Letter: Michael Parsons obituary | Alasdair Beal

Michael Parsons was the best boss a young engineer could have. When asked for help on a complex problem, he would say, “Let’s go back to first principles,” break the problem down into parts that could be analysed simply.

With typical self-deprecation, he later said that he took this approach because he had a poor memory for more complex solutions. However, it ensured that advanced computer calculations for his cutting-edge bridge designs were always carefully “sense checked”, with the practicalities of construction taken into account.