Biographical entry Sutherland, Keith Leonard (1916 - 1980)

Summary

Keith Sutherland was an expert in flotation systems and surface chemistry. He was appointed head of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) physical chemistry section in 1941. During the war years Sutherland was involve in many projects including the testing of the efficiency of gas masks against zinc arsenide. In 1947 he moved to London to work at the Royal Institution of Great Britain and returned to Australia and the CSIR in 1950. Eight years later Sutherland was appointed head of the newly formed CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Division of Physical Chemistry. In 1959 he was appointed director of research in Sydney for the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. Ltd, a position which he held until he retired in 1978. as part of this role Sutherland helped establish the David North Plant Research Centre in Brisbane and the CSR industrial research laboratory at Roseville, Sydney. He was also involved in the management of Lizard Island Research Station on the Great Barrier Reef and was honorary curator in the malacology department of the Australian Museum.

Details

Events

1937

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc) completed at the University of Melbourne

1940

Career position - Trained civilians to deal with unexploded bombs

1941

Education - Master of Science (MSc) completed at the University of Melbourne

1941 - 1947

Career position - Head of the Physical Chemistry Section in the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) Division of Industrial Chemistry

1947

Award - Davy-Faraday fellowship received and travelled to London

1948

Award - David Syme Research Prize received from the University of Melbourne

1948

Education - Doctor of Science (DSc) received from the University of Melbourne

1950

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) completed at the University of London

1950 - 1958

Career position - Head of the Physical Chemistry Section in the CSIRO Division of Industrial Chemistry

1958 - 1959

Career position - Chief of the Division of Physical Chemistry at the CSIRO

1959 -

Career position - Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1959 - 1978

Career position - Director of Research for the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. Ltd.

November 1965 - October 1971

Career position - Member of the CSIRO Executive (part-time)

1966 - ?

Career position - Trustee of the Australian Museum

1972 - 1974

Career position - President of the Trustees of the Australian Museum

1974

Career position - Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (FRACI)

1974

Career position - Founding member of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences

1975

Career position - President of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI), New South Wales branch

1977

Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

1978

Career position - President of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS)

1978

Life event - Retired

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Historical Directory of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, 1926-1976, CSIRO, Canberra, 1978, 101 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Miller, David Philip, 'Sutherland, Keith Leonard (1916-1980), Industrial Chemist', in John Ritchie and Diane Langmore (eds), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 16, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2002, pp. 347-348. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160415b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• Ewers, W. E. and Weiss, D. E., 'Keith Leonard Sutherland 1916-1980', Historical Records of Australian Science, vol. 5, no. 2, 1981, pp. 78-88. Also available at http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9810520078.htm. Details

Online Resources

• Ewers, W. E. and Weiss, D. E., 'Keith Leonard Sutherland 1916-1980', in Australian Academy of Science Biographical Memoirs, Australian Academy of Science, 2006, http://www.science.org.au/fellows/memoirs/sutherland.html. Details
• National Library of Australia, 'Sutherland, Keith Leonard', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1467761. Details

See also

• Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/scripts/tia-dynindex.php3?EID=P000813. Details
• Rees, A. L. G., 'Ian William Wark 1899-1985', Historical Records of Australian Science, vol. 6, no. 4, 1987, pp. 533-548. Also available at http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9870640533.htm. Details
• Walsh, A. and Willis, J. B., 'Albert Lloyd George Rees 1916-1989', Historical Records of Australian Science, vol. 9, no. 1, 1992, pp. 31-47. Also available at http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9920910031.htm. Details