OBITUARY*

DAVID

S. B R O W N

(1927-1987)

It is highly appropriate that this volume, which catalogues the exciting progress made towards the realisation of the Japanese National Large Telescope, be dedicated to David Brown, an influential figure in the design of postwar astronomical telescopes, a friend and colleague to many contributors to these proceedings, and a pioneer in the never-ending campaign for larger, more cost-effective telescopes. David Scatcherd Brown was born in 1927 at Coventry in England, graduated from Cambridge and worked with the firm of Sir Howard Grubb Parsons, at Newcastle, from 1950 to 1985. He was appointed optical manager in 1961 and technical director in 1975. This period marked the renaissance of British optical astronomy and Brown's team at Grubb-Parsons was responsible for a succession of telescopes including the 2.4 m Isaac Newton, the 3.9 m Anglo-Australian, the 1.2 m UK Schmidt, the 3.5 m UK Infrared Telescope and, most recently, the highly-acclaimed 4.2 m Wilfiam Herschel Telescope. In addition, the team produced many telescopes and optical components for foreign observatories. Brown's name was associated with the production of high quality mirror Astrophysics and Space Science 160: 393-394, 1989. 9 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in Belgium.

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surfaces, and his remarkable knowledge of all aspects of telescope manufacture was in great demand worldwide. Brown's contributions to astronomy earned him an honorary doctorate from Durham University in 1981 and when Grabb-Parsons closed in 1985, he was made the Science and Engineering Council Grubb-Parsons Fellow at Durham. He had already begun directing his attention to numerous aspects concerned with the next generation of large telescopes via studies at the University of Arizona and here in Japan. He spent several weeks in Japan as an invited scholar of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science and was a key figure in the 1987 JNLT workshop. He became the primary technical consultant to the UK Large Telescope Panel when it was formed in 1986 and contributed substantially to that study reported in these proceedings. David Brown died suddenly after a short illness on July 17, 1987, aged only 60 years. He had only just returned from a second extended visit to Tokyo during which time the UKLT Panel's made its first visit. Those who knew David will remember him as a quiet but friendly man. He complained very rarely about anything, else than funding shortages and the frustrations and delays which these bring to all ambitious projects. Like all of us, he enjoyed the immense hospitality he received in Japan. He spoke frequently about his rides on the Shinkansen (and complained only about Japanese tables with six-inch legs!). His enthusiasm and wisdom is sorely missed in a subject where everyone shares knowledge to push the frontiers ahead. I am happy that the organisers of this meeting decided to dedicate the proceedings to David. He would be proud of the progress shown in the many significant articles in this volume, and particularly those relating to the JNLT. With all of us, he would wish the JNLT great success in the coming years. RICHARD S. ELLIS