Alice Christine Stickland

Summary

Alice Christine Stickland (16 March 1906 – 16 April 1987) was an applied mathematician and astrophysics engineer with interests in radar and radiowave propagation.[1]

Alice Christine Stickland
Born16 March 1906
Died16 April 1987
OccupationEngineer

Early life edit

Alice Christine Stickland was born in Camberwell, London, on 16 March 1906. Her father was a publisher's clerk.[1]

Education edit

Stickland studied mathematics at King's College, London, and graduated with a BSc in 1927.[2] She then went on to study privately while working at the Radio Research Station, Ditton Park. First receiving an MSc in mathematical physics in 1929 and then being awarded a PhD in mathematical physics from University of London in 1943. Her dissertation title was ‘The Propagation of the Magnetic Field of the Electron Magnetic Wave along the Ground and in the Lower Atmosphere’.[2]

Career edit

Stickland worked as a scientific civil servant at the Radio Research Station between 1928 and 1947. She worked with radar pioneer, Robert Watson-Watt, on long-wave propagation, Reginald Smith-Rose on short-wave propagation, and Edward Appleton on the properties of the ionosphere.

Stickland, along with Smith-Rose, read a paper entitled 'Ultra-Short Wave Propagation - Comparison Between Theory and Experimental data' at the Institution of Electrical Engineers. The paper described the results of field intensity measurements obtained between 1937 and 1939 using the Post Office radio-telephone link between Guernsey and Chaldon.[3]

She officially retired in 1968 but continued to work as General Editor of the Annals of the International Years of the Quiet Sun (1964-65),[4] and with the International Council for Science’s Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). She was heavily involved in the Girl Guides’ Association.[1]

Selected publications edit

  • Ultra-Short Wave Propagation - Comparison Between Theory and Experimental data - Dr. R. L. Smith-Rose, Miss A. C. Stickland[5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "41: Alice stickland". Magnificent Women. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b "In memoriam Alice Christine Stickland 1906–1987". COSPAR Information Bulletin. 1987 (109): 4–6. 1 August 1987. doi:10.1016/0045-8732(87)90193-8. ISSN 0045-8732.
  3. ^ "Ultra-Short Radio Wave Propagation". Nature. 151 (3818): 31–32. 1 January 1943. doi:10.1038/151031b0. ISSN 1476-4687.
  4. ^ Press, The MIT. "Annals of the International Years of the Quiet Sun, Volume 7 | The MIT Press". mitpress.mit.edu. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  5. ^ Stickland, Christine (March 1939). "Ultra-Short Wave Propagation - Comparison between Theory and Experimental data" (PDF). The Wireless Engineer: 111–120.