# Elfyn Richards

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{{Infobox scientist
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| caption           = Elfyn Richards with first wife Eluned
| birth_name        = Elfyn John Richards
| birth_date        = {{birth date |1914|12|28|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [Barry, Glamorgan](/source/Barry%2C_Glamorgan)
| death_date        = {{death date and age|1995|9|7|1914|12|28|df=y}}
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| workplaces        =  [University of Southampton](/source/University_of_Southampton)
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| alma_mater        = [University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge)
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| doctoral_students = [John Ffowcs Williams](/source/John_Ffowcs_Williams)<ref name=mathgene/>
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Professor '''Elfyn John Richards''' (28 December 1914 &ndash; 7 September 1995) was a [Welsh](/source/Welsh_people) [aeronautical engineer](/source/aeronautical_engineer) and [acoustical engineer](/source/acoustical_engineer), the first professor of either of these subjects at [University of Southampton](/source/University_of_Southampton), where he founded the [Institute of Sound and Vibration Research](/source/Institute_of_Sound_and_Vibration_Research), and was the second [Vice-Chancellor](/source/Vice-Chancellor) of [Loughborough University of Technology](/source/Loughborough_University).<ref name=mathgene>{{MathGenealogy}}</ref>

==Education and early life==
Richards (sometimes known as "Sam") was born in [Barry, Glamorgan](/source/Barry%2C_Glamorgan) on 28 December 1914, and studied at Barry Grammar School, [University College of Wales, Aberystwyth](/source/University_College_of_Wales%2C_Aberystwyth), and [St John's College, Cambridge](/source/St_John's_College%2C_Cambridge), where he read mathematics and physics.<ref name=Indy>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaries-professor-elfyn-richards-1576726.html The Independent, 9 October 1995] Obituaries: Professor Elfyn Richards</ref><ref name=LUT>[http://www.lboro.ac.uk/anniversary/pages/history-vicechancellors.html Loughborough University 40th anniversary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130045208/http://www.lboro.ac.uk/anniversary/pages/history-vicechancellors.html |date=30 November 2009 }} History – Vice-Chancellors of Loughborough University</ref>  

==Career and research==
Richards began his career at the [Bristol Aeroplane Company](/source/Bristol_Aeroplane_Company), then moved to the [National Physical Laboratory](/source/National_Physical_Laboratory_(United_Kingdom)) studying [aerofoil](/source/aerofoil) design. In 1945 he became Chief Aerodynamicist at [Vickers-Armstrong](/source/Vickers-Armstrong), working on designs for the [Vickers Valiant](/source/Vickers_Valiant), [Vickers Viscount](/source/Vickers_Viscount) and [Vickers Valiant](/source/Vickers_Valiant) aircraft.  During this period he developed a research interest in aircraft noise. In 1950 he was appointed the first Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at Southampton University, and in 1963 became Professor of Applied Acoustics at the same university and founded the [Institute of Sound and Vibration Research](/source/Institute_of_Sound_and_Vibration_Research).<ref name=ISVR>[http://www.isvr50.soton.ac.uk/documents/foundation-of-isvr.htm The Foundation of the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research]</ref>  From 1967 to 1975 he was Vice-Chancellor of Loughborough University of Technology.  After this he returned to Southampton University, taking up a chair in the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research.<ref name=Indy/><ref name=LUT/>

===Awards and honours===
Richards was awarded the [OBE](/source/OBE) in 1958 for his work on noise.<ref name=Indy/> (believe it was for the Acoustic design concepts of the de Havilland Comet) He was awarded the Taylor Gold Medal of the [Royal Aeronautical Society](/source/Royal_Aeronautical_Society), the [James Watt Medal](/source/James_Watt_Medal) of the [Institution of Civil Engineers](/source/Institution_of_Civil_Engineers), and the Silver Medal of the [Royal Society of Arts](/source/Royal_Society_of_Arts).<ref name=Indy/>  He served as President of the [British Acoustical Society](/source/Institute_of_Acoustics_(United_Kingdom)) (1968–70) and President of the [Society of Environmental Engineers](/source/Society_of_Environmental_Engineers) (1971–73).<ref name=Indy/>  He was the 1986 recipient<ref>{{cite journal |date=July 1986 |title=Citations - Rayleigh Medal 1986 - Professor Elfyn John Richards |url=https://www.ioa.org.uk/system/files/publications/1986%20July%20Vol.11%20Pt.3.pdf |journal=Acoustics Bulletin |volume=11 |issue=3 |publisher=Institute of Acoustics |page=12 |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref> of the [Rayleigh Medal](/source/Rayleigh_Medal) of the [Institute of Acoustics (United Kingdom)](/source/Institute_of_Acoustics_(United_Kingdom)). He is commemorated in [Elvyn Richards](/source/Elvyn_Richards) student accommodation at Loughborough University.

Richards also received an Honorary Doctorate from [Heriot-Watt University](/source/Heriot-Watt_University) in 1983 <ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www1.hw.ac.uk/graduation/honorary-graduates.htm|title = Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh: Honorary Graduates|last = |website = www1.hw.ac.uk|access-date = 2016-04-05|archive-date = 18 April 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160418163907/http://www1.hw.ac.uk/graduation/honorary-graduates.htm|url-status = dead}}</ref>

===Publications===
''Noise and Acoustic Fatigue in Aeronautics'' by Elfyn John Richards & D. J. Mead  (Wiley) {{ISBN|0-471-71944-7}}

==Personal life==
Richards married 3 times: first in 1941 to Eluned Jones (d. 1978) with whom he had 3 daughters, then in 1986 to Olive Meakin (d. 1989) and in 1990 to Miriam Davidson, who survived him.  He died in [Romsey](/source/Romsey), [Hampshire](/source/Hampshire) on 7 September 1995.<ref name=Indy/><ref>*{{cite web|url=http://www.tresaithcorgis.com/Tresaith-dad-mom.htm|title= My father and mothe, page by daughter of Elfyn Richards|website=tresaithcorgis.com}}</ref>

==References==
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{{succession box|title=Vice-Chancellor of <br>[Loughborough University](/source/Loughborough_University)|before=[Herbert Haslegrave](/source/Herbert_Haslegrave)|after=[Sir Clifford Charles Butler](/source/Clifford_Charles_Butler)|years=1967&ndash;1975}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Elfyn}}
Category:1914 births
Category:1995 deaths
Category:Welsh aerospace engineers
Category:British engineering academics
Category:People from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan
Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Category:Vice-chancellors of Loughborough University
Category:Academics of the University of Southampton
Category:Scientists of the National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom)
Category:20th-century British engineers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Elfyn Richards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfyn_Richards) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfyn_Richards?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.