Bullen, Keith Edward (1906 - 1976)

Summary

Keith Bullen was Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of Sydney 1946-1971 but had earlier worked at Auckland University College 1928-1940 and the University of Melbourne 1940-1945. He studied at Cambridge under H. Jeffreys working on theoretical seismology. Much of his later work was directed towards confirming the theory of the Earth having a solid core. His suggestion that nuclear explosions be monitored so the resulting earthquake waves could be studied was ultimately accepted. Bullen was active in international seismology, serving on policy bodies and in executive positions in organisations such of the International Association of Seismology, of which he was President from 1954 to 1957. Among his publications were An introduction to the theory of seismology (1947, 3rd edition 1963), which became the standard text and was translated into other languages, and The Earth's density (1975).

Details

Chronology

1926

Education - Bachelor of Arts (BA), Auckland University College, New Zealand

1926 - 1927

Career position - Teacher, Auckland Grammar School, New Zealand

1928

Education - Master of Arts (MA), Auckland University College, New Zealand

1928 - 1931

Career position - Lecturer in mathematics, Auckland University College

1930

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), Auckland University College, New Zealand

1933 - 1976

Award - Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society, United Kingdom

1934 - 1940

Career position - Lecturer in mathematics, Auckland University College

1937

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

1940 - 1945

Career position - Senior Lecturer in mathematics, University of Melbourne

1946

Education - Doctor of Science (ScD), University of Cambridge

1946 - 1971

Career position - Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of Sydney

1949

Award - Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal, Australian Academy of Science

1949 - 1976

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

1953

Award - Walter Burfitt Prize, Royal Society of New South Wales

1953 - 1976

Award - Petitioner for the Academy, Founding Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1954 - 1957

Career position - President, International Association of Seismology

1955

Award - Bicentennial Medal, Columbia University, New York, U.S.A.

1958

Career position - Vice-President, Committee on Antarctic Research, International Council of Scientific Unions

1960 - 1976

Award - Foreign Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

1961

Award - William Bowie Medal, American Geophysical Union

1961 - 1976

Award - Foreign Associate, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

1962 - 1976

Award - Fellow, American Geophysical Union

1963

Award - Doctor of Science (DSc), honoris causa, University of Auckland, New Zealand

1963

Award - Arthur L. Day Medal, Geological Society of America

1963 - 1967

Career position - Vice-President, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics

1963 - 1976

Award - Honorary Fellow, Royal Society of New Zealand

1963 - 1976

Award - Honorary Fellow, Geological Society of America

1965

Award - Royal Society of Victoria Medal for Excellence in Scientific Research

1967 - 1976

Award - Honorary Fellow, Geological Society of London

1968

Award - Elected to the Pontifical Academy of Science, Rome

1969

Award - Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture, Australian Academy of Science

1971

Life event - Retired

1971 - 1975

Career position - Chairman, International Committee for the Standard Earth Model

1973 - 1976

Career position - Member of Council, International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering

1974

Award - Gold Medal, Royal Astronomical Society, United Kingdom

1974 - 1976

Award - Fellow, Royal Society of New South Wales

1975

Award - Doctor of Science (DSc), honoris causa, University of Sydney

Related entries

Archival resources

Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science

• Keith Edward Bullen, FAA - Records, 1926 - 1976, MS 223; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details

University of Sydney, Archives

• Keith Edward Bullen - Records, 1915 - 1976, P 25; University of Sydney, Archives. 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

Book Sections

• Winch, Denis E., 'Bullen, Keith Edward (1906-1976), seismologist and professor of applied mathematics' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 13: 1940 - 1980 A-De, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1993), pp. 295-297. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130334b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• 'Obituary: K. E. Bullen', Search, 7 (11-12) (1976), 459. Details
• Bullen, K. E., 'Obituary: Thomas Noel Burke-Gaffney, S. J.', Australian Journal of Science, 21 (5) (1958), 133-134. Details
• Bullen, K. E., 'Obituary: Roger Chapman Thorne', Australian Journal of Science, 22 (3) (1959), 109-110. Details
• Bullen, K. E., 'Thomas MacFarland Cherry', Records of the Australian Academy of Science, 1 (2) (1967), 97-107. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9670120097. Details
• Hales, A. L., 'Keith Edward Bullen 1906-1976', Records of the Australian Academy of Science, 4 (2) (1979), 42-64. http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9790420042.htm. Details
• Jeffreys, Harold, 'Keith Edward Bullen, 29 June 1906 - 23 September 1976', Biographical memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 23 (1977), 19-39. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.1977.0002. Details

Resources

• Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society [Online resource], Royal Society of London, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.1977.0002. Details
• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1361292. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/59158642. Details
• 'Bullen, K E (1906-1976)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1215230. Details

Resource Sections

• 'Bullen, Keith Edward', in Physics in Australia to 1945, R.W. Home, with the assistance of Paula J. Needham, Australian Science Archives Project, June 1995, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/physics/P001455p.htm. Details
• Hales, A. L., 'Keith Edward Bullen 1906-1976', in Australian Academy of Science Biographical Memoirs, Australian Academy of Science, 2006, https://www.science.org.au/fellowship/fellows/biographical-memoirs-1/keith-edward-bullen-1906-1976. Details

See also

• Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal, Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, 2023. https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/awards-and-opportunities/thomas-ranken-lyle-medal. Details
• Paterson, M. S., 'John Conrad Jaeger 1907-1979', Historical Records of Australian Science, 5 (3) (1982), 64-88. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9820530064. Details