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Sir Martin Ryle FRS (27 September 1918 – 14 October 1984) was an English radio astronomer who developed revolutionary radio telescope systems (see e.g. aperture synthesis) and used them for accurate location and imaging of weak radio sources. In 1946 Ryle and Vonberg were the first people to publish interferometric astronomical measurements at radio wavelengths, Joseph Pawsey from the University of Sydney claimed to have actually made interferometric measurements earlier in the same year. With improved equipment, Ryle observed the most distant known galaxies in the universe at that time. He was the first Professor of Radio Astronomy at the University of Cambridge, and founding director of the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory. He was Astronomer Royal from 1972 to 1982.

War, peace and energy
Ryle was a new physics graduate and an experienced radio 'ham' in 1939, when the Second World War started. He played an important part in the Allied war effort (Graham-Smith 1989, pp 500 - 506), working mainly in radar countermeasures. After the war, "he returned to Cambridge with a determination to devote himself to pure science, unalloyed by the taint of war" (Graham-Smith 1986, p. 506).

In the 1970's, Ryle turned the greater part of his attention from astronomy to social and political issues which he considered to be more urgent. With publications from 1976 and continuing, despite illness (Graham-Smith 1989, p 517), until he died in 1984, he pursued a passionate and intensive program on the socially responsible use of science and technology. His main themes were
 * warning the world of the horrific dangers of nuclear armaments, notably in his pamphlet Towards the Nuclear Holocaust.
 * criticism of nuclear power, as in Is there a case for nuclear power?
 * research and promotion of alternative energy and energy efficiency, as in Short-term Storage and Wind Power Availability.
 * calling for the responsible use of science and technology. "...we should strive to see how the vast resources now diverted towards the destruction of life are turned instead to the solution of the problems which both rich - but especially the poor - countries of the world now face." (Rowan-Robinson and Rudolf 1985, p 14).

In 1983 Ryle responded to a request from the President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences for suggestions of topics to be discussed at a meeting on Science and Peace. Ryle's reply was published posthumously in Martin Ryle's Letter (Rowan-Robinson and Rudolf 1985, pp 15 - 20). An abridged version appears in New Scientist with the title Martin Ryle's Last Testament. The letter ends with "Our cleverness has grown prodigiously - but not our wisdom."