We greatly regret that we have to report the death of Professor John Allen, Univ’s Fellow and Praelector in Engineering from 1965-96, on 19 August at the age of 97.

John was elected as our second Engineering Fellow in 1965. He had read Electrical Engineering at the University of Liverpool, both as an undergraduate and a postgraduate. From 1952-8 he worked in the Controlled Thermonuclear Reaction Group at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, researching aspects of plasma physics. In 1958, John was invited to set up a plasma physics group at the University of Rome. There he built up the Labotarorio dei Gas Ionazzati (Eurotom), and lectured at Rome University. In 1964 he returned to England to take up a post in Cambridge, but almost at once moved to Oxford, which was ideally situated near Culham and Harwell, where he could continue his plasma work.

Plasma physics remained John’s chief area of study for the rest of his life, and he continued to research and write on the subject long after he had retired. In 1989 his achievements were recognised when he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. His citation declared that he had been awarded it “for his contribution to the understanding of high-current discharges, thermally produced plasmas, Langmuir probes and sheaths, and waves in plasmas.” Within the university, he was responsible for creating an MSc course on the Science of Electric Plasmas. He also, of course, taught many generations of Univ’s Engineering undergraduates and supervised many graduate students. Apart from his research and teaching, John served as our Admissions Officer from 1992-3, and as Dean from 1994-6.

John remained a regular and friendly presence at Univ well into his retirement, and we in the College send our deepest condolences to his family.

Published: 25 August 2026