Person
Mather, Keith Benson (1922 - 2003)
- Born
- 6 January 1922
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia - Died
- 10 January 2003
Eugene, Oregon, United States of America - Occupation
- Physicist
Summary
Keith Mather was a scientific explorer, research physicist and lecturer. After completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Adelaide, he stayed on to lecture and research in optical spectroscopy and to complete a Masters Degree in physics. A few years later, Mather went to Washington University (USA) and then Birmingham University (UK), followed by a one year lectureship period at the University of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Upon returning to Australia, he joined the Atomic Physics Section of CSIRO and then the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. In 1956 he returned to CSIRO, but this time to the Australian Antarctic Division where he later became Director of their Mawson research station. Antarctica's Mount Mather is named after him. Next Mather worked for the University of Melbourne followed by the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute, USA where he was appointed Director (1963). When he retired in 1986 he was Vice-Chancellor for Research.
Details
Chronology
- 1942
- Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Adelaide
- 1943 - 1945
- Career position - Demonstrator in Physics, University of Adelaide
- 1944
- Education - Master of Science (Electrical Engineering), University of Adelaide
- 1946
- Career position - Lecturer in Physics, University of Adelaide
- 1946 - 1949
- Education - Science and Industry Endowment Fund Scholar at Washington University , St. Louis, USA (undertaking a PhD)
- 1949 - 1950
- Career position - ICI Fellow, University of Birmingham, UK
- 1950 - 1951
- Career position - Lecturer in Physics, University of Ceylon
- 1952 - 1954
- Career position - Research Officer at the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Atomic Physics Section
- 1954 - 1956
- Career position - Senior Research Officer, Australian Atomic Energy Commission
- 1957
- Career position - Physicist-in-charge at the CSIRO Australian Antarctic Division's Mawson Station, Antarctica
- 1958 - 1961
- Career position - Lecturer in Physics, University of Melbourne
- 1961 - 1962
- Career position - Visiting Research Geophysicist at the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, USA
- 1962 - 1963
- Career position - Associate Professor of Physics at the Geophysical Institute
- 1963 - 1976
- Career position - Director and Professor of Physics at the Geophysical Institute
- 1976 - 1986
- Career position - Vice-Chancellor for Research and Advanced Study, University of Alaska
Related entries
Published resources
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q55679720. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/220518996. Details
- 'Mather, Keith Benson (1922-2003)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1475053. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Mather, Keith Benson', 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/P001745p.htm. Details
See also
- Smith, Susan and Spurling, Thomas H., 'The Science and Industry Endowment Fund: supporting the development of Australian science', Historical Records of Australian Science, 26 (1) (2015), 58-83, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR14027. Details
McCarthy, G.J.
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 1 March 2018
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education