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Born:

within two days of the discovery of the pion; also a good year for Margaux and QED.

Birthplace:

now occupied by the Peoples Republic of China

Raised in:

  • the dirtiest hole on earth (according to a letter from Engels to Marx);
  • escaped regularly to Eryri (the Mountains of Longing).

    Political affiliation:

    Youth member of the United National Independence Party of Zambia, 1964-5.

    Undergraduate:

  • Soixantehuitard, among dreaming spires;
  • studied physics, but supposedly a Master of Arts.

    Graduate student:

  • Thesis: Electromagnetic properties of the nucleon
  • did not get me a Ph.D.

    Post-doc:

  • SLAC, Stanford (1971-3): forced to visit a score of National Parks
  • CERN, Geneva (1973-4): twisted ankle for the glory of DIV.TH
  • Balliol, Oxford (1974-5): fared better than Jude the Obscure

    Partner:

  • Margaret and I met in Fern Canyon, near Eureka, and camped under the tallest tree in the world, in 1972.
  • We wed in Coventry, in 1975.
  • Results: comparable to auspicious discovery method.

    Also nurtured by:

  • Stephen (born 1977): family personnel and sales manager
  • Peter (born 1980): family system manager

    Job:

  • Lecturer; then Senior Lecturer; then Reader; now Visiting Reader in Physics, at the Open University.
  • Career total of physics undergraduates taught on campus: 0.

    Recreations:

  • Maths (never learnt properly, else it would become hard work);
  • poetry (own and others);
  • red Bordeaux (which failing plain Cabernet Sauvignon will do);
  • protecting local schools from politicians.
  • Apologia pro Vita Sua
  • novels: Top 10
  • music: Desert Island Discs
  • movies: Top 20
  • actors: Top 20

    Quiz answers

    Your obedient server

    David Broadhurst

    23 March 2013