Person
Thompson, Arthur Melville (Mel) (1917 - 2009)
FAA
- Born
- 4 January 1917
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia - Died
- 9 August 2009
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Physicist
Summary
Mel Thompson was a physicist who started work at the National Standards Laboratory in 1940 and retired in 1982 as Chief Research Scientist from the CSIRO Division of Applied Physics. Occasionally he was Acting Director of the Laboratory. Thompson's major contributions were in the precise measurement of physical quantities, particularly electrical. This work underpinned a revolution in accurate measurement globally. In 1956, Thompson and Douglas Lampard produced a new theorem in electrostatics which allowed the electrical capacitance of a four-cylinder system to be calculated in absolute terms from one measurement of length. The result was the Lampard-Thompson capacitor noted for its absolute accuracy of measurement.
Details
Chronology
- 1938
- Education - BSc (hons), University of Adelaide
- 1940
- Career event - Joined CSIR National Standards Laboratory
- 1944 - 1962
- Career position - Research Officer, National Standards Laboratory, CSIR(O)
- 1962 - 1971
- Career position - Chief Research Officer, National Standards Laboratory, CSIRO
- 1965
- Award - Sperry Medal (jointly with D.G. Lampard), Instrument Society of America
- 1971 - 1974
- Career position - Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Applied Physics
- 1972 - 2009
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science
- 1974 - 1979
- Career position - Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO National Measurement Laboratory
- 1977
- Award - Morris E. Lee Award for outstanding advances in electrical measurements, particularly capacitance and resistance, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
- 1979 - 1982
- Career position - Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Applied Physics
- 1982 -
- Career position - Honorary Senior Research Fellow, CSIRO
- 1982
- Life event - Retired
- 2001
- Award - Centenary Medal for service to an society and science
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'Mel Thompson', Australian Academy of Science newsletter, 77 (2009), 11. Details
- Inglis, Barry D., 'Arthur Melville Thompson 1917-2009', Historical Records of Australian Science, 25 (2) (2014), 306-12, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR14020. Details
Resources
- 'Thompson, Arthur Melville (19170104-20090809)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1477068. Details
Resource Sections
- Ward, C., 'Arthur Melville Thompson', in CSIROpedia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), 2011, https://csiropedia.csiro.au/Thompson-Arthur-Melville. Details
Rosanne Walker and Helen Cohn
Created: 25 May 2001, Last modified: 4 May 2023