.

In September 1939, soon after being appointed as an assistant lecturer in the physics department of Manchester University, Lovell was seconded to the Air Ministry Research Establishment. The objective was to undertake development of centimetre wave radar equipment which would enable Bomber Command aircraft to navigate by night. Bernard was the leader of this H2S project. This led on to the development of radar able to detect submarines and its installation in Coastal Command aircraft. The experience of working under intense wartime pressure with limited facilities equipped him well for the battles he would undertake in establishing the science of using radio as a tool at the frontier of astronomical research. He was awarded the OBE in 1946 for his contributions to radar development.

On returning to the Manchester physics department under the leadership of