Person
O'Brien, Brian John (1934 - 2020)
AO FTSE
- Born
- 27 February 1934
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - Died
- 7 August 2020
Perth, Western Australia, Australia - Occupation
- Physicist
Summary
Brian O'Brien is a physicist with a distinguished career in space exploration, focused on radiation and dust. He was the principal investigator of experiments deployed on several Apollo missions, and built Injun 1, the first satellite to use digital telemetry. Other inventions included thermoelectric and thermomagnetic refrigerators, and the lunar dust detector. He determined the cause of satellite failure from damaged solar cells and conducted the first satellite-based studies of auroras. His publications include a series of papers of the movement of lunar dust. O'Brien was the first Australian to be awarded the NASA Medal for Exceptional Space Achievement. On returning to Australia, O'Brien was appointed the inaugural Chairman of the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority. With his wife, he founded the environmental and strategic analysis consultancy Brian J. O'Brien and Associates Pty Ltd.
Details
Chronology
- 1954
- Award - U.S. National Speleological Society Award
- 1956
- Career position - Foundation President, Australian Speleological Federation
- 1957
- Education - PhD, University of Sydney
- 1958 - 1959
- Career position - Deputy Chief Physicist, Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition
- 1959 - 1962
- Career position - Assistant Professor, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, U.S.A.
- 1962 - 1963
- Career position - Associate Professor of Physics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, U.S.A.
- 1963 - 1968
- Career position - Professor of Space Science, Rice University, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
- 1964
- Career position - Visiting Professor of Space Science, University of Sydney
- 1969 - 1970
- Career position - Visiting Professor of Space Science, University of Sydney
- 1971 - 1977
- Career position - Chairman, Environment Protection Authority, Western Australia
- 1973
- Award - Paul Harris Medal and Sapphire, NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement
- 1978 - 2020
- Career position - Managing Director, Brian J. O'Brien and Associates Pty Ltd
- 1980 - 2005
- Career position - Member, Communications Advisory Council
- 1993
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
- 1996 -
- Career position - Co-ordinator, Rotary East Java Hearing Project
- 2000 - 2006
- Career position - Professor of Natural Resource Management, University of Notre Dame Australia
- 2001
- Award - Centenary Medal - for service to Australian society in environmental science and technology
- 2009 -
- Career position - Adjunct Professor of Physics, University of Western Australia
- 2021
- Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) (posthumous) - for distinguished service to science, particularly to lunar dust research, to tertiary education in the field of physics, and to the environment
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'Brian John O'Brien: space scientist who reached for the moon', Impact, 211 (2021), 62, https://www.atse.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMPACT-Autumn-2021-med-res-for-web.pdf. Details
- O'Brien, Brian, 'Apollo 11 carried my scientific experiment to the moon, but so what?', Impact, 209 (2019), 46-7. https://www.atse.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/IMPACT-2019-September-low-res-spreads-for-web.pdf. Details
Resources
- The late Dr Brian John O'Brien, Officer of the Order of Australia, It' an honour, with Australian Honours and Awards Secretariat, Australian Government, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2021. https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/2008262. Details
See also
- Robson, Alexandra K.; Production Manager and Editor eds, Who's who in Australia 2019 (Southbank, Vic.: AAP Directories, 2018), 1788 pp. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 13 May 2022, Last modified: 15 June 2022