Professor Tom Calma AO FAA FASSA—Senior Australian of the Year
Professor Peter Hannaford AC FAA—Order of Australia: Companion in the General Division
Professor Melissa Little AC FAA FAHMS—Order of Australia: Companion in the General Division
Professor Matthew Colless AO FAA—Order of Australia: Officer in the General Division
Emeritus Professor John Pate AM FAA FRS—Order of Australia: Member in the General Division
Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC PresAA FREng FTSE—Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award
Professor Susan Scott FAA—Australian Institute of Physics, Walter Boas Medal
Professor Georgia Chenevix-Trench FAA—GSK Award for Research Excellence
Professor Justin Gooding FAA FTSE—Research Australia, Frontiers Research Award Sponsored by ANU
27 March 1930 – 4 January 2023
Following the completion of his MSc at the University of Sydney in 1953, Professor John Lovering moved to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) USA as a postgraduate student and Teaching Associate in the Division of Geological Sciences. He completed his PhD at Caltech in 1956 and accepted a position at the newly created Department of Geophysics and Geochemistry at the Australian National University. In 1969, Professor Lovering was appointed Professor of Geology and Head of the then Department of Geology at the University of Melbourne, serving as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research). In 1987 he moved to Flinders University as Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Geology until his retirement in 1995.
In 1969, Professor Lovering covered the live ABC television broadcast of the first moon landing, and was subsequently involved in analysis of lunar samples from all the Apollo missions. Professor Lovering’s work also took him to overseas institutions, including the Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik in Heidelberg, Germany and to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland, USA. He was elected to the Academy in 1982 for his work in geochemistry and cosmochemistry on terrestrial, meteoritic and lunar materials and for the development of new analytical methods in the Earth sciences.
Professor Lovering was involved in a phenomenal number of scientific and environmental organisations and held many highly respected positions, including as a member of the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, Chair of the Antarctic Science Advisory Committee and President of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission. He was also a member of two Australian Antarctic Research Expeditions.
In recognition of his valuable service to universities, education and science, Professor Lovering received the Chevalier des Palmes académiques. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia and received the Centenary Medal in 2001. Professor Lovering was awarded a DSc from Flinders University and a DSc from Melbourne University. He was a Foundation Member and Fellow of the Geological Society of Australia, and was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Geological Society of America in 2003.
Professor Lovering also gave his time generously to the Academy. He served on numerous National Committees and many other committees.
Professor Lovering was interviewed by Academy Fellow Professor Robyn Williams for the Academy in 2010 and for the ABC in 2011.
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
