Biographical entry Schaefer, Gustav Griffin (1913 - 2004)
- Born
- 12 December 1913
Nambour, Queensland, Australia - Died
- 15 September 2004
Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Physicist
Summary
Gus Schaefer founded the first Defence Operational Research Group at the Department of Supply in 1951. During World War II he worked for the Optical Munitions Panel. His area of interest at that time was optical design, using ray tracing analysis.
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Details
After completing his science degree at Queensland University, Gus Schaefer took up secondary teaching and taught science in Queensland for many years. In 1940 he moved to Melbourne and the next year began his career in scientific research. Schaefer's first job was with the Munitions Supply Laboratories working on optical design and ray tracing analysis. In 1951 he moved to the Defence Operations Research Group, then to the Aeronautical Research Laboratory (ARL) in 1953. Gus Schaefer remained with ARL until 1977 making many major contributions to the aeronautical industry. His research included studying the aerodynamics of aircraft wings for Boeing 747 and other models.
Events
- c. 1920
- Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc) completed at Queensland University
- c. 1920 - c. 1940
- Career position - Secondary Science Teacher at various Queensland schools including Mt Isa High School
- 1940
- Life event - Moved to Melbourne
- 1941 - 1951
- Career position - Design and analysis at the Munitions Supply Laboratories (MSL) in Melbourne
- 1951 - 1953
- Career position - Defence Operational Research Group with the Department of Supply in Melbourne
- 1953 - 1977
- Career position - Aeronautical Research Laboratory (ARL)
- 1977
- Life event - Retired
- 1989
- Life event - Moved to Port Macquarie
Published resources
Encyclopedia of Australian Science Exhibitions
- The Giant's Eye: the Optical Munitions Exhibition, Australian Science Archives Project, 1997, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/omp.htm. Details
Online Resources
- 'Schaefer, Gus', in The Giant's Eye: the Optical Munitions Exhibition, A Bright Sparcs Exhibition, Australian Science Archives Project, 1997, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/omp/people/schaefer.htm. Details
- 'Schaefer, Gustav Griffin (1913-2004)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1476048. 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/index_s.html. Details
Rosanne Walker
Created: 30 June 1997, Last modified: 5 March 2018
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