Sir David Wallace CBE FRS FRSE FREng
David Wallace (left) and Peter Higgs
6th Master of Churchill College, Cambridge
In office 2006–2014
Preceded by	John Boyd
Succeeded by	Athene Donald
Personal details
Born	David James Wallace (1945-10-07) 7 October 1945 (age 80)
Spouse	Elizabeth Anne Yeats ​ ​ (m. 1970)​ [1]
Awards	Deputy Lieutenant Harkness Fellowship
Scientific career
Education	Hawick High School
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh (BSc, PhD)
Institutions	University of Cambridge Princeton University University of Southampton Loughborough University University of Edinburgh Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre Harrow School[2] Institute of Physics
Thesis	Applications of current algebras and chiral symmetry breaking (1971)
Doctoral advisor	Peter Higgs[3]
Doctoral students	Christopher Bishop Neil Gunther[3]

Sir David James Wallace (born 7 October 1945) is a British physicist and academic.^[1] He served as Vice-Chancellor of Loughborough University from 1994 to 2005,^[4] and as Master of Churchill College, Cambridge from 2006 to 2014.^[5][6]

Early life and education

Wallace was born on 7 October 1945.^[1][7] He was educated at Hawick High School^[1] in Hawick, Scotland and went to the University of Edinburgh where he earned a degree in Mathematical Physics and a PhD in Elementary particle theory, under the supervision of Peter Higgs.^[3][8][9]

Career

After postdoctoral research work as a Harkness Fellow at Princeton University, Wallace became a physics lecturer at the University of Southampton in 1972.

In 1979 he became the fourth Tait Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Edinburgh, succeeding Nicholas Kemmer. He won the James Clerk Maxwell Medal and Prize in 1980. He became director of the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC) and in 1996 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his computing work.^[1]

Wallace is currently^[when?] vice-president for physical sciences of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, of which he was made a Fellow of in 1982.^[10][11] He was formerly vice-president and treasurer of the Royal Society and chair of the Council for the Mathematical Sciences. From 1994 to January 2006 he was the vice-chancellor of Loughborough University. From 2006 to 2011 he served as director of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge.^[12] Wallace has also been president of the Institute of Physics and Deputy Lieutenant of Leicestershire. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng)^[9] in 1998, and was a commissioner of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 from 2001 to 2011.^[1]

In 2014, the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Loughborough University launched a series of public lectures honouring Wallace. The Sir David Wallace lectures are hosted by the university. Speakers have included Cédric Villani and Michael Berry.^[13]

Personal life

Wallace married Elizabeth Yeats in 1970^[1][2] and has a daughter, Sara.

References