Person

Cumming, Ronald William (1920 - 1986)

FTS

Born
21 October 1920
Perth?, Western Australia, Australia
Died
31 December 1986
Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Engineer and Psychologist

Summary

Ronald Cumming was an engineer who, started his career in aeronautics. As a Research Scientist at the CSIRO Division of Aeronautics (later Aeronautical Research Laboratories) he conducted research on human factors in aviation and aviation safety. His group worked on the highly successful T-VASIS, a visual landing system for aircraft, and was responsible for the design of the interior cockpit layout for the Boeing 707. In 1956 Cumming became Reader in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Melbourne. Much of his research was focussed on road safety. As a Member of the Australian Road Research Board he was part of the group that persuaded the Victorian Government to introduce, in 1970, the compulsory wearing of seat belts in road vehicles, the first jurisdiction in the world to do so. Cumming's later career included terms as Director of the Caulfield Institute of Technology and Visiting Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at theUniversity of Melbourne.

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Details

Chronology

1941 - 1949
Career position - Research Scientist, CSIR Division of Aeronautics
1949 - 1955
Career position - Research Scientist, Aeronautical Research Laboratories, Commonwealth Department of Supply and Engineering
1956 - 1966
Career position - Member, Human Engineering Group, Aeronautical Research Laboratories, Commonwealth Department of Supply and Engineering
1956 - 1979
Career position - Reader in Mechanical Engineering, University of Melbourne
1960 - ?
Career position - Member, Australian Roads Research Board
1960
Education - AM (Psychology), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.
1979 - 1982
Career position - Director, Caulfield Institute of Technology
1979 - 1986
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences (FTS)
1983
Award - Doctor of Engineering (DEng), honoris causa, University of Melbourne
1983 - 1986
Career position - Visiting Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Melbourne

Related Corporate Bodies

Archival resources

State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection

  • Ronald William Cumming - Records, MS 13551; State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection. Details

Published resources

Resources

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_c.html. Details
  • Wisdom, John, A History of Defence Science in Australia (Melbourne: Defence Science and Technology Organisation, 1995), 267 pp. Details

McCarthy, G.J. and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 20 June 2024

EOAS ID: biogs/P001291b.htm

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