Person
Butement, William Alan Stewart (1904 - 1990)
CBE FTSE
- Born
- 18 August 1904
Masterton, New Zealand - Died
- 25 January 1990
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Physicist
Summary
William Butement was Chief Scientist with the Commonwealth Department of Supply and executive in charge of Australian Defence Scientific Research and Development 1949-1967 which included the Rocket Range at Woomera. Earlier in his career his work on radar earned him the title "Mr Searchlight Radar". However, he regarded the proximity fuse as his greatest achievement. He is commemorated by the High Frequency Radar Division, Butement Laboratory at Salisbury in South Australia.
Details
Educated University College London (BSc). Scientific Officer, Signals Experimental Establishment War Office outstation Woolwich, United Kingdom 1928-38; senior scientific officer, Radar Research and Development Establishment, United Kingdom Ministry of Supply 1938-39; principal scientific officer and assistant director of scientific research, United Kingdom Ministry of Supply HQ London 1940-46; deputy chief scientific officer of party to Australia under Sir John Evetts to set up Rocket Range; first chief superintendent, Long Range Weapons Establishment Australia 1947-49; chief scientist, Department of Supply 1949-67, responsible for the newly created Australian Defence Scientific Service (ADSS); Research director, Plessey Pacific Pty Ltd 1967-72.
Chronology
- 1947 - 1949
- Career position - Inaugural chief superintendent, Long Range Weapons Establishment Australia
- 1949 - 1967
- Career position - Chief Scientist, Department of Supply
- 1959
- Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) - Chief Scientist of the Department of Supply
- 1975 - 1987
- Award - Foundation Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences (FTS)
- 1987 - 1990
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE) [Foundation Fellow AATS 1975]
Related entries
Archival resources
Private hands (contact Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre)
- William Alan Stewart Butement - Records, 1960 - 1990; Private hands (contact Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre). Details
Published resources
Books
- Williams, Betty, Dr W. A. S. Butement, the first Chief Scientist for Defence (Canberra: Defence Science and Technology Organisation, 1991), 27 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Home, R. W., 'Butement, William Alan Stewart (1904-1990), Defence Scientist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 17: 1981 - 1990 A-K, Diane Langmore, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2007), pp. 172-174. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/butement-william-alan-12274. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7945300. Details
- 'Butement, William Alan (1904-1990)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1467338. 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_b.html. Details
- Federation and Meteorology, 2001, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/fam/index_b.html. Details
- Caro, D. E.; Martin, R. L., 'Leslie Harold Martin 1900-1983', Historical Records of Australian Science, 7 (1) (1987), 97-107. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9870710097. Details
- Newton, J. O., 'Ernest William Titterton 1916-1990', Historical Records of Australian Science, 9 (2) (1992), 167-187. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9920920167. Details
- Wisdom, John, A History of Defence Science in Australia (Melbourne: Defence Science and Technology Organisation, 1995), 267 pp. Details
McCarthy, G.J.
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 9 November 2022
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education