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{{Short description|Scottish physicist (1912–1998)}}
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{{about|the Scottish physicist|the English cricketer|Sam Curran}}
{{about|the Scottish physicist|the English cricketer|Sam Curran}}
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'''Sir Samuel Crowe Curran''' (23 May 1912 – 25 February 1998), [[Royal Society|FRS]],<ref name="frs">{{Cite journal | last1 = Fletcher | first1 = W. | doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1999.0008 | title = Sir Samuel Crowe Curran. 23 May 1912 – 25 February 1998: Elected F.R.S. 1953 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 45 | pages = 95 | year = 1999 | pmid = | pmc = }}</ref> [[FRSE]] DL LLD, was a [[physicist]] and the first Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the [[University of Strathclyde]] – the first of the new technical universities in Britain.
'''Sir Samuel Crowe Curran''' (23 May 1912 &ndash; 15 February 1998),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/obituary-sir-sam-curran-1148071.htmlM|title=Obituary: Sir Sam Curran|date=3 March 1998|work=[[The Independent]]|first=Tam|last=Dalyell|access-date=2 November 2019}}</ref> [[Royal Society|FRS]],<ref name="frs">{{Cite journal | last1 = Fletcher | first1 = W. | doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1999.0008 | title = Sir Samuel Crowe Curran. 23 May 1912 – 25 February 1998: Elected F.R.S. 1953 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 45 | pages = 95 | year = 1999 | doi-access = free }}</ref> [[FRSE]] was a Scottish [[physicist]] and academic who was the first Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the [[University of Strathclyde]] – the first of the new technical universities in Britain.
He is the inventor of the [[scintillation counter]],<ref name="Who's Who">{{Who's Who|id=U177861 |surname=Curran|othernames= Sir Samuel (Crowe)|type=was}}</ref><ref name="oxforddnb.com">{{cite odnb|id=69524|title=Curran, Sir Samuel Crowe (Sam)}}</ref> the [[proportional counter]],<ref name="Who's Who" /> and the [[proximity fuze|proximity fuse]].<ref name="Brennen, 1968" >{{Citation
He is the inventor of the [[scintillation counter]],<ref name="Who's Who">{{Who's Who|id=U177861 |title=Curran, Sir Samuel (Crowe)|type=was}}</ref><ref name="oxforddnb.com">{{cite odnb|id=69524|title=Curran, Sir Samuel Crowe (Sam)}}</ref> the [[proportional counter]],<ref name="Who's Who" /> and the [[proximity fuze]].<ref name="Brennen, 1968" >{{Citation
|author=Brennen, James W.
|author=Brennen, James W.
|title=The Proximity Fuze ''Whose Brainchild?''
|title=The Proximity Fuze ''Whose Brainchild?''
|publisher=United States Naval Institute Proceedings
|publisher=United States Naval Institute Proceedings
|date=September 1968
|date=September 1968}}</ref>

|postscript=.
To date, Curran remains the longest serving principal and vice chancellor of the [[University of Strathclyde]], holding the post for 16 years, not counting his previous five years as principal of the [[Royal College of Science and Technology]].{{cn|date=December 2022}}
}}</ref> Colleagues generally referred to him simply as '''Sam Curran''' and latterly just as '''Sir Sam'''.


