David Spence (mathematician)

David Allan Spence FIMA FRAeS (3 January 1926 – 7 September 2003) was a mathematician who applied his mathematical skills in the aeronautics industry, and to the understanding of geophysical problems. He was born and educated in New Zealand, later moving to England, to take up a Doctorate in Engineering at Clare College, Cambridge. He was employed for a period of time at the then Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, after which he was appointed to the Engineering Department of the University of Oxford, where he stayed for twenty years. Later, he held the position of Professor of Mathematics at Imperial College London.