Person
Bishop, Peter Orlebar (1917 - 2012)
OA FAA FRS
- Born
- 14 June 1917
Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia - Died
- 3 June 2012
- Occupation
- Neurophysiologist
Summary
Peter Bishop was a neurophysiologist renowned for his ingenious quantitative research on the mammalian visual system and the influence he had in attracting researchers to the field. He was the first to determine three-dimensional perception. His work with international collaborators Vernon Mountcastle and Horace Barlow was recognised as being of the highest quality. Bishop was Professor of Physiology, University of Sydney 1955-1967 and at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra 1967-1982. The P.O. Bishop Medal, awarded annually to the top student taking the Bachelor of Science (Medical) degree, was struck by the University of Sydney in his honour.
Details
Chronology
- 1940
- Education - MB BS, University of Sydney
- 1941
- Career position - Junior Resident Medical Officer, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney
- 1941 - 1942
- Career position - Neurological Registrar, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney
- 1942 - 1946
- Career position - Served as Surgeon Lieutenant, Royal Australian Naval Reserve
- 1946
- Career position - Clinical Assistant in Neurosurgery, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
- 1946 - 1947
- Career position - Clinical Clerk, National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, London
- 1946 - 1950
- Career position - Fellow, Postgraduate Committee in Medicine, University of Sydney
- 1947 - 1950
- Career position - Research Fellow, Department of Anatomy, University College London
- 1950 - 1951
- Career position - Fellow, National Health and Medical Research Council, Department of Surgery, University of Sydney
- 1951 - 1954
- Career position - Senior Lecturer, Department of Physiology, University of Sydney
- 1954 - 1955
- Career position - Reader, Department of Physiology, University of Sydney
- 1955 - 1967
- Career position - Professor of Physiology and Head of Department of Physiology , University of Sydney
- 1955 - 2012
- Career position - Member, Physiological Society of Great Britain
- 1959 - 1966
- Career position - Member, Medical Research Advisory Committee, National Health and Medical Research Council
- 1960 - 1987
- Career position - Member, Australian Physiological and Pharmacological Society
- 1967
- Award - Doctor of Science (DSc), University of Sydney
- 1967 - 1982
- Career position - Professor and Head of Department of Physiology, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University
- 1967 - 2012
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
- 1968 - 1977
- Career position - Member of Council, International Union of Physiological Societies
- 1972 - 1976
- Career position - Member, Australian Research Grants Committee
- 1973 - 2012
- Award - Honorary Member, Ophthalmological Society of New Zealand
- 1974
- Career position - Visiting Professor, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- 1977 - 2012
- Award - Honorary Member, Neurosurgical Society of Australia
- 1977 - 2012
- Award - Fellow, The Royal Society, London (FRS)
- 1982
- Career position - Visiting Professor, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- 1982 - 1997
- Career position - Chairman of Board, Historical records of Australian science
- 1983
- Award - Fellow, National Vision Research Institute of Australia
- 1983 - 1987
- Career position - Visiting Fellow, Department of Behavioural Biology, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University
- 1984 - 1985
- Career position - Guest Professor, Laboratorie van Neuro- en Psychofysiologie, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium
- 1984 - 1997
- Career position - Chairman, Editorial Board, Historical Records of Australian science
- 1985
- Career position - Visiting Professor, University of Zürich, Switzerland
- 1986
- Career position - Fellow, St John's College, University of Cambridge
- 1986
- Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) - in recognition of service to medical science, particularly in the field of physiology
- 1986 - 1992
- Career position - Member of Council, International Brain Research Organisation
- 1986 - 2012
- Award - Honorary Member, Australian Neuroscience Society
- 1987 - 2012
- Career position - Honorary Research Associate, Department of Anatomy and Histology, University of Sydney
- 1987 - 2012
- Award - Honorary Member, Australian Physiological and Pharmacological Society
- 1993
- Award - Australia Prize (in the field of Sensory Perception) (joint), Australian Government
- 2001
- Award - Centenary Medal - for service to Australian society and science in neurophysiology
Related entries
Archival resources
Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science
Published resources
Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions
- Smith, Ailie, Adolph Basser Library Manuscript Collection, eScholarship Research Centre, 2012, http://www.eoas.info/basser_browse.html. Details
Book Sections
- Bishop, P. O., 'Terra Australis Incognita: the Emergence of Physiology in Australia' in Frontiers in Psychological Research, D. G. Garlick and P. I. Korner, eds (Canberra: Australian Academy of Science, 1984), pp. 1-15. Details
- Bishop, P. O., 'Davies, Harold Whitridge (1894-1946), professor of physiology' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 13: 1940 - 1980 A-De, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1993), pp. 580-581. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130646b.htm. Details
Edited Books
- Moyal, Ann ed., Portraits in Science (Canberra: National Library of Australia, 1994), 209 pp. Details
Journal Articles
- Bishop, P. O., 'Physiology in Sydney in the 1950s', Proceedings of the Australian Physiological and Pharmacological Society, 14 (1) (1983), 48-57. Details
- Pettigrew, Jack D.; and Dreher, Bogdan, 'Peter Orlebar Bishop 1917 - 2012', Historical Records of Australian Science, 29 (2) (2018), 162-71. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR17008. Details
- Pettigrew, Jack D.; and Dreher, Bogdan, 'Peter Orlebar Bishop, 14 June 1917 - 3 June 2012', Biographical memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 64 (2018), 51-68. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2017.0046. Details
Resources
- Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society [Online resource], Royal Society of London, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2017.0046. Details
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21165195. Details
- 'Bishop, Peter Orlebar (1917 - 2012)', Recipients [of the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science, 2000 - 2017], Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, 2017, https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20171113020140/http://www.science.gov.au/community/PrimeMinistersPrizesforScience/Recipients/1990-1999/Pages/PeterBishop.aspx. Details
- 'Bishop, Peter Orlebar (1917 - 2012)', Fellows of the Academy, Australian Academy of Science, 2019, https://www.science.org.au/profile/peter-bishop. Details
- 'Bishop, P O (1917-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-460107. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Bishop, Peter Orlebar - Ms 154', in Listing of Adolph Basser Library holdings, Australian Academy of Science, 1994, http://www.science.org.au/basser/manuscript-collection/ms154.html. Details
- Blythe, Max, 'Interview with Professor Peter Bishop', in Interviews with Australian scientists, Australian Academy of Science, 28 March 1996, https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/history/interviews-australian-scientists/professor-peter-bishop-1917-2012. Details
See also
- Glover, W. E., 'Robert Ford Whelan 1922-1984', Historical Records of Australian Science, 6 (3) (1986), 409-421. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9860630409. Details
Rosanne Walker and Helen Cohn
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 21 September 2023
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education