About James Lighthill
Sir Michael James Lighthill (23 January 1924 – 17 July 1998) was a British applied mathematician, known for his pioneering work in the field of aeroacoustics and for writing the Lighthill report in 1973, which pessimistically stated that "In no part of the field (of AI) have the discoveries made so far produced the major impact that was then promised", contributing to the gloomy climate of AI winter. Whitham, Lighthill set out the first comprehensive theory of kinematic waves (an application of the method of characteristics), with a multitude of applications, prime among them fluid flow and traffic flow. Lighthill founded the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) in 1964, alongside Professor Sir Bryan Thwaites. He also founded non-linear acoustics, and showed that the same non-linear differential equations could model both flood waves in rivers and traffic flow in highways. In 1968, he was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Science) by the University of Bath.
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