On Growth and Form in context – an interview with Matthew Jarron

Abstract

D'Arcy Thompson was born in 1860, trained in Edinburgh and Cambridge, and held positions in Dundee and St Andrews, where he worked until his death in 1948. On Growth and Form, his classic work on the mathematical patterns and physical rules underlying biological forms, was first published in 1917. To learn more about the book's context, we met Matthew Jarron, Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee, in the University's D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum. Surrounded by specimens, many of which were collected by Thompson himself, we discussed the legacy of On Growth and Form and the life of the man behind it.

Morphogenesis one century afterOn Growth and Form

“…The issue begins with an interview with Matthew Jarron, curator of the D'Arcy Thompson museum in Dundee (Maartens, 2017). This Spotlight article sets the scene -introducing the reader to Thompson's life and ideas, as well as his legacy.…”