Person

McCracken, Kenneth Gordon (1933 - )

AO FTSE FAA

Born
7 August 1933
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Occupation
Geophysicist, Mineral Physicist and Physicist

Summary

Dr Kenneth McCracken became involved in space science early in its history and has conducted pioneering research since the 1950s. From 1959-1970 he focused on cosmic ray research, resulting in technology that would protect astronauts from harmful cosmic radiation produced by sun flares. He was Professor of Physics at Adelaide University (1966-1969), during which time he also did pioneering research and development in the field of x-ray astronomy. He was the Founding Chief of the CSIRO's Division of Mineral Physics and Director of the CSIRO Office of Space Science. In these positions he was involved in the development of remote sensor technology for mineral deposit exploration using the NASA LANDSAT satellite. He worked with the CSIRO until his retirement in 1989.

Skip to

Details

In 1988 McCracken was awarded the CSIRO Medal for Research Achievement for leadership in space activities in Australia and for achievement in geophysics research.

Chronology

1954
Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc(Hons)), University of Tasmania
1959
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Tasmania
1959 - 1961
Career position - Research Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
1961
Career position - Consultant, NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre, Greenbelt, Maryland, U.S.A.
1961 - 1962
Career position - Assistant Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
1962 - 1966
Career position - Professor, Southwest Centre for Advanced Studies, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.
1963 - 1965
Career position - Member, NASA Space Radiation Protection Committee
1966 - 1969
Career position - Professor of Physics, University of Adelaide
1969
Award - Pawsey Medal. Australian Academy of Science
1970
Career position - Consultant, Atomic Energy Commission of India
1970 - 1972
Career position - Officer-in-charge, Mineral Physics Section, CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
1971
Education - Doctor of Science (DSc), University of Adelaide
1972 - 1984
Career position - Foundation Chief, CSIRO Division of Mineral Physics
1972 - 1984
Career position - Honorary Professor, Macquarie University
1979 - 1987
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences (FTS)
1982 - 1984
Career position - Board Member, Australian Mineral Foundation
1984 - 1989
Career position - Director, CSIRO Office for Space Science and Applications
1986
Career position - Member, National Committee on Space Engineering, Institute of Engineers, Australia
1987 -
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
1987 -
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE) [Awarded by AATS 1979]
1988
Award - CSIRO Medal for Research Achievement
1989 -
Career position - Managing Partner, Jellore Technologies
1989
Award - Gold Medal, Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists
12 June 1989
Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to space science and technology
1995
Award - Australia Prize (in the field of Remote Sensing( (joint)), Commonwealth of Australia
2001
Career position - Senior Research Fellow, University of Maryland, U.S.A.
2001
Award - Ian Wark Medal and Lecture, Australian Academy of Science
2003
Award - Haddon Forrester King Medal, Australian Academy of Science

Published resources

Journal Articles

  • Crompton, R. W.; Dracoulis, G. D.; Lewis, B. R.; Mccracken, K. G.; and Williams, J. S, 'John Henry Carver 1926-2004', Historical Records of Australian Science, 22 (1) (2011), 53-79, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR10015. Details

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

Rosanne Walker & Rebecca Rigby

Created: 25 May 2001, Last modified: 11 April 2024

EOAS ID: biogs/P004016b.htm

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
What do we mean by this?

Published by Swinburne University of Technology.
This Edition: 2024 November (Ballambar - Gariwerd calendar - early summer - season of butterflies)
Reference: http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/calendars/gariwerd.shtml#ballambar
For earlier editions see the Internet Archive at: https://web.archive.org/web/*/www.eoas.info

The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation uses the Online Heritage Resource Manager (OHRM), a relational data curation and web publication system developed by the eScholarship Research Centre and its predecessors at the University of Melbourne 1999-2020. The OHRM has been maintained by Gavan McCarthy since 2020.

Cite this page: https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P004016b.htm

"... the rengitj, as a visible mark or imprint on the land, is characterised as a place of origin, the repository of all names, as well as a kind of mapped visual expression of the connection between people and places which is to be carried out in the temporal sequence of the journey." Fanca Tamisari (1998) 'Body, Vision and Movement: In the footprints of the ancestors'. Oceania 68(4) p260