Slatyer, Ralph Owen (1929 - 2012)

Summary

Ralph Slatyer was Australia's first Chief Scientist and one of Australia's most distinguished scientists. He was internationally recognised for his research on water relations of plants, ecological succession and disturbed ecosystems in alpine and arid regions, and for his commitment to ecologically sustainable utilization of the natural environment. In his leadership roles at the CSIRO Division of Land Research and as inaugural Professor of Biology at the Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Slatyer was equally committed to co-operation and teamwork between individuals and organisations. This was also evident in his roles as Chairman or member of policy advisory bodies over many years within Australia and internationally, including as Australian Ambassador to UNESCO. Among his achievements were the emergence of the Australian Research Council and the establishment of the Co-operative Research Centres Program intended to facilitate collaboration between researchers and business. In 2017 the A.N.U. Research School of Biology awarded the inaugural Ralph Slatyer Medal for outstanding biological research. The Co-operative Research Centre Association established the annual Ralph Slatyer Address.

Details

Chronology

1951

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc) (Agriculture), University of Western Australia

1951 - 1966

Career position - Research Scientist-Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Land Research

1955

Education - MSc (Agric), University of Western Australia

1960

Education - DSc (Agric), University of Western Australia

1961

Award - Edgeworth David Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales

1963 - 1964

Career position - Visiting Professor, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, U.S.A.

1966 - 1967

Career position - Associate Chief, CSIRO Division of Land Research

1967

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1967 - 1992

Career position - Foundation Professor of Biology, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University

1968

Award - Australian Medal of Agricultural Science, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science

1969 - 1971

Career position - President, Ecological Society of Australia

1969 - 1972

Career position - Member, Australian Research Grants Committee (ARGC)

1973 - 1974

Career position - Ford Foundation Fellow and Visiting Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara, U.S.A.

1973 - 1976

Career position - Member, National Planning Commission

1975 - 2012

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

1976

Award - Foreign Associate, US National Academy of Sciences

1976 - 1978

Career position - Member, Australian National Commission to UNESCO

1977

Award - Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal

1977 - 1981

Career position - Chairman, UNESCO Inter-governmental Programme on “Man and the Biosphere”

1978 - 1981

Career position - Australian Ambassador to UNESCO, Paris

1981 - 1983

Career position - Chairman, UNESCO World Heritage Committee

1981 - 1984

Career position - Member, Board of Management and Policy Advisory Council, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)

1981 - 1984

Career position - Chairman, Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS)

1982

Award - Foreign Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

1982

Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) - For service to science

1982 - 1985

Career position - President, Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE)

1982 - 1987

Career position - Chairman (part-time), Australian Science and Technology Council (ASTEC)

1983

Award - Elected Honorary Member, British Ecological Society

1983

Career position - President, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS)

1984 - 1989

Career position - Director, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University

1989 - 1992

Career position - Chairman, Co-ordination Committee on Science and Technology

1989 - 1992

Career position - Chairman, Cooperative Research Centre Program, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

1989 - 1992

Career position - Chief Scientist, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

1989 - 1992

Career position - Chairman, Prime Minister’s Science Council

1989 - 1993

Career position - Deputy Chairman, National Greenhouse Advisory Committee, Commonwealth Department of the Arts, Sport, Environment and Territories

1991

Award - ANZAAS Medal, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science

1992 - 1994

Career position - Chairman, Australian Foundation for Science

1992 - 1999

Career position - Director, Australian Minerals and Energy Environment Foundation

1992 - 2012

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE)

1993 -

Career position - Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University

1993

Award - Ecological Society of Australia Gold Medal

1993

Life event - Retired

1993

Award - Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) - For service to science and technology and its application to industry development

1993 - 2002

Career position - Chairman, CRC for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management

1995 - 2000

Career position - Director, Crawford Fund for International Agricultural Research

1995 - 2003

Career position - Member, Australian National Commission to UNESCO

1996

Award - Foreign Member, Korea Academy of Science and Technology

1999

Award - Honorary Doctorate of Applied Science, Charles Sturt University

2001

Award - Centenary Medal - for a lifetime of service to environmental issues

2001

Award - Clunies Ross Lifetime Achievement Award, Ian Clunies Ross Memorial Foundation

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Slatyer, Ralph Owen, Ecological Society of Australia: the first 25 years (Canberra: Ecosystems Dynamics Group, Australian National University, 1999), 28 pp. Details

Edited Books

• Moyal, Ann ed., Portraits in Science (Canberra: National Library of Australia, 1994), 209 pp. Details
• Slatyer, R. O.; and Perry, R. A. eds, Arid lands of Australia (Canberra: ANU Press, 1969), 321 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Farqhuhar, Graham, 'Ralph Owen Slatyer 1929 - 2012', Historical Records of Australian Science, 31 (1) (2020), 54-63. https://doi.org/10/1071/HR19009. Details

Newspaper Articles

• Farquhar, Graham, 'Ralph Owen Slayter, AC, scientist, 16-4-1929 - 26-7-2012: visionary took science to highest government level', The Age (2012), 35. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7288094. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/237634331. Details
• 'Slatyer, Ralph Owen (1929 - 2012)', Fellows of the Academy, Australian Academy of Science, 2019, https://www.science.org.au/profile/ralph-slatyer. Details
• Australian National University, Ralph Slatyer Medal, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, 2023. https://biology.anu.edu.au/about/ralph-slatyer-medal. Details
• 'Slatyer, R O (1929-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-527637. Details

Resource Sections

• 'Obituaries - Ralph Slatyer', in Australian Academy of Science Newsletter, Australian Academy of Science, September 2012, http://science.org.au/publications/newsletters/documents/aas89.pdf. Details
• Blythe, Max, 'Interview with Professor Ralph Slatyer', in Interviews with Australian scientists, Australian Academy of Science, 14 September 1993, https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/history/interviews-australian-scientists/professor-ralph-slatyer-1929-2012. Details
• Slatyer, Ralph, 'Interview with Dr Keith Boardman', in Interviews with Australian scientists, Australian Academy of Science, 9 December 1999, https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/history/interviews-australian-scientists/dr-keith-boardman-biochemist. Details
• Ward, C., 'Ralph Owen Slatyer', in CSIROpedia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), 2011, https://csiropedia.csiro.au/Slatyer-Ralph-Owen. Details

See also

• Friedel, Margaret H.; and Morton, Stephen R., 'A history of CSIRO'S Central Australian Laboratory, 1: 1953-80: pastoral land research', Historical records of Australian Science, 34 (1) (2023), 36-49. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR22006. Details