Fred Lockwood
1936 – 2024
It is with sadness that we report the death of Professor Fred Lockwood on 16 February 2024, after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Fred Lockwood was born on 17 October 1936 in London, Ontario, Canada. After graduating from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Fred moved to London to study for a PhD at Imperial College. On completion of this in 1964, Fred joined Professor Brian Spalding’s Heat Transfer section as a lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Department.
Although Fred’s PhD was on Heat Transfer, his interest quickly changed to combustion research. His research involved both experimental studies and mathematical modelling, and encompassed both premixed and diffusion flames. The fuels studied ranged from natural gas, oil, coal and biomass to synthetic fuels. The mathematical modelling and experimental studies spanned from industrial gas turbines, paper, glass, steel and coking boilers to cement/lime kilns and industrial boilers. Fred was an active Board member of the Joint Committee of the International Flame Research Foundation (IFRF) and a member of the steering committees of several leading research organisations, i.e., IFRF, EPSCR. He was a regular contributor to The Combustion Institute through papers, presentations, and reviewing committees. He was awarded the Bernard Lewis Gold Medal of The Combustion Institute, “For brilliant research in the field of combustion” and was named a Fellow of The Combustion Institute in 2018. He authored and co-authored over 250 technical papers and delivered, with colleagues, over 50 short courses on combustion. He was also the founder of combustion and emission reduction consulting firms, CINAR Ltd, London, CINAR S.A., Athens.
Fred also interacted with many internationally leading combustion and heat transfer experts through students exchange and visiting research fellows. Fred’s most celebrated works are the particle dispersion model for fluidised beds (1980), Fire computation: the ‘flashover’ phenomenon (1982) and the discrete transfer method developed by Lockwood and Shah for calculating radiative heat transfer (1983). Fred developed one of the first two-phase combustion computational fluid dynamics codes for coal combustion (1984) and a NOx emission formation/reduction post-processor (1988) for utility boilers. Fred’s team developed a unique and novel multi-fuel combustion and mineral interactive models for the cement, lime, and mining industries (1991). In 1992 the team conducted experimental and modelling research into oxygen enrichment and CO2 recirculation (combine cycle gas turbine and boiler) for CO2 mitigation and energy efficiency; local grid refinement (LGR) was applied for large industrial combustors (1995) and reduced chemistry-based NOx and CO post-processors developed for the process industries (2000). Since his retirement from Imperial College Fred continued to advise Cinar Ltd on modelling and burner modifications for fuel-switch related research, i.e. from coal to biomass and natural gas conversions of cement and lime kilns, 100% net zero CO2 emissions through replacing coal with hydrogen and biomass and thermal input via plasma torches – a UK government sponsored project which demonstrated the first cement kiln operating under net-zero CO2 emissions.
Outside of science, Fred maintained an active life, enjoying sailing and, with his wife, Helen, restored an old Mill House. Upon retirement, he and Helen bought a vineyard in Beaujolais, Maison Buliats, and produced around 20,000 bottles of wine (Régnié). Fred is survived by his wife Helen, their two sons Toby and Freddie, and four grandchildren. He was generous and popular and will be sorely missed by his many friends and colleagues.
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Above “In Memoriam” provided by:
Dr. Tahir Abbas & Professor Bill Jones
The Combustion Institute honors Fred Lockwood’s accomplishments and the work of scientific leaders who make significant contributions for the advancement of many diverse communities around the world.