Obituary: James Dodd

James Dodd read Physics as an undergraduate at University College London, and then came to Oxford in 1973 to do the DPhil in Theoretical Physics under the supervision of Jack Paton.

At that time, the Department of Theoretical Physics as it then was, occupied the villas at 12-13 Parks Road. James used to describe how, when he first arrived, he walked into the building and wandered up the stairs, something that could not happen now. On a landing he encountered an elderly gentleman and asked him where the secretarial office was. The gentleman gave him directions, but did not introduce himself. James asked politely who he was talking to – 'I am Peierls' came the answer: Sir Rudolf Peierls came to Oxford from Birmingham in 1963 as the Wykeham Professor of Physics, and founded the Department of Theoretical Physics.

James matriculated at Keble College, subsequently joined St Cross, and in 1976 submitted his thesis entitled 'Topics in the dual unitary approach to high energy hadron collisions'. So, he just caught the end of the era before Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) became ubiquitous in the study of high energy hadron physics. James did not stay in academic physics but, as have many others, joined the finance industry. Among many activities he and Richard Golding, another particle theory graduate student from the same cohort, were founders of Anthem Corporate Finance Ltd.

Although James spent his professional life in finance, he retained an enduring enthusiasm for physics, and a lifelong interest in theoretical particle physics in particular. He came to seminars, went to conferences, and followed the latest developments. He wrote the popular science book The Ideas of Particle Physics, 1984, now in its 4th edition, and along the way gathered two co-authors, Guy Coughlan and Ben Gripaios, both also former Oxford particle theory graduate students. Latterly he was an enthusiastic attender at the Mornings of Theoretical Physics and established the History and Philosophy of Physics conferences.

James remained an ardent supporter of Theoretical Physics in Oxford for the rest of his life. He was joined in this by Richard Golding and in 2009 they both became founder members of the Department of Physics Development Board; together with Adrian Beecorft they played a critical part in the early days of the department's fundraising and alumni relations. James was a steadfast advocate for, and donor to, the CL2 Project that ultimately became the Beecroft Building. In recognition of his contribution, he was given the opportunity to name a room. Self-effacing to a fault, he chose to name the Jack Paton Room after his supervisor.