Person

Kirkpatrick, Mervyn Stewart (1923 - 2007)

Born
10 April 1923
Coonable, New South Wales, Australia
Died
22 July 2007
South Australia, Australia
Occupation
Radiophysicist

Summary

Mervyn Kirkpatrick (Kirk) worked for Weapons Research Establishment, Department of Supply (later Defence Research Centre, Salisbury, South Australia) from 1951, rising in 1978 to Chief Superintendent, Electronics Research Laboratory. During the 1960s Kirkpatrick was responsible for the technical operation of space tracking stations in Australia.

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Details

Kirkpatrick worked at the Weapons Research Establishment (later known as the Defence Research Centre) for much of his life. He started there in 1951 and by 1878 was Chief Superintendent of the Electronics Research Laboratory. During the 1960s Kirkpatrick was responsible for the technical operation of space tracking stations in Australia. Prior to this, he obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) from the University of Sydney and spent several years working in the UK.

Chronology

1943 - 1947
Military service - Second World War - Australian Army South-West Pacific Area and British Commonwealth Occupation Force
1948 - 1950
Career position - Research and development work at the Radar Research and Development Establishment in Malvern, England
1951 - 1954
Career position - Radar and Radio Doppler Technology Researcher at the Weapons Research Establishment (WRE)
1955 - 1961
Career position - Principal Officer in WRE's Electronic Instrument Group
1962 - 1963
Career position - Superintendent of the Trials Division at WRE
1963 - 1968
Career position - Superintendent of the American Projects Division
1968 - 1975
Career position - Deputy Director (Trials) of WRE
1975 - 1978
Career position - Chief Superintendent of the Applied Physics Wing
1978 -
Career position - Chief Superintendent of the Electronics Research Laboratory at the Defence Research Centre (formerly WRE)

Published resources

Resources

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_k.html. Details
  • Wisdom, John, A History of Defence Science in Australia (Melbourne: Defence Science and Technology Organisation, 1995), 267 pp. Details

Rosanne Walker; Ken McInnes

Created: 25 May 2001, Last modified: 17 January 2024

EOAS ID: biogs/P003687b.htm

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