Sir David Evan Naunton (Den) Davies CBE FREng FRS FLSW, who served as President of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 1996 to 2001, has died peacefully at the age of 89.
Sir David became one of the most influential engineers of his generation, advising the government on some of the most sensitive political and defence issues in modern times. He also made significant technical contributions to the development of radar and communications and to higher education policy as Vice Chancellor of Loughborough University, renowned for its engineering focus.
One of his most important contributions was his report to the then Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott on the options available to improve the safety of rail travel in the wake of the disastrous train crash at Ladbroke Grove in October 1999, which killed 31 people and injured many more. Sir David’s reasoned, technically robust report, published in February 2000, provided a voice of calm in the clamour for immediate action. He showed that the cheaper and less technically advanced train protection and warning system that the rail industry was already installing across the UK network would save more lives over 20 years than the far more expensive automatic train protection systems. These were still essential for high-speed lines but would take at least 10 years to fit to the entire network. His recommendations were endorsed by the ensuing public inquiries. He was later asked to become Chair of Railway Safety, a new company set up to promote and oversee rail safety issues.
Sir David pursued his interest in defence after stepping down as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), serving as Non-Executive Chair of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency from 1998 to 2000 and later Chair of the MoD Nuclear Research Advisory Council.
His research work in antenna arrays, radar, signal processing, and optical fibre was highly regarded – he invented fibre optic sensors to measure quantities such as strain and temperature, for which he won the Rank Prize for optoelectronics in 1984. He won the Institution of Electrical Engineers’ (IEE) Faraday Medal in 1987 and was President of the IEE (later the Institution of Engineering and Technology, IET) in 1994-95.
Sir David was elected to the Fellowship (later the Royal Academy) of Engineering in 1979 and as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1984. He was appointed a CBE in 1986 and knighted in 1994 for services to science and technology. He served on the committees of many national bodies, including the BBC Engineering Advisory Committee and the Royal Society’s Science Inquiry Committee.
“Den Davies made an enormous contribution to the UK engineering profession on so many levels, from his important research to his commitment to educating the next generation of engineers. He truly embodied the aims of the Academy in acting in the service of society, as a trusted government advisor on critical issues of national concern, notably on railway safety and defence. He was widely respected right across the profession and left a strong legacy in advancing the Academy’s work during his five years as our President. Our thoughts are with his family and friends,” said Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
