John Currie Gunn

Sir John Currie Gunn (13 September 1916 – 26 July 2002) was an influential Scottish mathematician and physicist.

Early life and education Gunn was born at 19 Kelvinside Gardens East, Glasgow, the son of Richard Robertson Gunn, a tailor and clothier, and his wife, Jane Blair, née Currie.

Gunn attended Glasgow Academy school and subsequently studied at Glasgow University where he was awarded the Logan Prize as Best Arts Student of the Year in 1937. He graduated with a degree in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. Gunn went on to further study at St John's College, Cambridge, where he conducted research in theoretical physics. His research led him to the development of counter and firing systems for mines, which were used during World War II. As a scholar of St John's College, he completed Parts II and III of the Mathematics Tripos examinations. Dee wished to turn Glasgow University into a leading centre of expertise in nuclear and particle physics. This development provided Gunn with an opportunity to explore his newfound interest in those subjects. He was appointed to the Cargill Chair in Applied Physics in 1949. and in the New Year Honours 1982 was appointed a Knight Bachelor.

In 1985 he was awarded the Glazebrook Medal by the Institute of Physics.

Gunn was awarded an honorary D.Sc. (Doctor of Science) by Glasgow in 2001. He also had honorary D.Sc. degrees from Heriot-Watt and Loughborough, and an honorary D. Univ. from Oxford.

Personal life and attributes On 30 September 1944, he married Betty Russum (1919/20–2002), a secretary, who was the daughter of Roger Russum, a brush manufacturer. She predeceased him by only six months. They had one son, Michael, born 1954, who became a theoretical physicist and a professor at Birmingham University, a daughter-in-law, Nicola, and granddaughters, Eva and Lisa.

Gunn was an avid lunchtime chess player and a lifelong cello player and concertgoer, He is described as having "a great love of music" and as being "a keen golfer" who "displayed little interest in other sports." "In personal interaction, alertly clever, he had a comprehension of others," according to one colleague. "Mingling in the Department and University he had humour and lively and persistent conversation. From 1972 to 1982 he was the benevolent Head of a remarkably happy Department."