Background
Nyman Levin was the son of Leibisch Levin and Annie Levene. There was one brother, Barnett, and several half-siblings, Annie, Fanny, Solomon and Mary.
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Nyman Levin
Edit ProfileEducation
Levin attended the Central Foundation Boys" School, where he specialised in physics. Foreign four years after leaving school, he went to evening classes at Sir John Cass" College while working in the family firm. His studies continued with a London County Council scholarship to Imperial College.
Career
At the outbreak of World World War II, Levin was recruited into military research and made a "significant contribution" to the development of radar, at the H H Wills Physics Laboratory at the University of Bristol. Radar research and development continued at the Admiralty Signal Establishment at Haslemere after 1941. Two years later, Levin led a project to establish Very High Frequency systems along the south coast of England to support the Doctorate-Day landings and the subsequent campaign.
There were also ground-breaking experiments with signals beyond line of sight.
Despite his lack of practical experience in this field, Levin"s project was highly successful. After the war, Levin stayed with the Royal Naval Scientific Servce, attracted by the scope of the work.
He moved to the Admiralty Research Laboratory at Teddington and resumed his specialism in optics, taking charge of the instrumentation and optics group. In this role, naval instruments were developed, including radar displays that incorporated maps.
He was appointed Superintendent of the Admiralty Gunnery Establishment in 1951 and while he was in this post, sea-borne control systems for the Sea Slug missile were successfully developed and implemented.
However, his interest had moved to managing people and administration. In search of new challenges, Levin left the scientific civil service in 1955 and joined Rank Precision Industries as Chief of Research and Development with a remit to find and develop new product ranges. Levin found this task highly stimulating, finding and promoting new projects and establishing a substantial research team
By now, he did not lead detailed work, preferring to employ good subordinates and to trust their methods.
This period in private industry enabled him to learn about its associated problems and methods. The offer, in 1958, of the post of Deputy Director at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston, posed a difficult choice for Levin but nuclear physics was another new field for him and the novelty attracted him.
He was soon appointed Director and held this post until 1965.
Membership
Doctor Nyman Levin died on 26 January 1965 of a heart attack, a week after being appointed as a member of the Atomic Energy Authority.
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Born
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Died
January 25, 1965 (aged 58) -
Nationality
British