Obituary: Emeritus professor Thomas John Lewis: 1923–2019

In the field of electrical insulation, Professor T. John Lewis (Prof or TJ to his many students) was a brilliant scientist and one of the most original and creative thinkers of his generation. He made many distinguished contributions to the field spanning a period approaching 7 decades. During this time, his focus moved with technological changes in the electrical supply industry from gaseous to liquid to solid insulators and dielectrics. His interests also encompassed electrostatics, sensors and biological materials. Testament to the excellence of his work were the presentation of the Dakin Award of the IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society (2000), delivery of the J. B. Whitehead Memorial Lecture at the IEEE CEIDP (1976), the first Bill Bright Memorial Lecture at the Institute of Physics International Conference on Electrostatics (1983) and the first Hans Tropper Memorial Lecture at the IEEE International Conference on Dielectric Liquids (1985). In 1995 he was awarded the Eurel Prize for the best European Paper in Electrical Engineering and in 2005, a special issue of IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation was dedicated to John and his work. He also held Fellowships of the IEEE, the Institute of Physics (IoP) and the IET (formerly the IEE).