Bart Bok

1906 ­ 1983

Astronomer

Bart Bok's interest in astronomy began as a young boy and his enthusiasm is demonstrated by a bicycle trip to Norway to observe the solar eclipse of 1927. Born in the Netherlands, he moved to the United States in 1929 in order to undertake a PhD. His lifeıs work was dedicated to understanding ­ and promoting ­ the structure of the Milky Way. In 1956 Bok was appointed director of the Mt Stromlo Observatory where he led a synthesis of optical and radio astronomy. During his directorship he established the Graduate School of Astronomy at the ANU, oversaw the establishment of the Anglo-Australian Observatory at Siding Springs and proposed the Stromlo Forest reserve. He is particularly remembered for his popular ABC broadcasts on astronomy. In 1966 Bart Bok returned to the States to take up the Directorship of the University of Arizona Observatory.

Howard Florey

1898 ­ 1968

Microbiologist/Immunologist

The man responsible for developing penicillin is one of Australiaıs most famous scientists. Less known is his participation in the first Arctic expedition to use an aeroplane. When this also became the first expedition to have a plane crash Florey used his medical training to patch up the wounds of the pilot and team leader. Born in Adelaide, where he completed his medical degree, Florey spent almost his entire research career in Britain. He had a very direct manner which earned him many enemies but his ability to investigate nature with clear and unambiguous experiments won him great respect. In the 1930s Florey studied anti-bacterial chemicals produced by fungi, including penicillin. In 1941 penicillin was first tried on nine human patients with impressive results. The use of penicillin was vital for the allied war effort. His work in taking Alexander Flemingıs fortuitous observation, to produce a drug with demonstrated antibiotic effectiveness against a range of untreatable and deadly infections, won him the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine (with Fleming and Chaim) in 1943. He was elected the first Australian President of the Royal Society of London in 1860 where he was known as 'the Bushranger President' and was made Lord Florey of Adelaide in 1965. A founding father of the John Curtin School of Medical Research, he was made Chancellor of the ANU in 1964 and served two terms in that position. Florey died from a heart attack in 1968.

Richard Daintree

1832 ­ 1878

Geologist

Following early education in his native Britain, Richard Daintree moved to Australia in order to seek a warmer climate. He found employment in the early 1850s as a geologist with the Victorian Geological Survey. During this time he took up photography and was one of the first scientists to employ this new technology in fieldwork. Daintree moved to Queensland in 1864 having tired of the routine work involved in the Survey. After a pastoral venture, he persuaded the Queensland Government to establish their own Geological Survey. He became the first geological surveyor of North Queensland where he located rich mineral deposits and stimulated the opening up of the Cape River, Gilbert and Etheridge goldfields. He prepared a collection of geological specimens for the London Exhibition of 1871 but the ship carrying them was wrecked off the coast of South Africa! Daintree and his family escaped unharmed ­ as did his collection of photographs which provided a successful exhibition and drew immigrants to Queensland. The show was so successful it led to Daintree being appointed Queensland Agent-General in London, a post he held vigorously for four years. When his health began to fail he moved to France for the winter but died in Britain in 1878 at the age of 46. The Daintree River and Daintree Rainforest in North Queensland commemorate his life.

Nancy Millis

1922 ­

Microbiologist

Nancy Millis describes herself as ³interested in anything that ferments², an appropriate comment for one of the pioneers of the study of fermentation technology in Australia. She has spent her career seeking links between universities and industry, making connections between science and people's everyday lives. Millis, born in Melbourne, had her high school education interrupted when she went to work as a bookkeeper to help support her family. Eventually she matriculated and studied agriculture at Melbourne University. She spent a year in Papua New Guinea studying the agricultural methods used by women and later went to Bristol University to study for her PhD and was introduced to fermentation. Back in Australia she was appointed to a lectureship at Melbourne University where she progressed to become the Universityıs fourth ever female professor. Nancy Millis instituted the industrial microbiology course and was awarded a personal chair in 1982 until retirement in 1987. She also chairs the Genetic Manipulation Advisory Committee and has been Chancellor of La Trobe University since 1982.

