Sutherland, Keith Leonard (1916 - 1980)

Summary

Keith Sutherland was an expert in flotation systems and surface chemistry. He was appointed head of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) physical chemistry section in 1941. During the war years Sutherland was involved in many projects including the testing of the efficiency of gas masks against zinc arsenide. In 1947 he moved to London to work at the Royal Institution of Great Britain and returned to Australia and the CSIR in 1950. Eight years later Sutherland was appointed head of the newly formed CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Division of Physical Chemistry.

In 1959 he was appointed director of research in Sydney for the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. Ltd, a position which he held until he retired in 1978. As part of this role Sutherland helped establish the David North Plant Research Centre in Brisbane and the CSR industrial research laboratory at Roseville, Sydney. He was also honorary curator in the malacology department of the Australian Museum, and involved in the management of the Museum's Lizard Island Research Station on the Great Barrier Reef.

Details

Chronology

1937

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Melbourne

1940

Career position - Trained civilians to deal with unexploded bombs

1941

Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Melbourne

1941 - 1947

Career position - Head of the Physical Chemistry Section, CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) Division of Industrial Chemistry

1943

Award - Rennie Memorial Medal, Australian Chemical Institute

1947

Award - Davy-Faraday fellowship, travelled to London

1948

Education - Doctor of Science (DSc), University of Melbourne

1948

Award - David Syme Research Prize, University of Melbourne

1950

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of London

1950 - 1958

Career position - Head of the Physical Chemistry Section, CSIRO Division of Industrial Chemistry

1957

Award - H. G. Smith Memorial Medal, Royal Australian Chemical Institute

1958 - 1959

Career position - Chief of the Division of Physical Chemistry, CSIRO

1959 - 1974

Career position - Director of Research, Colonial Sugar Refining Co. Ltd.

1959 - 1980

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

Nov 1965 - Oct 1971

Career position - Member of the CSIRO Executive (part-time)

1966 - 1971

Career position - Trustee of the Australian Museum

1972 - 1974

Career position - President of the Trustees of the Australian Museum

1974 - 1978

Career position - Director of Research, CSR Limited

1974 - 1980

Award - Fellow, Royal Australian Chemical Institute (FRACI)

1975 -

Career position - Chairman, New South Wales Science and Technology Council

1975

Career position - President, Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI), New South Wales Branch

1975 - 1980

Award - Foundation Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences (FTS)

1977

Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) - Science

1978

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

1978

Life event - Retired

1981

Career event - The Keith Sutherland Award in malacology inaugurated by the Australian Museum

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Plante, E. C.; and Sutherland, K. L., Separation of ergot from rye corn (Melbourne: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Division f Industrial Chemistry, 1943), 9 pp. Details
• Schedvin, C.B; Trace, K., Historical Directory of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, 1926-1976 (Canberra: CSIRO, 1978), 101 pp. https://csiropedia.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/csiro_historical_directory_1926_1976.pdf. Details

Book Sections

• Miller, David Philip, 'Sutherland, Keith Leonard (1916-1980), Industrial Chemist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 16: 1940 - 1980 Pik-Z, John Ritchie and Diane Langmore, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2002), pp. 347-348. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160415b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• Ewers, W. E.; and Weiss, D. E., 'Keith Leonard Sutherland 1916-1980', Historical Records of Australian Science, 5 (2) (1981), 78-88. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9810520078. Details
• Plante, E. C.; and Sutherland, K. L., 'The physical chemistry of flotation X: the separation of ergot from rye', Journal of physical chemistry, 48 (4) (1944), 203-23. https://doi.org/10.1021/j150436a008. Details
• Plante, E. C.; and Sutherland, K. L., 'Effects of oxidation of sulphide minerals on their flotation properties', Technical publication American Institute Mining and Metallurgical Engineering 2297:1-29, 2297 (1948), 1-29. Details
• Sutherland, K.. L., 'Francis Partick John Dwyer', Yearbook of the Australian Academy of Science (1063), 30-41. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21536095. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/311281675. Details
• 'Sutherland, Keith Leonard (1916-1980)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1467761. Details

Resource Sections

• Ewers, W. E.; and Weiss, D. E., 'Keith Leonard Sutherland 1916-1980', in Australian Academy of Science Biographical Memoirs, Australian Academy of Science, 2006, https://www.science.org.au/fellowship/fellows/biographical-memoirs/keith-leonard-sutherland-1916-1980. Details
• Ward, C., 'Keith Leonard Sutherland', in CSIROpedia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), 2011, https://csiropedia.csiro.au/Sutherland-Keith-Leonard. Details

See also

• Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/index_s.html. Details
• Rees, A. L. G., 'Ian William Wark 1899-1985', Historical Records of Australian Science, 6 (4) (1987), 533-548. https://doi.org/10.1071HR9870640533. 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