==Life==
==Life==
Samuel Curran was born on 23 May 1912 at [[Ballymena]] in Northern Ireland, the son of John Hamilton Curran (from [[Kinghorn]] in Fife<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/obituary-sir-sam-curran-1148071.html|title=Obituary: Sir Sam Curran|date=3 March 1998|publisher=|accessdate=12 January 2017}}</ref>), and his wife Sarah Carson Crowe (some sources state Sarah Owen Crowe<ref name="royalsoced.org.uk">https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp1.pdf</ref>). The family moved to [[Scotland]] soon after for his father to work as foreman of a steelworks near [[Wishaw]]. His brother [[Robert Curran (physician)|Robert Curran]], later a famous pathologist, was born soon after. He had two other brothers, Hamilton and John.
Samuel Curran was born on 23 May 1912 at [[Ballymena]] in Ireland, the son of John Hamilton Curran (from [[Kinghorn]] in Fife<ref name=Dalyell-1998>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/obituary-sir-sam-curran-1148071.html|title=Obituary: Sir Sam Curran|first=Tam |last=Dalyell |date=3 March 1998| website=The Independent|access-date=12 January 2017}}</ref>), and his wife, Sarah Carson Crowe (some sources state Sarah Owen Crowe<ref name="royalsoced.org.uk">{{Cite book |url=https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp1.pdf |title=Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1783–2002: Part 1 (A–J) |author=C D Waterston |author2=A Macmillan Shearer |publisher=[[Royal Society of Edinburgh]] |isbn=090219884X |date=July 2006 |access-date=18 September 2015 |archive-date=24 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124115814/http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp1.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>).

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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/Biography/Details/5711|title=Munks Roll Details for Robert Crowe Curran|publisher=|accessdate=12 January 2017}}</ref>
The family moved to [[Scotland]] soon after for his father to work as foreman of a steelworks near [[Wishaw]]. His brother [[Robert Curran (physician)|Robert Curran]], later a famous pathologist, was born soon after. He had two other brothers, Hamilton and John.
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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/Biography/Details/5711|title=Munks Roll Details for Robert Crowe Curran|access-date=12 January 2017}}</ref>


After schooling at [[Wishaw]] High School (where he was dux) he completed his first degree in [[mathematics]] earning [[first class honours]], and a [[Ph D|PhD]] in physics at the [[University of Glasgow]], before taking a second PhD at the [[Cavendish Laboratory]] as a member of [[St John's College, Cambridge]].
After schooling at [[Wishaw]] High School (where he was dux) he completed his first degree in [[mathematics]] earning [[first class honours]], and a [[Ph D|PhD]] in physics at the [[University of Glasgow]], before taking a second PhD at the [[Cavendish Laboratory]] as a member of [[St John's College, Cambridge]].
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In 1947 he was elected a Fellow of the [[Royal Society of Edinburgh]]. His proposers were [[Thomas Alty]], [[Philip Dee]], Robert A Houston and James W Cook.<ref name="royalsoced.org.uk"/> In 1953 he became a Fellow of the [[Royal Society]].
In 1947 he was elected a Fellow of the [[Royal Society of Edinburgh]]. His proposers were [[Thomas Alty]], [[Philip Dee]], Robert A Houston and James W Cook.<ref name="royalsoced.org.uk"/> In 1953 he became a Fellow of the [[Royal Society]].


In 1959, he took up the position of principal of the [[Royal College of Science and Technology]] in Glasgow which he led to full university status in 1964 as the [[University of Strathclyde]], being appointed its first Principal and Vice-Chancellor. In doing so, he helped create the first new university in Scotland for 381 years and the first technological university in Britain,<ref name="oxforddnb.com"/> thus initiating the trend of formation of modern technical universities in Britain. Curran was knighted in 1970. He remained at the university until his retirement in 1980. In his honour, the new building for the [[Andersonian Library]] was named after him the following year.
In 1959, he took up the position of principal of the [[Royal College of Science and Technology]] in Glasgow which he led to full university status in 1964 as the University of Strathclyde, being appointed its first principal and vice-chancellor. In doing so, he helped create the first new university in Scotland for 381 years and the first technological university in Britain,<ref name="oxforddnb.com"/> thus initiating the trend of formation of modern technical universities in Britain. Curran was knighted in 1970. He remained at the university until his retirement in 1980, when he was succeeded in the role by [[Graham John Hills|Graham Hills]]. In his honour, the new building for the [[Andersonian Library]] was named after him the following year.


