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William Gosling (engineer)

William Gosling (engineer) is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand William Gosling (engineer) rather than just read about it. In short: William Gosling (born 1932) is a British electrical engineer, Emeritus Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Bath, and pioneer of system design in electrical engineering. Biography Gosling received his ARCS at the Imperial College in London in 1953 under George Paget Thomson, and spent his career both in industry and education.

Key takeaways

  • William Gosling (engineer) belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect William Gosling (engineer) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of William Gosling (engineer) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

William Gosling (born 1932) is a British electrical engineer, Emeritus Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Bath, and pioneer of system design in electrical engineering.

Biography Gosling received his ARCS at the Imperial College in London in 1953 under George Paget Thomson, and spent his career both in industry and education. Early 1960s he wrote a series of books, which contributed to the establishment of systems design and systems engineering. In 1967, Gosling became Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Swansea University. From 1969 to 1971, he was Chair of the Design Research Society. In 1974, he became Professor of Electronic Engineering at the University of Bath, where he remained affiliated for the rest of his career. In the 1970s, he also became Technical Director of Plessey, a British-based international electronics, defence and telecommunications company. Here he managed a division with over fifteen hundred scientists and engineers. In 1978, he was elected President of EUREL (Convention of National Societies of Electrical Engineers in Western Europe). The next year as president of the Institution of Electronic and Radio Engineers he helped to merge the society into the Institution of Electrical Engineers.

Publications Gosling has written about eleven books and over fifty scientific papers. A selection:

1962. The design of engineering systems. New York, Wiley 1964. Field effect transistor applications. New York, Wiley 1965. Mechanical system design. With Wolfgang Ernst Eder 1967. The genesis of electrical engineering: Inaugural Lecture Delivered at the College on 24th January, 1967. University College of Swansea 1968. An introduction to microelectronic systems. New York, McGraw-Hill 1975. A First Course in Applied Electronics. London, The Macmillan Press Ltd 1978. Microcircuits, Society and Education 1999. Radio Antennas and Propagation, 1st Edition': Radio Engineering Fundamentals 2020. Culture’s Engine. London, Palgrave Macmillan

References

External links William Gosling at marchofinvention

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William Gosling (engineer)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William Gosling (engineer) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to William Gosling (engineer) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about William Gosling (engineer) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of William Gosling (engineer)

In research
William Gosling (engineer) appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses William Gosling (engineer) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
William Gosling (engineer) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1932 births, Academics of Swansea University, Academics of the University of Bath, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for William Gosling (engineer) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study William Gosling (engineer) in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what William Gosling (engineer) means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain William Gosling (engineer) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is William Gosling (engineer) in simple terms?

William Gosling (born 1932) is a British electrical engineer, Emeritus Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Bath, and pioneer of system design in electrical engineering. Biography Gosling received his ARCS at the Imperial College in London in 1953 under George Paget Thomson, and…

Why does William Gosling (engineer) matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study William Gosling (engineer)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on William Gosling (engineer).

Tags

  • 1932 births
  • Academics of Swansea University
  • Academics of the University of Bath
  • Alumni of Imperial College London
  • British electrical engineers
  • Living people
  • Systems engineers

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