Geoffrey M. Lilley: a very brief biography

摘要

This introductory article is an attempt to highlight some background information as well as some career highlights for Professor Geoffrey M. Lilley. Though an attempt has been made to describe some earlier activities, there is an emphasis on those achievements made after I crossed paths with Professor Lilley in 1964. In the next article in this special issue Bob Westley gives a much lengthier description of his collaborations with Professor Lilley at Cranfield College of Aeronautics in the 1940's and 50's. It must be left to others, including Professor Lilley himself, to expand on the brief biography and bibliography compiled here. I have kept the account very factual and that may make it somewhat dry reading, though the breadth of Professor Lilley's achievements may come as a surprise to some. It did to me. If I had chosen to include my recollections of Professor Lilley's many stories of his adventures around the world, this article would have been much much longer. Also, I could never do these stories justice, as Professor Lilley's skill as a raconteur is unrivalled. I hope that this article will give the reader some sense of Professor Lilley's contributions to aerospace engineering and science for more than seven decades.