Alwyn Robbins

Dr Alwyn Robbins, 1920 – 10 January 2002) was a distinguished British geodesist, being Chairman of the Royal Society's Geodesy Subcommittee, and was a Founding Fellow of St Cross College in Oxford.

Robbins’ scientific publications covered a wide field in Geodesy and Photogrammetry, with outstanding contributions to knowledge in Geodetic Astronomy and the design and development of the Chronochord (printing crystal clock). His scientific achievements were recognised by the International Association of Geodesy which elected him Secretary of Section (Control Surveys) of the Association, and President of the Special Study Group on Geodetic Astronomy.

He was a United Kingdom delegate to many international scientific assemblies and symposia. As Chairman of the Geodesy Subcommittee of the National Committee for Geodesy and Geophysics, he was appointed Chief United Kingdom Delegate to the XVI General Assembly of the International Association of Geodesy in Grenoble in 1975 and in Canberra in 1979.

Early life

Alwyn Robbins was born in Lydney in Gloucestershire and educated at Blundell's School in Tiverton and Hertford College in Oxford where he read mathematics (and where he won an open mathematical scholarship and two exhibitions).

In 1940 Robbins obtained a commission in the Survey Branch of the Royal Engineers and was posted to West Africa. Demobilised in 1946, he returned to Oxford to complete his degree, which he was awarded with first class honours.

Career

In 1947 Robbins was appointed Demonstrator in the then Department of Surveying at Oxford and, after successive promotions, he became, in 1966, Reader and Head of the Department of Surveying and Geodesy. His obituary records:

“His work for his B.Sc. degree (converted to M.Sc) involved developing precise formulae for the geometry of long lines on the earth ellipsoid. His D.Phil. project was an investigation of the shape of the geoid - the equipotential surface of the Earth's gravity field that coincides with the sea surface - in England and Scotland. This involved making astronomical observations at 43 Ordnance Survey triangulation points, extending from Dover to John o'Groats - an arduous campaign over several seasons that had to be fitted in with his academic duties. His particular interest in astronomy was the definition and precise measurement of time, and he designed a highly accurate portable printing chronometer for use in geodetic astronomy, which was successfully marketed. He was also the author of a military handbook on the same subject.”

Robbins wrote a number of important papers and held several appointments in committees of the International Association of Geodesy. He was chairman of the Geodesy Sub-committee of the Royal Society. He had extensive international links and spent sabbatical periods in the United States, Canada and New Zealand, as well as a two-year secondment with the Ministry of Defence.

Sources

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