Born in Derbyshire, Ron Pearson (1925-2016) began his engineering career with an apprenticeship, while studying part-time for a BSc (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering. He served as a Research Officer at the National Gas Turbine Establishment, Whetstone, Leicestershire before pursuing independent research and establishing Rotary Power Ltd to develop the Gas Wave Turbine. Pearson entered academia in 1962 at the University of Liverpool. In 1967 he joined the Faculty of Engineering at the newly founded University of Bath, where he remained until 1985.

From the 1970s Pearson was a pioneer of research into green technologies. Concerned by predictions that the climate would become warmer and resources scarcer by the 21st century, Pearson explored long-term alternative energy strategies. These included marine biomass fuels, pulse combustion heat pumps, and a thermodynamic infrastructure designed to reduce the irreversible effects of climate change and improve the nation’s energy resilience. His conceptual designs anticipated energy systems thinking that would only gain mainstream relevance decades later.

The collection contains research papers, lecture notes, publications and associated material relating to the Gas Wave Turbine, green technologies and cosmology.

The collection is not yet fully catalogued. Please email the University Archivist for further details.

Size: 35 boxes (approx).