Brian Henderson 1974-1984

Brian Henderson was born on 26^th March 1936 in Doncaster, Yorkshire. He was educated at Maltby Grammar School before continuing his education at the University of Birmingham. He obtained a BSc in 1958 and a PhD in 1960. He worked as a senior science officer in Harwell Atomic Energy Research Establishment in 1962 before joining Keele University in 1968. In 1974 he became the 19^th Erasmus Smith’s Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy in Trinity, serving until 1984, was elected a Fellow in 1976.  He was a solid-state physicist working on spectroscopic properties of point defects and paramagnetic ions in condensed matter. Shortly after his arrival, Henderson secured a grant for £30,000 to purchase research equipment, a sum unheard of at Trinity at that time. Henderson introduced extended project work for Senior Sophisters replacing their Laboratory classes. Henderson strongly supported the founding of the Dublin University Physical Society. He moved to Strathclyde University in Scotland in 1984. He left the Trinity physics department flourishing through hiring a significant number of new academic staff, something that was unimaginable for the department decades before. He died on 20^th August 2017.

Sources

1. Eric Finch (2016), Three Centuries of Physics in Trinity College Dublin, Living Edition
2. Wikipedia (29 Jan 2022), Brian Henderson (academic), In Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Henderson_(academic)
3. Mathematics Ireland (Last updated 23 Feb 2023), Mathematical Professorships at Trinity College, Mathematics Ireland http://www.mathsireland.ie/blog/2019_11_cm
4. Image of Brian Henderson, Downloaded From http://www.mathsireland.ie/blog/2019_11_cm