Dr. David Summers: 1947 - 5 October, 2009

From: John Weaver
Subject: David Summers (1947-2009)

I have some more sad news to report I’m afraid. David Summers died unexpectedly, apparently from a heart attack, at his home in Edinburgh on 5 October 2009. Probably only the more senior members of the induction community will remember Dave because he moved into the area of fluid dynamics for much of his professional career. But his post-graduate and post-doctoral research was in EM Induction and he was an active participant in the first two EM Workshops at least. Dave obtained his BSc in Physics from the University of Victoria and then a Masters degree in EM Induction, graduating in 1971. After a short interlude, he studied for a PhD at the University of Edinburgh under Bruce Hobbs’s supervision, followed by a post-doctoral year at the Geophysical Institute, University of Göttingen. At the time of his death he was teaching mathematics and conducting research in fluid turbulence at Edinburgh Napier University. Dave was also a gifted poet; in addition to his own creative writing he particularly enjoyed translating German and Russian poetry into poetic English. He was a kind and sensitive person who will be sorely missed by his friends in the U.K. and Canada, and by former colleagues in the induction community.

John Weaver
University of Victoria
15 October, 2009