Godfrey Stafford
Encyclopedia
Dr Godfrey Harry Stafford CBE, MA (MSc Capetown, PhD Camb., Hon DSc Birm.) FInstP, FRS (1920) is a British
physicist
and directed the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories from 1969 to 1981. He went on to be a master
at St Cross College, in Oxford
and president of the Institute of Physics
. In 1950 Dr. Stafford married Helen Goldthorp Clark, an Australian biologist. He has a son and twin daughters and lives near Oxford.
in 1989. He received a CBE for his service and is a Fellow of the Royal Society since 1979.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
and directed the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories from 1969 to 1981. He went on to be a master
Master (college)
A Master is the title of the head of some colleges and other educational institutions. This applies especially at some colleges and institutions at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge .- See also :* Master A Master (or in female form Mistress) is the title of the head of some...
at St Cross College, in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and president of the Institute of Physics
Institute of Physics
The Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics. It has a worldwide membership of around 40,000....
. In 1950 Dr. Stafford married Helen Goldthorp Clark, an Australian biologist. He has a son and twin daughters and lives near Oxford.
Early life and the Navy
- Godfrey was born in England in 1920 but moved to South Africa at the age of 8. He attended the University of Cape TownUniversity of Cape TownThe University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
where he came top of his class for Physics and subsequently did an MSc researching cosmic rays in 1941. He joined the South African Naval Forces as a Lieutenant Electrical Officer concerned with degaussingDegaussingDegaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating an unwanted magnetic field. It is named after Carl Friedrich Gauss, an early researcher in the field of magnetism...
in the southern hemisphere. - With the end of hostilities he entered Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, as Ebden Scholar of the University of Cape Town, obtaining his Ph.D. in 1950.
- He later accepted a post with the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial ResearchCouncil for Scientific and Industrial ResearchThe Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is South Africa's central and premier scientific research and development organisation. It was established by an act of parliament in 1945 and is situated on its own campus in the city of Pretoria...
as the Head of its Biophysics Sub-Division. In 1954 after 2½ years in Pretoria, Dr. Gerry Pickavance offered a job at Harwell in the Cyclotron Group.
Rutherford laboratory
- The Rutherford Laboratory came into being in 1957 with Dr. Pickavance as the first Director and Dr. Stafford as the Head of the Proton Linear Accelerator (PLA) Group. The PLA achieved its first full energy beam in 1959. By 1963 with the PLA a well established machine he became responsible for the high energy physics programme for the Nimrod (synchrotron)Nimrod (synchrotron)Nimrod was a 7 GeV proton synchrotron operating in the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the United Kingdom between 1964 and 1978. It was used forstudies of nuclear and sub-nuclearphenomena...
. Dr. Stafford became Deputy Director on 1 April 1966. He has had close association with CERNCERNThe European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
and was a keen supporter of the idea of a European Physical SocietyEuropean Physical SocietyThe European Physical Society is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote physics and physicists in Europe. Formally established in 1968, its membership includes the national physical societies of 41 countries, and some 3200 individual members. The Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft,...
and became a Member of the Steering Committee for its formation. He later acted as Scientific Secretary to the Organising Committee for the inaugural meeting of the Society which was held in Florence in April 1969. He succeeded Gerry Pickavance in 1969 as director of the Rutherford Laboratory. - During his time at the Rutherford labs he oversaw much expansion of the labs including the take over of the Atlas Computer LaboratoryAtlas Computer LaboratoryThe Atlas Computer Laboratory on the Chilton, Oxfordshire campus shared by the Harwell Laboratory was one of the major computer laboratories in the world, which operated between 1961 and 1975 to provide a service to British scientists at a time when powerful computers were not usually available...
by the Rutherford Laboratory in 1975, and the development of prototype superconducting wires for magnets in future CERN accelerators.
Later work and titles
Dr Stafford was the second master of St Cross College, Oxford from 1979 to 1987 and was made president of the Institute of PhysicsInstitute of Physics
The Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics. It has a worldwide membership of around 40,000....
in 1989. He received a CBE for his service and is a Fellow of the Royal Society since 1979.