Conversations with Australian scientists

Professor Ian Sloan was inspired by his father’s passion for science and mathematics, leading him from physics studies to a distinguished career in computational mathematics. His work bridged theoretical physics and applied mathematics, emphasizing collaboration, adaptability, and the critical role of mathematics in modelling complex systems and emerging fields like data science. Interviewed by Professor Hans Albert Bachor in 2022

James Waldo (Jim) Lance interviewed by Professor David Burke in 2010. James Waldo (Jim) Lance was born in Wollongong in 1926. Lance completed his medical degree at the University of Sydney in 1950. He began his clinical work as a resident medical officer at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (1950-51).

James Douglas (Jim) Morrison was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1924. Morrison completed his higher education at Glasgow University with a BSc (Hons) in chemistry (1945) and a PhD in X-ray crystallography (1948). Morrison was also awarded a DSc from Glasgow University in 1958. In 1949 Morrison left the cold and gloom of Scotland for sunny Australia and a position as a research officer in the division of Industrial Chemistry at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Professor Jenny Graves interviewed by Professor Roger Short, 2000. Professor Jenny Graves received a BSc Hons from the University of Adelaide in 1964 and an MSc in 1967. Her research for these degrees involved the inactivation of the X chromosome in marsupials.

Professor Jim Pittard interviewed by Professor Michael Hynes in 2011. Alfred James (Jim) Pittard was born in Ballarat in 1932. He completed secondary school at the Ballarat Church of England Grammar School in 1949.

Professor Joseph Gani was born in 1924, in Cairo, Egypt. He studied at Imperial College, London, and earned a BSc (hons) in 1947 and a DIC in 1948. He obtained a PhD in statistics from the Australian National University in 1955. In 1970 he was awarded a DSc from London University. Professor Gani moved to Australia in 1948 and worked as a lecturer in applied mathematics at the University of Melbourne from 1948 to 1950.

John Oswald Newton was born in 1924 in Birmingham, England. He won a scholarship to St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, where he completed the first two years of his bachelors degree (BA, 1944) before joining the war effort in 1943. During WWII Newton worked as a junior scientific officer at the radar facility in Malvern. In 1946, he was able to return to the Cavendish laboratory at Cambridge to finish his MA (1948) and later his PhD (1953).

Professor John Sprent was born in 1915, in Mill Hill, England. He received an MRCVS diploma from the Royal Veterinary College in London in 1939. In 1942 he was awarded a BSc in zoology with first class honours from the University of London. After receiving his degree, Sprent went to work at the Vom Veterinary Station in Nigeria. His work there, on Bunostomum phlebotomum (hookworms) in cattle, resulted in a PhD (1945) from the University of London, where he also received a DSc in 1953.

Professor Jonathan Stone was born in 1942 in Auckland, New Zealand and moved to Australia with his parents when he was a baby. He received a Bachelor of Medical Science from the University of Sydney in 1963 and a PhD in 1966.

Professor Lesley Rogers interviewed by Professor John Bradshaw in 2001. Lesley Rogers was born in Brisbane in 1943. She received a BSc (Hons) from Adelaide University in 1964, where she investigated the physiology of long-necked tortoises.