He was the recipient of at least five honorary doctorates including an LLD from both [[Glasgow University]] and [[Aberdeen University]].
He was the recipient of at least five honorary doctorates including an LLD from both [[Glasgow University]] and [[Aberdeen University]].
Curran was the recipient of the 1976 [[St Mungo Prize]], awarded to the individual who has done most in the previous three years to improve and promote the city of Glasgow.<ref name='GlasStory'>{{cite web|title=AP Somervillen|url=http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSS00044|work=A P Somerville|publisher=The Glasgow Story|accessdate=5 August 2017}}</ref>
Curran was the recipient of the 1976 [[St Mungo Prize]], awarded to the individual who has done most in the previous three years to improve and promote the city of Glasgow.<ref name='GlasStory'>{{cite web|title=AP Somervillen|url=http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSS00044|work=A P Somerville|publisher=The Glasgow Story|access-date=5 August 2017}}</ref>


Following the birth of a handicapped daughter, the Currans set up the Scottish Association of Parents of Handicapped Children, now known as 'Enable'<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.enable.org.uk/|title=Enable_Home|publisher=|accessdate=12 January 2017}}</ref> with Samuel Curran serving as its president from 1964 to 1991.
Following the birth of a handicapped daughter, the Currans set up the Scottish Society for the Parents of Mentally Handicapped Children, now known as [[Enable Scotland]],<ref>{{cite news |date=19 February 1999 |newspaper=The Independent |first=Tam |last=Dalyell |title=Obituary: Joan Curran |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-joan-curran-1071704.html |access-date= 14 March 2015 }}</ref> with Samuel Curran serving as its president from 1964 to 1991.


Samuel Curran died on 15 February 1998 in hospital in Glasgow, aged 85.
Samuel Curran died on 15 February 1998 in hospital in Glasgow, aged 85.
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==Family==
==Family==


He was married to [[Joan Curran|Joan Strothers]], a scientist involved with the invention of anti-radar tactics such as ''Operation Window'' at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. They married soon after his posting to Farnborough in 1940, having known her earlier during his [[Cambridge]] days.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/obituary-sir-sam-curran-1148071.htmlM|title=Obituary: Sir Sam Curran|date=3 March 1998|publisher=|accessdate=12 January 2017}}</ref>
He was married to [[Joan Curran|Joan Strothers]], a scientist involved with the invention of anti-radar tactics such as ''Operation Window'' at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. They married soon after his posting to Farnborough in 1940, having known her earlier during his [[Cambridge]] days.<ref name="Dalyell-1998" />


==Major publications==
==Major publications==
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{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==Sources==
* Latham, Colin & Stobbs, Anne: ''Pioneers of Radar'' (1999, Sutton, England) {{ISBN|0-7509-2120-X}} (Contribution from Sir Samuel & Lady Curran, pp 194–196)
* Latham, Colin & Stobbs, Anne: ''Pioneers of Radar'' (1999, Sutton, England) {{ISBN|0-7509-2120-X}} (Contribution from Sir Samuel & Lady Curran, pp 194–196)



{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Scottish people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Scottish people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Scottish physicists]]
[[Category:Scottish physicists]]
[[Category:St Mungo Prize recipients]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[Category:People from Ballymena]]

Latest revision as of 11:07, 22 June 2024

This article is about the Scottish physicist. For the English cricketer, see Sam Curran.

Sir Samuel Crowe Curran (23 May 1912 – 15 February 1998),[1] FRS,[2] FRSE was a Scottish physicist and academic who was the first Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde – the first of the new technical universities in Britain. He is the inventor of the scintillation counter,[3][4] the proportional counter,[3] and the proximity fuze.[5]

To date, Curran remains the longest serving principal and vice chancellor of the University of Strathclyde, holding the post for 16 years, not counting his previous five years as principal of the Royal College of Science and Technology.[citation needed]

Life

[edit]

Samuel Curran was born on 23 May 1912 at Ballymena in Ireland, the son of John Hamilton Curran (from Kinghorn in Fife[6]), and his wife, Sarah Carson Crowe (some sources state Sarah Owen Crowe[7]).

The family moved to Scotland soon after for his father to work as foreman of a steelworks near Wishaw. His brother Robert Curran, later a famous pathologist, was born soon after. He had two other brothers, Hamilton and John. [8]

After schooling at Wishaw High School (where he was dux) he completed his first degree in mathematics earning first class honours, and a PhD in physics at the University of Glasgow, before taking a second PhD at the Cavendish Laboratory as a member of St John's College, Cambridge.

