Person
Levick, William Russell (Bill) (1931 - 2022)
FAA FRS
- Born
- 5 December 1931
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - Died
- 5 May 2022
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia - Occupation
- Medical researcher and Neurophysiologist
Summary
Bill Levick was one of Australia's most distinguished neuroscientists whose research made fundamental contributions to understanding the neural circuitry of the retina and visual pathways. His key research interest has been the retinal mechanisms in visual perception, including the organization of visual receptive fields. After completing his university studies and working overseas for several years he returned to Australia as Lecturer in physiology at the University of Sydney. In 1967 he moved to the John Curtin School of Medical Research as Professorial Fellow when his friend and colleague, Peter Bishop, became Professor at the School. Levick built one of the world's foremost visual neurophysiology centres. Levick was elected a Fellow f the Australian Academy of Science and the Royal Society, London, and Honorary Member of the Australian Neuroscience Society.
Details
Chronology
- 1957 - 1958
- Career position - Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, New South Wales
- 1963 - 1964
- Career position - CJ Martin Travelling Fellow, Universities of Cambridge (UK) and California (USA)
- 1965 - 1966
- Career position - Associate Research Physiologist, University of California, USA
- 1967
- Career position - Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney
- 1967 - 1983
- Career position - Professorial Fellow in Physiology at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University in Canberra
- 1973 - 2022
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
- 1977 - 2022
- Award - Fellow, Optical Society of America
- 1982 - 2022
- Award - Fellow, The Royal Society, London (FRS)
- 1983 - 1996
- Career position - Personal Chair in Physiology at the John Curtin School of Medical Research
- 1996 -
- Career position - Emeritus Professor, Australian National University
- 1996
- Life event - Retired
- 1 Jan 2001
- Award - Centenary Medal - for service to Australian society and science in the neurophysiology of vision
Related entries
Colleague
Published resources
Book Sections
- Levick, W, R., 'Highlights of retinal research' in The John Curtin School of Medical Research: the first fifty years 1948 - 1998, Fenner, F. and Curtis, D., eds (Gundaroo, N.S.W.: Brolga Press, 2001), pp. 443-7. Details
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'Obituary: Professor William "Bill" Russell Levick FAA FRS 5 December 1931 to 5 May 2022', Newsletter, Australian Academy of Science, 160 (2022). https://www.science.org.au/academy-newsletter/may-2022-160/fellows-update. Details
- Barlow, H. B. and Levick, W, R., 'The mechanism of directionally selective units in rabbit's retina', Journal of physiology, 178 (1965), 477-504, https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.1965.sp007638. Details
- Bishop, P. O. and Levick, W. R., 'Saltatory conduction in single isolated and non-isolated myelinated nerve fibres.', Journal of cellular and comparative physiology, 48 (1) (1956), 1-34, https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.1030480102. Details
- Thibos, Larry N. and Cleland, Brian G., 'William Russell Levick. 5 December 1931 - 5 May 2022', Biographical memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 78 (2025), 261-79, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2024.0014. Details
- Thibos, Larry N. and Cleland, Brian G., 'William Russell Levick (1931 - 2022)', Historical Records of Australian Science, 36 (2025), 1-10, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR25011. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21166831. Details
- 'Levick, W R (1931-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1071239. Details
Annette Alafaci and Helen Cohn
Created: 15 February 2006, Last modified: 23 September 2025