Intersection between academia and international chess titles
-
- Posts: 8839
- Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2010 2:34 am
- Location: London
Re: Intersection between academia and international chess titles
Have been trying without success to track down some of these theses...
Can anyone list the universities the above named players did their doctoral studies at? I know Nunn was famously Oxford, and Rowson was Bristol, but unsure of the others. It is not trivial as most sources seem to skip Jonathan Penrose's education. Mestel and McNab should be easier.
Can anyone list the universities the above named players did their doctoral studies at? I know Nunn was famously Oxford, and Rowson was Bristol, but unsure of the others. It is not trivial as most sources seem to skip Jonathan Penrose's education. Mestel and McNab should be easier.
-
- Posts: 10384
- Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:12 am
- Location: Bolton, Greater Manchester
Re: Intersection between academia and international chess titles
Mestel obtained his PhD with the thesis "Magnetic Levitation of Liquid Metals" at University of Cambridge according to wiki
McNab is a doctor of Mathematics, having studied for a DPhil at the University of Oxford under the supervision of Peter Neumann, also wiki
McNab is a doctor of Mathematics, having studied for a DPhil at the University of Oxford under the supervision of Peter Neumann, also wiki
Any postings on here represent my personal views
-
- Posts: 8839
- Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2010 2:34 am
- Location: London
Re: Intersection between academia and international chess titles
Thanks.
Colin McNab:
https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.e ... p?id=46135
https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.e ... ?id=216891
https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.e ... p?id=50504
Colin McNab:
https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.e ... p?id=46135
John Nunn:D.Phil. University of Oxford 1987 UnitedKingdom
Dissertation: Some Problems on Permutation Groups
Mathematics Subject Classification: 20—Group theory and generalizations
Advisor: Peter Michael Neumann
https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.e ... ?id=216891
Jonathan Mestel:D.Phil. University of Oxford 1978 UnitedKingdom
Dissertation: Some problems in algebraic topology
Mathematics Subject Classification: 55—Algebraic topology
Advisor 1: John Reginald Hubbuck
https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.e ... p?id=50504
Mestel appears to be the only one who went on to supervise future doctoral students himself.Ph.D. University of Cambridge 1982 UnitedKingdom
Dissertation: Magnetic Levitation of Liquid Metals
Advisor: Michael R. E. Proctor
Last edited by Christopher Kreuzer on Mon Mar 11, 2024 7:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
- Posts: 8839
- Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2010 2:34 am
- Location: London
Re: Intersection between academia and international chess titles
Jonathan Rowson:
https://bris.on.worldcat.org/oclc/931568504
School of Education
Supervised by cognitive scientist (and professor of Education) Guy Claxton
Still drawing a blank on Jonathan Penrose.
https://bris.on.worldcat.org/oclc/931568504
Ph.D. University of Bristol, 2009From wisdom-related knowledge to wise acts : refashioning the concept of wisdom to improve our chances of becoming wiser
School of Education
Supervised by cognitive scientist (and professor of Education) Guy Claxton
Still drawing a blank on Jonathan Penrose.
-
- Posts: 8839
- Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2010 2:34 am
- Location: London
Re: Intersection between academia and international chess titles
The doctoral work by Jonathan Penrose turns out to be the most fascinating of the lot (to me):
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ItQ ... J&pg=PT131
He was (starting in 1958) the first doctoral student of Peter Cathcart Wason. And the link I gave above is to a biography of Wason that explains how this work helped prime aspects of Wason's future research.
Beyond Reasoning: The Life, Times and Work of Peter Wason, Pioneering Psychologist by Ken Manktelow (2020) actually contains a wealth of references to chess (and Jonathan Penrose) all well worth a read.
For the record, the Ph.D. thesis by Penrose:
Penrose, J. ( 1962 ) 'An investigation into some aspects of problem-solving behaviour', University of London
(EDIT: I think that like the other Penrose brothers, Jonathan attended first University College School and then University College, London, where Wason taught in whichever department Experimental Psychology was under then. Unlike his brothers (Oliver and Roger), who did their doctoral work at Cambridge, Jonathan appears to have stayed on at University College (where their father Lionel was a professor) to do his doctoral work. Their sister, Shirley, studied at Oxford.)
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ItQ ... J&pg=PT131
He was (starting in 1958) the first doctoral student of Peter Cathcart Wason. And the link I gave above is to a biography of Wason that explains how this work helped prime aspects of Wason's future research.
Beyond Reasoning: The Life, Times and Work of Peter Wason, Pioneering Psychologist by Ken Manktelow (2020) actually contains a wealth of references to chess (and Jonathan Penrose) all well worth a read.
For the record, the Ph.D. thesis by Penrose:
Penrose, J. ( 1962 ) 'An investigation into some aspects of problem-solving behaviour', University of London
(EDIT: I think that like the other Penrose brothers, Jonathan attended first University College School and then University College, London, where Wason taught in whichever department Experimental Psychology was under then. Unlike his brothers (Oliver and Roger), who did their doctoral work at Cambridge, Jonathan appears to have stayed on at University College (where their father Lionel was a professor) to do his doctoral work. Their sister, Shirley, studied at Oxford.)
-
- Posts: 5839
- Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:28 pm
Re: Intersection between academia and international chess titles
"Some problems in algebraic topology"
This reminds me that John Nunn commented that when one of his ending books was published, he got a phone call from a fellow GM saying the book was too difficult, and John responded, "Chess is difficult!"
This reminds me that John Nunn commented that when one of his ending books was published, he got a phone call from a fellow GM saying the book was too difficult, and John responded, "Chess is difficult!"
-
- Posts: 665
- Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 11:01 pm
- Location: North of England
Re: Intersection between academia and international chess titles
Not a surprise, as Mestel is the one who stayed to make a career in academia and ultimately became a full Professor. His dad Leon (1927-2017) was a very distinguished astrophysicist, of course, FRS and Eddington Medal.Christopher Kreuzer wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2024 7:08 pmMestel appears to be the only one who went on to supervise future doctoral students himself.
If e.g. John Nunn had stayed a University academic, he would doubtless have supervised doctoral students too, as it's an expected part of the job description in an academic lecturer post. But wouldn't have been common to supervise doctoral students as an early career research fellow in the 70s, as JDMN was before he went chess pro.
-
- Posts: 21322
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:51 pm
Re: Intersection between academia and international chess titles
Isn't the story that despite being at Oxford since he was 13 or 14, he was made redundant at the age of around 24 because of funding cuts in the early 1980s? So he had to find another profession.AustinElliott wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2024 11:44 pmBut wouldn't have been common to supervise doctoral students as an early career research fellow in the 70s, as JDMN was before he went chess pro.