Fellows' biographical memoirs

Alan Walsh was the originator and developer of the atomic absorption method of chemical analysis, which revolutionized quantitative analysis in the 1950s and 1960s.

Alex Boden was a manufacturing chemist who succeeded in that most difficult of industries; through his texts, he was an exceptionally successful educational author; and he was a publisher who relished editing, a man of some privacy and reticence who made deep and continuing friendships across the world, a singularly devoted husband, parent and grandparent, and a philanthropist in an age when philanthropy had almost dropped out of sight. His life was one of remarkable richness, variety, originality and generosity. It is unlikely that there has been another Australian of his kind.

With the passing of Alfred Gottschalk on October 4th 1973, at Tübingen, West Germany, in his 80th year, there ended a life of extraordinary dedication to research in biochemistry. He died acclaimed as the leading authority in the ever-expanding field of glycoprotein research.

Tony Perry was one of Australia’s most outstanding researchers in fluid mechanics, particularly in the study of turbulent fluid motion. He was a gifted lecturer, devoted supervisor to twenty PhD students, and a passionate and enthusiastic influence on numerous colleagues around the world.

Arthur John Birch AC CMG FRS FAA was one of the great organic chemists of the twentieth century. He held chairs at the Universities of Sydney and Manchester and at the Australian National University in Canberra, and was President of the Australian Academy of Science from 1982 to 1986. His outstanding research contributions include the Birch reduction of aromatic compounds by sodium and ethanol in liquid ammonia, his polyketide theory of the biosynthesis of natural products, and his studies of synthetic applications of diene iron tricarbonyl complexes.

Bernhard Hermann Neumann was born and educated in Berlin. He held doctorates from Berlin and Cambridge, and mathematical positions at universities in Cardiff, Hull, Manchester, and the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. Whereas his move to the UK in 1933 was a result of the difficulties he faced as a Jew in finding employment in Germany, his move to Australia in 1962 was to set up a new research Department of Mathematics at the Institute of Advanced Studies at the ANU.

Chris made an outstanding contribution to probability theory and its applications. He received considerable recognition, including Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science and of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, as well as Membership of the Order of Australia.

Science, and the attempt to develop the academic standards of Australian universities, were the interests that dominated Dorothy Hill’s life. We refer not only to scientific endeavours as undertaken by herself and her colleagues, but also to basic approaches to administrative, commercial, educational and personal aspects of her life.

Doug Waterhouse was a renowned entomologist, a fine scientist and an accomplished administrator. He worked within the CSIRO Division of Entomology for over 60 years, and was its Chief for 21 years until his retirement in 1981. Doug was responsible for many developments in insect and weed control both in Australia and around the globe, especially in developing countries across Asia and the Pacific.

Edward George Bowen was one of the most dynamic and influential of the wartime generation of British physicists. Having completed his doctorate under Professor E.V. Appleton at King's College, London, he was recruited by Robert Watson-Watt in 1935 and played an important part in the early development of radar in Britain.