Reginald W. Powell

10th International Thermal Conductivity Conference Award Winner 1970

Dr. Reginald W. Powell earned his Ph.D. from University College in 1938, for his thesis on “Thermal and Electrical Conductivities of Metals and Alloys”. During the first few years of his career, Powell devoted his studies to heat transfer research on wet materials and improvements in drying of flax, and later focused on research and development of experimental methods. In 1924, Powell was appointed Junior Scientific Officer at the National Physical Laboratory, where he worked until his retirement as Senior Principal Scientific Officer in 1964. After retiring, he joined Professor Yeram Touloukian as a consultant scientist at the Thermophysical Properties Research Center, publishing data for the Thermophysical Properties of Matter series. Throughout his career, Powell was a member of several groups and committees, including the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the Low Temperature Group of the Institute of Physics, the British National Committee for Physics, and the International Institute of Refrigeration. As the author and co-author of over 150 peer reviewed papers, Powell was awarded the 1936 Moulton Gold Medal for his paper “The Evaporation of Water from Plane and Cylindrical Surfaces”.

Most Cited Works by Reginald Powell:

1. Ho, C.Y., Powell, R.W., Liley, P.E. 1972. Thermal conductivity of the elements. Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data, 279.
2. Powell, R.W., Ho, C.Y., Liley, P.E. 1966. Thermal conductivity of selected materials. NSRDS-NBS 8 National Standard Reference Data Series – National Bureau of Standards – 8.
3. Ho, C.Y., Powell, R.W., Liley, P.E. 1974. Thermal Conductivity of the Elements: A Comprehensive Review. National Standard Reference Data System.