Person

O'Brien, Brian John (1934 - 2020)

AO FTSE

Born
27 February 1934
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died
7 August 2020
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Occupation
Physicist

Summary

Brian O'Brien is a physicist with a distinguished career in space exploration, focused on radiation and dust. He was the principal investigator of experiments deployed on several Apollo missions, and built Injun 1, the first satellite to use digital telemetry. Other inventions included thermoelectric and thermomagnetic refrigerators, and the lunar dust detector. He determined the cause of satellite failure from damaged solar cells and conducted the first satellite-based studies of auroras. His publications include a series of papers of the movement of lunar dust. O'Brien was the first Australian to be awarded the NASA Medal for Exceptional Space Achievement. On returning to Australia, O'Brien was appointed the inaugural Chairman of the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority. With his wife, he founded the environmental and strategic analysis consultancy Brian J. O'Brien and Associates Pty Ltd.

Details

Chronology

1954
Award - U.S. National Speleological Society Award
1956
Career position - Foundation President, Australian Speleological Federation
1957
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Sydney
1958 - 1959
Career position - Deputy Chief Physicist, Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition
1959 - 1962
Career position - Assistant Professor, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, U.S.A.
1962 - 1963
Career position - Associate Professor of Physics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, U.S.A.
1963 - 1968
Career position - Professor of Space Science, Rice University, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
1964
Career position - Visiting Professor of Space Science, University of Sydney
1969 - 1970
Career position - Visiting Professor of Space Science, University of Sydney
1971 - 1977
Career position - Chairman, Environment Protection Authority, Western Australia
1973
Award - Paul Harris Medal and Sapphire, NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement
1978 - 2020
Career position - Managing Director, Brian J. O'Brien and Associates Pty Ltd
1980 - 2005
Career position - Member, Communications Advisory Council
1993
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
1996 -
Career position - Co-ordinator, Rotary East Java Hearing Project
2000 - 2006
Career position - Professor of Natural Resource Management, University of Notre Dame Australia
2001
Award - Centenary Medal - for service to Australian society in environmental science and technology
2009 -
Career position - Adjunct Professor of Physics, University of Western Australia
2021
Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) (posthumous) - for distinguished service to science, particularly to lunar dust research, to tertiary education in the field of physics, and to the environment

Published resources

Journal Articles

Resources

See also

  • Robson, Alexandra K.; Production Manager and Editor eds, Who's who in Australia 2019 (Southbank, Vic.: AAP Directories, 2018), 1788 pp. Details

Helen Cohn

EOAS ID: biogs/P006956b.htm

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