Professor B L Moiseiwitsch BSc PhD MRIA FIoP (died suddenly on 16 September 2016, aged 88)
Obituary supplied by the Moiseiwitsch family
Born in London on 06 December 1927 to Jacob and Chana Moiseiwitsch, Benjamin Lawrence (Benno) was the last surviving of their three children; Daniel (1944) and Victoria (2012).
He had a career interest in theoretical studies in atomic, molecular and optical physics, receiving his PhD in Applied Mathematics from University College London in 1952 before moving almost immediately to Belfast to take up an academic position at Queen’s.
Initially appointed as a lecturer, he was successively promoted to reader, received a personal chair in Applied Mathematics in 1968, was Dean of the Faculty of Science from 1972 to 1975, and became Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics in 1977. He remained in that role until 1989 before retiring in 1993.
During his time at Queen’s he published the first of his three books Variational Principles (1966) and was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (1969).
While he had numerous research collaborations around the world, travelling extensively in North and South America, India and throughout Europe, Professor Moiseiwitsch always returned to Belfast.
After his appointment as Professor Emeritus in Applied Mathematics at Queen’s he continued to be active, publishing his third and most recent book, How to Solve Applied Mathematics Problems, (2011).
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Sheelagh, and their four children – Tanya (Coppel), Lisa (Masterman), Julian and Nicholas, by eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
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