Webb, John Mark (1944 - )

Summary

John Webb was a distinguished Australian chemist and science diplomat whose career was built on education in Australia and the USA in the emerging field of biological inorganic chemistry. A champion of collaborative research across disciplines as well as of Australian scientists engaging internationally, particularly in Asia, he was awarded the OAM. A life-long supporter of UNESCO, he accepted a diplomatic role for Australia in the High Commission in Delhi, India, where the Australia India Strategic Research Fund was established. His diplomatic responsibilities extended also to Pakistan and Nepal. At the University of Melbourne, he had a key role in establishing the Australia India Institute. In his later years he was an active member of the Swinburne University of Technology, History of Science Research Group, under the Office of the Swinburne Chief Scientist.

Details

His major scientific publications include:

Mann, S, Webb J and Williams RJP (Editors) Biomineralization: Chemical and Biochemical Perspectives, VCH Verlagesellschaft, Weinheim, Germany (1989); review in Nature Volume 343, page 226 (1990), https://doi.org/10.1038/343226a0

Mann S, Perry CC, Webb J, Luke B and Williams RJP. Structure, morphology, composition and organization of biogenic minerals in limpet teeth. Proc. Royal Soc (B) 227, 179-187 (1986)

Chronology

1968

Education - B.Sc. first class honours, inorganic chemistry and University Medal, University of Sydney; CSIRO scholarship to USA

1972

Education - Ph.D. in chemistry with minors in biochemistry and political science, California Institute of Technology; thesis Structural Studies of Some polynuclear Iron Proteins.

1973 - 1975

Career position - Research Fellow, University of Alabama Medical School, Birmingham, USA

1975 - 1977

Career position - Research Fellow, Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University

1977 - 2005

Career position - Lecturer, then senior appointments leading to Professor, Murdoch University, Perth Australia

1978

Education - Diploma of Education, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia

1981

Award - Fulbright Research Fellow, California Institute of Technology, USA

1984

Career position - Visiting Fellow, Inorganic chemistry, University of Oxford, UK

1984 - 1986

Career position - Honorary Secretary, UNESCO Network for Analytical and Inorganic Chemistry (ANAIC)

1986

Award - Elected Fellow, Royal Australian Chemical Institute

1990

Career event - Co-founder, with Professor Wang Kui of Beijing University, continuing conference series on Applied Bioinorganic Chemistry starting in Wuhan China

1990 - 2000

Career position - Honorary Director, Network for Instrumentation Development, Maintenance and Repair (NIDMAR)

1994

Award - Distinguished Alumnus Award, University of Sydney International House for outstanding contribution to the international community.

1996

Award - Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for 'forming research networks in Asia and for research in bioinorganic chemistry'

1999

Career event - Member, Australian national delegation (led by Gareth Evans MP) to UNESCO's World Conference on Science, Budapest, Hungary

1999 - 2004

Career position - Member, Australian National Commission of UNESCO

2001

Award - Citation, Royal Australian Chemical Institute, for 'contributions to chemistry and the RACI, particularly through the International Relations Committee and the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies, over many years'

2002 - 2003

Career position - Senior Consultant (science and education), UNESCO, Paris

2005 -

Award - Emeritus Professor, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia

2005 - 2008

Career position - Counsellor (Education, Science and Training), Australian High Commission, New Delhi, India; responsibilities also in Nepal and Pakistan

2005 - 2008

Career position - Foundation member, Advisory Board for UNESCO's International Basic Sciences Program

2006

Award - Life member and Fellow, Federation of Asian Chemical Societies

2008 - 2011

Career position - Deputy Director and Professor, Australia India Institute, University of Melbourne, Victoria

2012 - 2014

Career position - Professorial Fellow, Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Victoria

2015 - 2024

Career position - Adjunct Professor, Centre for Transformative Innovation, School of Business and Law, Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria

2018 - 2020

Career position - Council member, Victorian Branch of Australian Institute for International Affairs

2024 -

Career position - Adjunct Professor, History of Science Research Group, Office of the Swinburne Chief Scientist, Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria

Related entries

Published resources

Journal Articles

• Spurling, T. H.; Webb, J. M., 'William Percy Wilkinson: analytical chemist, ampelographer and provocateur', Chemistry in Australia, 2017 (March) (2017), 33, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.682207420902073. Details
• Spurling, Tom; Webb, John Mark, 'The Great War brought us tragedy but it also birthed Australian science', The Conversation (2015), https://doi.org/10.64628/AA.t4cqjfqsn. Details
• Webb, J,M.; Spurling, T.H.; Simpson, G.W., 'Science diplomacy: where chemistry is crucial', AsiaChem Magazine (2021), 26-31, https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.51167/acm00031. Details