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Laureation by Professor J. C. Eilbeck, Dean of the Faculty of Science, on the occasion of the conferment of the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science upon Professor Martin David Kruskal. (12 July, 2000)

Chancellor,
I have the honour to present for the degree of Doctor of Science - Professor Martin David Kruskal.

Martin is Professor Emeritus at Princeton University and the David Hilbert Professor at Rutgers University.

It is my great good fortune to have known Martin for almost 20 years. As someone who is equally sartorially challenged, I am pleased to say that today is the first time I have seen him wearing a suit, or indeed a tie. It is also the first time that I have lectured in his presence without him having the chance to ask questions or to quiz the speaker on the accuracy of his presentation.

Despite his youthful vigour, Martin was born almost 75 years ago. He gained his first degree at the University of Chicago in 1945 and took his Masters and PhD at New York University. He then moved to Princeton, and spent almost 4 decades at that august institution, where he rubbed shoulders with such greats as Einstein and von Neumann. His first research work was in pure Mathematics, but he quickly moved into the fast-developing field of Plasma physics, the study of the gases of ions and electrons, often heated to high temperatures, that occur in stars and thermonuclear generators. He developed his involvement in Astrophysics and in Mathematics, and for many years held chairs in these two subjects simultaneously. Most recently his work has returned to pure mathematics, the study of surreal numbers, strange objects which are either bigger or smaller than any known decimal numbers but which are neither infinite or zero.

His work in all these areas has produced a collection of seminal research papers that have opened up new fields of mathematics, physics, and astronomy. His work has been recognized by major academic honours including membership of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, foreign membership of the Royal Society of London, and the Russian Academy of natural Sciences. He has been awarded numerous prestigious prizes including the President's National Medal of Science in 1993. Indeed this latter prize was one of the few recorded occasions prior to this at which Martin was observed to wear a tie. The story is told that the tie on that occasion was an outlandish creation purchased at a second hand store, and that President Clinton was much taken with the choice.

You may be wondering what connection this American Professor has with Heriot-Watt University. The story goes back to 1834. A young Scottish scientist, John Scott Russell, was conducting experiments for the Union Canal company to develop a better canal boat, to head off the challenge of the expanding railway system. These experiments were carried out on the canal near what is now the Edinburgh campus of Heriot-Watt University. During one of these trials, the boat suddenly stopped, but the bow wave formed into a great heap of water and sped down the canal as a single solitary wave. Scott Russell chased the Wave on horseback for several miles, before losing it in the windings of the canal. He realized that he had observed a type of wave unknown to science, and described this as one of the happiest days of his life.

Scott Russell's singular observation languished as a backwater of science for over 130 years. In the mid 1960's Martin Kruskal and another American physicist, Norman Zabusky, began a study of a system far removed from water waves, the study of the transport of energy in an atomic crystal. Their computer simulations revealed a remarkable wave that turned out to be the key component of the theory. With one of those quirks which makes mathematics so rewarding, it was found that the equations which described this wave were the same as those which described Scott Russell's canal wave, although on a smaller scale, and that the two waves were mathematically equivalent. To cut a long story short, this novel wave, or soliton as it was named, was found to be common in many areas of mathematics, physics and engineering, and to have many unexpected properties. The pioneering work of Zabusky and Kruskal opened up a new fields of study, with many applications. For example it is probable that the next transatlantic optical fibre cable will be based on soliton technology rather than on conventional optics, giving it even greater capacity for carrying signals.

Unfortunately time does not allow me to go into the same detail of Martin's other, major achievements in many different areas. His love of hard work is legendary - one now famous scientist tells how as a young postgraduate student he asked for an appointment with his supervisor and was directed to Martin's house at 1am. On leaving after an energetic and wide-ranging discussion, he discovered another student on the doorstep with a 2am appointment!

I would not like to leave the impression that Martin's life revolves entirely around mathematics. Following in the footsteps of his mother, both Martin and his wife Laura are expert practitioners of the ancient art of origami. I can also speak with personal knowledge of Martin's love of hiking and swimming. Only last year, at a conference in Islay, he put us all to shame by swimming in a sea which most regarded as too cold even for paddling.

I will finish by trying to explain Martin's driving force. Many of you who are parents will recall that rather annoying phase in a child's life when the child is full of questions as to why and how the world is as it is. Some of us are lucky to retain some shadow of this childhood wonder and are even luckier if we can pursue it as scientists. In Martin's case, this quest is undiminished with a child-like energy that belies his years. Every thought and fact he comes across is relentlessly scrutinized for accuracy and understanding. He is never satisfied until he has got to the heart of the problem, and never happier than when he has made progress towards the solution.

Chancellor, in recognition of his many achievements in mathematics and science, and by the authority of the Senate, I ask you to confer on him the degree of Doctor of Science.