Person
Norman, Peter David (1932 - 2023)
- Born
- 5 November 1932
Plympton, South Australia, Australia - Died
- 4 November 2023
Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Physicist and Teacher
Summary
Peter Norman was a teacher and physicist with a special interest in astronomy. During his teaching career he spent extended periods at several Victorian high schools and Frankston Teachers' College. His interest in astronomy was such that at these schools he generally started an astronomy club. After the amalgamation of all Victorian teacher's colleges, Norman found himself a staff member of the Applied Physics Department at the Caulfield Institute of Technology, taking the hint that he would go further with a higher degree. His subsequent studies at Monash University, during which his research was on electron diffraction from several alloy systems, resulted in the award of a PhD in 1986 and several publications. From the early 1990s Norman was Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics at Monash University, his students including those studying nursing. With his wife, Doreen, he published Practical medication mathematics: skills for Australian nurses (1994), a book now widely used in Australia and overseas. After retiring from Monash he taught astronomy through U3A in Mornington for the subsequent 27 years , and continued his involvement on local astronomical societies until 2019.
Details
Chronology
- 1952
- Education - BSc (Physics), University of Melbourne
- 1953
- Education - Diploma of Education, University of Melbourne
- 1954 - 1959
- Career position - Teacher, Casterton High School, Victoria
- 1960 - 1970
- Career position - Science and mathematics teacher, Mornington High School, Victoria
- 1971 - 1990s
- Career position - Lecturer, Frankston Teachers' College (later Caulfield Institute of Technology)
- 1982
- Education - MSc (Prelim), Monash University
- 1986
- Education - PhD, Monash University
- 1990s - 1994
- Career position - Senior Lecturer, Department of Physics, Monash University
- 1994
- Life event - Retired
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Norman, Peter and Norman, Doreen, Practical medication mathematics: skills for Australian nurses (Melbourne: Thomas Nelson Australia, 1994), 198 pp. Details
Journal Articles
- Finlayson, T. R., Goodman, P., Olsen, A., Norman, P. and Wilkins, S. W., 'An electron diffraction study of a pre- martensitic In-24at%Tl alloy', Acta crystallographica section B, 40 (1984), 555-60, https://doi.org/10.11007/S0108768184002688. Details
- Finlayson, Trevor, 'Peter David Norman (5 November 1932 - 4 November 2023)', Australian physics, 61 (2) (2024), 22-3. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 4 September 2025