Swan, John Melvin (1924 - 2015)

Summary

John Swan was a chemist whose research interests included peptides, amino acids, proteins, sulphur chemistry, organometallic and organophosphorus chemistry. Among his projects were the synthesis of the peptide oxytocin and the analysis of cigarette smoke. During his years at ICIANZ and CSIRO Swan worked on analysis of explosives, the manufacture of drugs and insecticides, and properties of wool and other keratins. Swan was Professor of Organic Chemistry at Monash University from 1966 to 1984, during which time he also served as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Pro-Vice-Chancellor. He was influential in establishment of Graduate School of Environmental Science at Monash, forging links between Monash and organisations such as Bureau of Meteorology for which he was for a time a member of its Meteorology Policy Committee. In retirement Swan worked on improved, non-polluting ways of cleaning wool which, though successful, were not commercially viable. Swan was actively involved in policy and advisory committees concerned with marine environments, including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Marine Sciences and Technologies Advisory Committee, and those relating to the health and management of Port Philip and Western Port Bays in Victoria. He also chaired the CRC for Southern Hemisphere Meteorology.

Details

Chronology

1940 - 1943

Career position - Junior Laboratory Assistant, No. 5 Explosives Factory, ICIANZ

1943 - 1945

Career position - Laboratory assistant, ICIANZ Research Laboratory, Deer Park, Melbourne

1944

Education - Diploma of Applied Chemistry, Melbourne Technology College

1944

Education - Associate Diploma in Applied Chemistry, Royal Melbourne Technical College

1947

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

1947 - 1948

Career position - Member, Royal Society of Chemistry

1947 - 1949

Award - CSIR scholarship for study in London

1949

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Imperial College, London

1949 - 1960

Career position - Research Scientist, Biochemistry Unit, CSIRO Wool Textile Research Laboratories

1949 - 2015

Career position - Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry

1952 - 1953

Award - Fulbright Fellowship for study at Cornell University Medical School, U.S.A.

1955

Career position - Organising Secretary, 1st International Wool Textile Research Conference, Melbourne

1955 - 2015

Career position - Fellow, Royal Australian Chemical Institute

1959 - 1961

Career position - Editor, Proceedings of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute

1960 - 1965

Career position - Research Scientist (later Chief Research Scientist), CSIRO Division of Organic Chemistry

1960 - 2015

Career position - Member, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science

1964

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

1965

Award - David Syme Research Prize, University of Melbourne

1966 - 1971

Career position - Foundation Professor of Organic Chemistry, Monash University

1967

Award - Liversidge Lecturer, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science

1967

Career position - President, Victorian Branch, Royal Australian Chemical Institute

1968

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

1968

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1968 - 1973

Career position - Member, CSIRO Advisory Council

1968 - 1979

Career position - Member, Australian-Asian Universities Cooperation Scheme

1969

Career position - Member of organising committee and co-ordinating Editor, 22nd International Congress on Pure and Applied Chemistry and 22nd International Conference on Coordination Chemistry, Sydney

1971 - 1975

Career position - Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Monash University

1972 - 1974

Career position - Member of Council, Royal Society of Victoria

1972 - 1974

Career position - Chair of the Scientific Committee, Western Port Bay Environmental Study

1972 - 1984

Career position - Member, Victorian Conservation Trust

1975 - 1977

Career position - Member of Executive, Australian-Asian Universities Cooperation Scheme

1976 - 1978

Career position - Chairman, Queen's Fellowships in Marine Science

1976 - 1984

Career position - Dean, Faculty of Science, Monash University

1978 - 1980

Career position - Member, Meteorology Policy Committee

1979 - 1981

Career position - Member, Australian Research Grants Commission

1980

Career position - Chairman, Board of Management, Victorian Institute of Marine Sciences

1980 - 1981

Career position - Member, Australian National Commission for UNESCO

1980 - 1987

Career position - Chairman, Advisory Board, Centre for Human Bioethics, Monash University

