Peter John Bell Clarricoats. 6 April 1932—17 January 2020

Abstract

Peter Clarricoats made fundamental contributions as a microwave engineer in the fields of applied electromagnetics for microwave and optical waveguides, and microwave antenna feeds. Peter was also a pioneer of optical fibres, and established the theory of electromagnetic propagation on dielectric and ferrite structures. In the course of this, he discovered that such structures can, under some conditions, support ‘backward waves’ and that guides can propagate complex modes. Over 40 years of his academic career, Peter Clarricoats had numerous notable achievements, including pioneering designs for shaped reflectors, reconfigurable reflectors and especially corrugated horns for microwave antennas. The latter are now universally used in satellite ground stations and in spacecraft. He published what became standard reference texts on corrugated horns for microwave antennas, microwave horns and feeds. He served as vice-president of both the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the International Union of Radio Science, and from 1998 to 2000 was chairman of the Defence Scientific Advisory Council. He was appointed a CBE in 1996. He is the recipient of the 2001 Distinguished Achievement Award of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Antennas and Propagation Society, and in 2015 he received the Sir Frank Whittle Gold Medal from the Royal Academy of Engineering.