At the start of the Second World War Curran and Strothers went to work at the Telecommunications Research Establishment at Worth Matravers on the development of radar. In 1944, he moved to the University of California, Berkeley to participate in the Manhattan Project, developing the atomic bomb. There he invented the scintillation counter by adding a photomultiplier tube to an existing scintillation crystal which had previously been viewed by the human eye to obtain a radiation count.[3] This device is widely used to this day to measure ionizing radiation.

Alpha scintillation probe based on Curran's principle under calibration.

After the war Curran worked at the University of Glasgow and at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston and invented the proportional counter[3] in 1948.

In 1947 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Thomas Alty, Philip Dee, Robert A Houston and James W Cook.[7] In 1953 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society.

In 1959, he took up the position of principal of the Royal College of Science and Technology in Glasgow which he led to full university status in 1964 as the University of Strathclyde, being appointed its first principal and vice-chancellor. In doing so, he helped create the first new university in Scotland for 381 years and the first technological university in Britain,[4] thus initiating the trend of formation of modern technical universities in Britain. Curran was knighted in 1970. He remained at the university until his retirement in 1980, when he was succeeded in the role by Graham Hills. In his honour, the new building for the Andersonian Library was named after him the following year.

He was the recipient of at least five honorary doctorates including an LLD from both Glasgow University and Aberdeen University. Curran was the recipient of the 1976 St Mungo Prize, awarded to the individual who has done most in the previous three years to improve and promote the city of Glasgow.[9]

Following the birth of a handicapped daughter, the Currans set up the Scottish Society for the Parents of Mentally Handicapped Children, now known as Enable Scotland,[10] with Samuel Curran serving as its president from 1964 to 1991.

Samuel Curran died on 15 February 1998 in hospital in Glasgow, aged 85.

Family

[edit]

He was married to Joan Strothers, a scientist involved with the invention of anti-radar tactics such as Operation Window at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. They married soon after his posting to Farnborough in 1940, having known her earlier during his Cambridge days.[6]

Major publications

[edit]
  • Counting Tubes (1949), S.C. Curran, Academic Press (New York), (with J. D. Craggs)
  • Luminescence and the Scintillation Counter (1953)
  • Alpha, Beta and Gamma Ray Spectroscopy (1964)
  • Energy Resources and the Environment (1976)
  • Energy and Human Needs (1979) (with J. S. Curran)
  • Issues in Science and Education (1988)

Various papers on nuclear researches and education in Procedures of the Royal Society

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Dalyell, Tam (3 March 1998). "Obituary: Sir Sam Curran". The Independent. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  2. ^ Fletcher, W. (1999). "Sir Samuel Crowe Curran. 23 May 1912 – 25 February 1998: Elected F.R.S. 1953". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 45: 95. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1999.0008.
  3. ^ a b c d "Curran, Sir Samuel (Crowe)". Who's Who & Who Was Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ^ a b "Curran, Sir Samuel Crowe (Sam)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/69524. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. ^ Brennen, James W. (September 1968), The Proximity Fuze Whose Brainchild?, United States Naval Institute Proceedings
  6. ^ a b Dalyell, Tam (3 March 1998). "Obituary: Sir Sam Curran". The Independent. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  7. ^ a b C D Waterston; A Macmillan Shearer (July 2006). Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1783–2002: Part 1 (A–J) (PDF). Royal Society of Edinburgh. ISBN 090219884X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  8. ^ "Munks Roll Details for Robert Crowe Curran". Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  9. ^ "AP Somervillen". A P Somerville. The Glasgow Story. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  10. ^ Dalyell, Tam (19 February 1999). "Obituary: Joan Curran". The Independent. Retrieved 14 March 2015.

Sources

[edit]
  • Latham, Colin & Stobbs, Anne: Pioneers of Radar (1999, Sutton, England) ISBN 0-7509-2120-X (Contribution from Sir Samuel & Lady Curran, pp 194–196)
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