Cowley, John Maxwell (1923 - 2004)

Summary

John Cowley began his career as a research assistant with CSIRO's Section of Chemical Physics. He progressed through the ranks and was promoted to Chief Research Officer and Head of Crystallography. In 1962 he moved to the University of Melbourne as Professor of Physics, then to the Arizona State University in 1969 where he remained until his retirement in 1994. During this time, Cowley was appointed Director of the Facility for High Resolution Electron Microscopy in 1983 and Regents Professor in 1988. The latter being a rare honour which is only awarded to those who have demonstrated exceptional scholarship and achievements.

Details

Cowley pioneered work on high-resolution electron diffraction and structure analysis. His achievements were many and included the development of single-crystal structure analysis, the theory of direct imaging of atomic crystal structures and defects, and the interpretation and use of Fourier images. Cowley received numerous awards for his work (see Chronology section) throughout his 44 years of research. Even very early in his career he was making a name for himself, winning the Edgeworth David Medal and Research Medal of the Royal Societies of New South Wales and Victoria respectively.

Chronology

1945

Education - Masters Degree (MSc), University of Adelaide

1949

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

1957

Education - Doctorate of Science (DSc), University of Adelaide

1961 - 2004

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1962 - 1969

Career position - Chamber of Manufacturers' Professor of Physics, University of Melbourne

1969

Career position - Galvin Professor of Physics, Arizona State University, USA

1971 - 1980

Career position - Co-editor of Acta Crystallography

1976

Award - Bertram Eugene Warren Award, USA

1979 - 2004

Award - Fellow, The Royal Society, London (FRS)

1983

Career position - Director of the Facility for High Resolution Electron Microscopy, Arizona State University, USA

1984

Award - Fellow, American Physical Society

1987

Award - Joint inaugural winner of the International Union of Chrystallography's Ewald Prize

1987 - 1990

Career position - Chairman, Commission on Electron Diffraction of the International Union of Crystallography

1988

Career position - Regents Professorship, Arizona State University, USA

1994

Life event - Retired

Related entries

Published resources

Journal Articles

• Moodie, A. F.; and Spence, J. C. H., 'John Maxwell Cowley, 1923-2004', Historical Records of Australian Science, 17 (2) (2006), 227-262, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR06012. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6245760. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/108964388. Details
• 'Cowley, J M (1923-2004)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1212057. Details

Resource Sections

• Ward, C., 'John Maxwell Cowley', in CSIROpedia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), 2011, https://csiropedia.csiro.au/Cowley-John-Maxwell. Details

See also

• Hyde, B. G.; and Day, P, 'John Stuart Anderson', Historical Records of Australian Science, 9 (2) (1992), 127-49. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9920920127. Details
• Walsh, A.; and Willis, J. B., 'Albert Lloyd George Rees 1916-1989', Historical Records of Australian Science, 9 (1) (1992), 31-47. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9920910031. Details