Ian Morison

Ian Morison (22 November 1943 – 13 April 2024) was a British astronomer and astrophysicist who served as the 35th Gresham Professor of Astronomy.

Background Ian Morison was born in Felpham, England on 22 November 1943. He attended Chichester High School before going on to study Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy at Hertford College, University of Oxford.

Morison lived in Macclesfield, England with his wife, Judy. He died on 13 April 2024, at the age of 80.

Career and recognition

Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics Morison joined the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory as a research student in 1965 before becoming a staff member in 1970. Initially working on data acquisition systems for the observatory's own instruments including the Lovell and Mk II radio telescopes, he went on to play a key role in the development of MERLIN, an array of radio telescopes with a resolution in the radio spectrum comparable to that of the Hubble Space Telescope in the optical.

Gresham College On 1 August 2007, Morison was appointed as the 35th Gresham Professor of Astronomy, a position previously held by Christopher Wren. He followed John D. Barrow and preceded Carolin Crawford. In this role he delivered a series of 25 public lectures on astronomy and astrophysics. The four-year period of Gresham Professorship came to an end in August 2011.

Association with Astronomical Societies Morison was a founding member and patron of Macclesfield Astronomical Society. He was a former council member and president of the Society for Popular Astronomy and patron of Ewell Astronomical Society.

Ian was a popular speaker at many astronomical societies, speaking about the history of the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank, and also about how amateur astronomers can get started with astrophotography.

Asteroid Main belt asteroid 15727 Ianmorison was named after Morison.

Journals

Lyne, A. G.; Morison, I (2017). "The Lovell Telescope and its role in pulsar astronomy". Nature Astronomy. Volume 1 835–840