Charles Todd

1826 ­ 1910

Telecommunications/ Meteorologist

There was not a single telegraph line in SA when Charles Todd was appointed Superintendent of Telegraphs and Government Astronomer for the colony in 1855. That was to change. Over the next 51 years Todd supervised the construction of links from Adelaide to Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth, and from 1870-72 masterminded the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line stretching from Adelaide to Darwin. In 1872, completion of the line to Darwin allowed a link to be made to Asia and thus to Britain and the rest of the world. Toddıs early training in Britain was as an astronomer. He was one of the first observers of the planet Neptune and he pursued his responsibilities for astronomy in South Australia with equal vigour. Todd's duties as Government Astronomer included looking after the colony's weather service. He was responsible for setting up the meteorological observation network in SA and NT- the tradition he started of having telegraph operators take weather readings is continued in most country towns to this day. He was also the first to make the connection between droughts in Australia and India due to a phenomenon known today as El Nino which is used to forecast climate. Charles Todd was fond of puns ­ one of his favourite sayings, when accepting an offer of tea, was ³Oh yes, without T I would be Odd.²

Macfarlane Burnet

1899 ­ 1985

Immunologist

The immunologist Macfarlane Burnet is considered by many to be the greatest Australian scientist of his era. His work included research on polio, Q fever, cholera vibrio and myxamatosis. He made many fundamental discoveries, sharing the Nobel Prize in 1960 for his work on immunological tolerance. He developed the important method of culturing viruses in living egg embryos and made the discovery that antibody production is not inherited but learnt during foetal life. The 'clonal selection theory' was proposed by Burnet and helped explain how the body learns to distinguish between 'self ' and 'non-self'- important in understanding why rejection occurs following organ transplantation. Burnetıs other honours included a knighthood, Australian of the Year and Presidency of the Australian Academy of Science. Possibly equally significant as his discoveries for Australian science was the generation of researchers he trained while Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne. Burnet had a socially awkward personality. He disliked orthodoxy in science, religion or politics, and his many public statements ­ against smoking and nuclear weapons, and in favour of euthanasia, population control and solar energy ­ ruffled a few feathers. As a rural Victorian child, Burnet developed a passion for collecting beetles and he returned to this hobby in the years between the death of his wife Linda in 1973 and his own in 1985.

William Hudson 1896 ­ 1978

Civil Engineer

Born in New Zealand, William Hudson studied civil engineering at London University. His studies were interrupted by World War I when he served with the British Forces in France where he was wounded. He finally graduated in 1920. Then followed a diversified professional career with work in France and Scotland prior to joining the Sydney Water Board where he eventually became Engineer in Chief. When Hudson told his father of his decision to study engineering, the response was ³Bill, thatıs about all you are bloody well good for²- an understatement for the man who as Commissioner of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority from 1949 to 1967 directed Australiaıs greatest engineering feat in the twentieth century. Hudson was considered a fair but stern taskmaster ­ he was concerned to ensure equity of treatment for all workers, many of whom were recent immigrants. Hudson ensured nothing would disrupt the task at hand and the scheme was completed in 1974 ahead of schedule and close to budget. Hudson was retired against his will in 1967 and he died in Canberra in 1978. Hudson's other achievements in Australia include construction of the Nepean and Woranora dams.

Frank Fenner 1914 ­

Microbiologist

Described as ³Australiaıs greatest living microbiologist², Frank Fenner was born in Victoria and studied medicine at Adelaide University. Fenner served in the Australian Army Medical Corps during the Second World War where he worked on malaria control. Afterwards he worked at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute before moving to the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR) at the Australian National University. In the 1950s Fenner studied myxamatosis and was one of three scientists ­ along with Macfarlane Burnet and Ian Clunies-Ross ­ who injected himself with the myxamatosis vaccine to demonstrate its safety to humans. In 1967 Fenner was appointed Director of the JCSMR and he subsequently became foundation Director of the Centre for Resource and Environment Studies in 1973. In the 1970s Fenner played a central role in the global eradication of smallpox and made the announcement of eradication to the World Health Authority in 1980. For his pioneering research on human and animal pox viruses Fenner was awarded the Royal Society of London's highest accolade, the Copley Medal in 1996.

