Derek Naylor

Derek Naylor was born in 1929 in Sunderland, England to John and Miriam Naylor. At the age of 18, in 1948, he left home to become a student at King's College in London. He graduated in 1953 with his Ph.D in Aerodynamics.

Professor Naylor then briefly continued his studies at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island before returning to the United Kingdom where he worked as an Aerodynamicist for A.V. Roe (AVRO). Professor Naylor's work at AVRO was concerned with the Vulcan delta wing bomber, his specialty being the aerodynamics of wing theory.

In 1956 he moved to Canada to teach Applied and Pure Mathematics at the University of Toronto. Six years later he returned to the United Kingdom, this time to work at the Royal College of Science and Technology in Glasgow. In 1963 he moved his family to Canada after being offered a teaching position at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. Professor Naylor taught in the Applied Mathematics Department until his retirement in December 2000.

Professor Naylor published academic papers well into his eighties. In 1966 he was co-author (with George Duff) of a book - Differential Equations of Applied Mathematics - which is still available for reference today.

Derek Naylor is survived by his wife Kathleen, his sons Marvin, Steven and Andrew, and grandsons Drake and Jude.