Hilary Ockendon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hilary Ockendon
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Hilary Mason
1941 (age 83–84) Derby, UK
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| Education | Derby High School for Girls |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford (BA, DPhil) |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics Fluid Mechanics Asymptotic Methods Industrial applications |
| Institutions | University of Oxford GCHQ |
| Thesis | Studies in Relaxing Gas Flow (1968) |
| Doctoral advisor | David Spence |
Hilary Ockendon (born 1941) is a British mathematician. She worked at the University of Oxford until she retired in 2008. Hilary loved using math to solve real-world problems, especially for industries.
She is an expert in fluid dynamics. This is the study of how liquids and gases move. For example, she studied how to stop coffee from sloshing out of a cup! She has also written several books about fluid dynamics.
Contents
Becoming a Mathematician
Hilary Ockendon was born in Derby, UK, in 1941. She went to Derby High School for Girls from 1946 to 1959. After high school, she began studying mathematics. She went to the University of Oxford in 1959. She was a student at St Hilda's College, Oxford.
After finishing her first degree, Hilary worked at GCHQ. This is a British intelligence and security agency. After two years, she returned to Oxford. She got a research and teaching job at Somerville College, Oxford. In 1968, she earned her DPhil degree. This is a very high-level university degree. Her research was about how gases flow.
Working at Oxford
After getting her DPhil, Hilary Ockendon became a Fellow at Somerville College. She also became a lecturer at the University of Oxford. She held these important positions until she retired in 2008. From 1988 to 1990, she was the Vice-Principal of Somerville College.
Between 1994 and 2002, Hilary was the director of a special center. This was the Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. She is now an "emerita member" there. This means she is retired but still honored. Since 2008, she has also been an Emeritus Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford.
Solving Real-World Problems with Math
Hilary Ockendon started her research in fluid mechanics. But soon, she became very interested in "Study Groups with Industry." These groups started in Oxford in 1968. They bring mathematicians together with companies. The goal is to use math to solve problems that businesses face. Much of Hilary's work has been inspired by these real-world challenges.
She has worked on many different industrial problems. Most of her work focused on how fluids and solid materials behave. She was especially interested in problems from the textile industry. She also studied how waves move in liquids and solids. Hilary co-authored two textbooks on Fluid Mechanics. These books came from the courses she taught at Oxford.
Books by Hilary Ockendon
Hilary Ockendon has written several books, including:
- Inviscid Fluid Flows (1972, 1983)
- Viscous Flow (with John Ockendon, 1995)
- Waves and Compressible Flow (with John Ockendon, 2004; 2nd edition, 2015)
Sharing Knowledge
Hilary Ockendon has worked hard to promote "Industrial Mathematics" in Europe. She did this through the European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry (ECMI). She was a council member from 1998 to 2005. She was also the president from 2001 to 2003. Later, she was an executive director from 2012 to 2015.
Awards and Honours
Hilary Ockendon has received several awards for her work:
- She received an honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) degree. This was from the University of Southampton in 1999.
- She became an honorary member of the European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry (ECMI) in 2018.
Personal Life
Hilary Mason married John Ockendon in 1967.