1981 - 1984

Career position - Chairman, Australian Marine Sciences and Technologies Advisory Committee (AMSTAC)

1981 - 1995

Career position - Foundation Member, Scientific Advisory Board, CRA Limited

1982 - 1983

Career position - Vice-President, Australian Academy of Science

1982 - 1984

Career position - Chairman, Victorian Conservation Trust

1984 - 1986

Career position - Member, National Advisory Board, Australian Science Archives Project

1985

Life event - Retired

1985 - 1987

Career position - Member, Crown-of-Thorns Starfish Advisory and Review Committee, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

1985 - 2015

Career position - Emeritus Professor, Monash University

1986 - 1991

Career position - Chairman, Tide International Pty Ltd

1987 - 1995

Career position - Honorary Research Associate, Howard Florey Institute for Experimental Physiology and Medicine

1988 - 1989

Career position - Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Port Phillip Bay Environmental Study

1988 - 1993

Career position - Member, Crown-of-Thorns Research Committee, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

1988 - 1994

Career position - Member, Science and Humanities Committee, Museum of Victoria

1988 - 2003

Career position - Chairman, Western Port Seagrass Partnership

1989 - 1992

Career position - Chairman, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science

1991 - 2000

Career position - Member, Westernport Region Water Authority (later Westernport Water Board)

1992 - 1995

Career position - Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Port Phillip Bay Environmental Study

1993 - 2000

Career position - Chairman, Board of Management, CRC for Southern Hemisphere Meteorology

1994

Award - Doctor of Science (honoris causa) (HonDSc), Monash University

1994

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

1994 - 2015

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

1999 - 2000

Career position - Honorary Principal Fellow, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Melbourne

2000 - 2003

Career position - Member, Victorian Coastal Council

2001

Award - Centenary medal - for service to improving the environmental health of Westernport

2002

Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) - For service as an outstanding contributor to the advancement of Australian science, particularly in the fields of chemistry, marine science and meteorology, to education, and to the management, protection and conservation of the natural environment

2010 - 2015

Career position - Chairman, Western Port Seagrass Partnership

Related entries

Archival resources

Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science

• John Melvin Swan - Records, 1947 - 1993, MS 119; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details
• Oral Collection, 1931 - 2003, MS 057; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details

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

Journal Articles

• 'Obituaries', Australian Academy of Science Newsletter, 101 (2015), https://science.org.au/publications/newsletter-101/deceased-fellows. Details
• Anon, 'John Swan was a Monash giant', ATSE focus, 191 (2015), 43, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3171718724. Details
• Collins, David J.; and Rae, Ian D., 'John Melvin Swan 1924 - 2015', Historical Records of Australian Science, 28 (1) (2017), 58-65, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR16019. Details
• Rae, Ian D., 'John Melvin Swan 25 April 1924 - 15 June 2015', Chemistry in Australia, 2015/6 (Dec/Jan) (2015), 31. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q66736296. Details
• 'Swan, John Melvin (1924-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1476117. Details

Resource Sections

• 'Swan, John Melvin - Ms 119', in Listing of Adolph Basser Library holdings, Australian Academy of Science, 1994, http://www.science.org.au/basser/manuscript-collection/ms119.html. Details
• Brown, Ron, 'Interview with Professor John Swan', in Interviews with Australian scientists, Australian Academy of Science, 2008, http://science.org.au/scientists/interviews/s/swan.html. Details
• Swan, John, 'Interview with Dr Phillip Law', in Interviews with Australian scientists, Australian Academy of Science, 28 October 1999, https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/history/interviews-australian-scientists/dr-phillip-law-1912-2010. Details

See also

• Science and the making of Victoria, with Royal Society of Victoria, 2001, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/smv/index_s.html. Details
• Powell, Cedric, 'Early history of the electron spectroscopy project and the University of Western Australia: first definitive identification of surface and bulk plasmons', Australian Physics, 53 (3) (2016), 88-94, https://aip.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Australian%20Physics/Aust%20Phys%2053-3.pdf. Details