Arthur Birch

1915 ­ 1996

Organic chemist

It is fitting that the first original experiments performed by Arthur Birch - distillation of eucalyptus leaves - were done on equipment bought from the legacy of a grandmother who called him ³Professor² as a child. His family was very poor and only after winning a scholarship at the University of Sydney did he find himself at Oxford to complete a PhD. After a successful research career at Oxford and Cambridge, where he formulated a breakthrough procedure in synthetic organic chemistry now known as the Birch Reduction, he was appointed to the Chair of Organic Chemistry at the University of Sydney. One of the world's great masters in organic chemistry, Birch's research formed the foundation for the manufacture of antibiotic drugs. From 1967-80 he was a foundation Professor at the Research School of Chemistry at the ANU and a leading science administrator and policy adviser. He was President of the Australian Academy of Science and one of the founders of the Australian Science and Technology Council. Birch was made a companion of the Order of Australia. He died, still actively engaged in science and writing, in 1996.

Helen Newton Turner

1908 ­ 1995

Agricultural statistician

Born in Sydney, Helen Newton Turner originally studied architecture at Sydney University but was unable to find architectural work and so took a secretarial job at the CSIR ­ the CSIROıs predecessor. Working there she became interested in statistics and in 1939 went to England to study. Upon returning to Australia Turner became one of the first agricultural statisticians for the CSIR. In 1956 she became leader of the CSIROıs Animal Breeding Section where she remained until 1973. In this time she worked to introduce quantitative methods into sheep breeding. Turner was responsible for selling these new techniques to farmers, many of whom resisted changing their traditional methods. As a consequence Turner became a prolific communicator, speaking at public meetings and on ABC radio. She also conducted experiments on twinning in sheeps and her work has helped to increase the quality of Australian wool. Helen Newton Turnerıs work was not confined to Australia and she worked hard to improve Australiaıs assistance to developing countries.

Fiona Stanley

1946 ­

Paediatrician/Epidemiologist

Founding Director of the TVW Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and Professor, Department of Paediatrics, the University of Western Australia ­ who describes her heroes as Albert Schweitzer and Marie Curie ­ Stanley is a powerful advocate for improving the health of the general population, rather than concentrating resources on individual sicknesses. After studying medicine and surgery at the University of Western Australia, Stanley became interested in child health through the Aboriginal Rights movement of the early 1970ıs. She undertook further training in epidemiology (describing and explaining the occurrence of disease in populations), biostatistics and public health. A world trip, including a 3 month stint as a GP on a Scottish island with further study in London, provided Stanley with the grounding needed to return to WA and conduct and supervise research in maternal and child health. Fiona is a respected advocate and instigator of health promotion programs which include folate for spina bifida prevention and primary medical care among rural Aboriginal communities. Her outstanding research has helped to reduce the incidence of spina bifida and cerebral palsy in children. For her research into preventing major childhood illnesses Fiona was awarded an Order of Australia in 1996.

S.W.O. 'Bill' MENZEL

1926 -

Plastic pipe technologist and inventor

Born in Adelaide, the descendent of German forebears who emigrated to the Barossa Valley in 1840, Menzel has spent a lifetime in the plastics industry. A pioneer plastic pipe maker who, with his brothers, developed the Adelaide firm of IPLEX Plastic Industries Pty Ltd as one of Australia's leading manufacturers of plastic pipes and fittings, Menzel has patented more than 40 inventions, many now world-renowned. From 1969, he specialised in plastic drip and plastic pipes in the form of micro-sprinklers bringing this technology to a high degree of world acceptance. Menzel established the Rib Loc concept which spirally winds plastic profiles into both small and large diameter pipes, the latter used to repair failed sewer pipes around the world. By 1996 this revolutionary concept was being used in 35 countries. Highly inventive and a great exporter of Australian technology, Menzel is Chairman and Chief Executive of Rib Loc Group Ltd, Adelaide. He received the Order of the British Empire and was made an Officer in the Order of Australia for his contribution to plastic technology.

Peter Doherty

1940-

Immunologist

From Queensland veterinarian to Nobel Prize winner, Peter Doherty has travelled an interesting and exciting road in science. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1996, the seventh in Australia's scientific history and the first to be awarded to a 'vet'. The prize winning research, done at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, was for basic understanding of how the immune system recognises virus infected cells. 'MHC restriction' is now a fundamental principle in immunology. The discovery has helped doctors with organ transplantations and anti-cancer agents. Born in Australia and driven by a desire to understand, he studied veterinary science at the University of Queensland and then completed a PhD at the University of Edinburgh. He currently works as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pathology and Paediatrics at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. Peter Doherty is now emerging as an articulate public spokesman for the value of basic national scientific research.