In conversation with Edward Fraenkel
====================================

Professor Edward Fraenkel is an internationally renowned mathematician born in
Germany in 1927. He’s well known for his work in the field of hydrodynamics, in
particular the Stokes conjecture for the wave of greatest height with Charles
Amick and John Toland, in which he provided a definitive resolution for an idea
first theorised in 1880.


Early years in aeronautics
--------------------------

During the Second World War, Edward was evacuated to Canada, where he went on to
do a degree in aeronautical engineering at the age of 15. “I was 17 when I
learnt about the conformal transformation of a circle into an aerofoil and the
Joukowsky condition for determining the circulation, and I thought it was the
most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

After his master’s he did four years National Service at the Royal Aircraft
Establishment (1948-1952). He spent two years running a supersonic wind tunnel,
testing air intakes and two years in the theoretical section. There, he did what
he refers to as “his first piece of serious mathematics” when he discovered how
to bypass a method for the slender body theory created by M.J. Lighthill in
1947. “In a very small way, I trumped [Lighthill’s] ace.”

He also met his wife, Beryl while there.“I’ve had two great pieces of luck in my
long life. One is Beryl and the other is H.P. Squire, a major figure in fluid
dynamics in those days . . . He said to me, do what you like best because you’ll
be better at it . . . I took his advice. I’ve always gone for what I like best
and I've been rewarded handsomely.”

Life as an academic
-------------------

Edward received his first lectureship at Imperial College London and has held
senior positions at the Universities of Sussex, Cambridge and most recently at
Bath.

In 1989, he was awarded the Senior Whitehead Prize of the London Mathematical
Society and has been a Fellow of the Royal Society since 1993.

At the age of 90, Edward is still working on his own research and is focussed on
completing work on water entry on a wedge that he started with Bryce McLeod.