Biographical entry Gleadow, Andrew John Ward (1948 - )

Summary

Andy Gleadow is Professor and Head of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne. He has specialised in the field of fission track analysis and has developed dating techniques for a variety of geological applications. Gleadow completed both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at the University of Melbourne, graduating with a PhD in Geology in 1974. He subsequently held positions at the University of London, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Bern. From 1988 to 1998 he was Professor of Earth Sciences at La Trobe University, and from early 1999 has been Professor and Head of the School of Earth Sciences at The University of Melbourne. He was also a Research Coordinator of the Australian Geodynamics Cooperative Research Centre. He has researched and published extensively on all aspects of the development and application of fission track dating in geology, especially in the areas of tectonics, thermochronology, sedimentary basin analysis and hydrocarbon exploration. He has worked extensively on the geology of Antarctica, Africa, and America, as well as Australia. He was awarded the Stillwell Medal of the Geological Society of Australia for 1989, the Research Medal of the Royal Society of Victoria for 1994 and the Gold Medal for Excellence in Research by the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering for 1996. In 1999 he was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and awarded its Jaeger Medal for 2003. Taken from his homepage - see link below

Details

While undertaking his doctor of philosophy, Andrew John Ward Gleadow co-developed fission track thermochronology - a new method for geological dating and thermal history analysis of rock samples. The method is based on counting tiny "fission tracks" in apatite crystals, which preserve the rocks thermal history. This dating method has been used widely throughout the geological sciences, including in mineral and oil exploration, and archaeology. Gleadow and his research group have established Australia at the forefront of this field internationally.

Using this fission track technology, Gleadow and colleagues have sampled over 3000 rock from across Australia. They then developed a computer model to show how the landscape has changed over time and how the island continent broke away from the supercontinent of Gondwana. - i.e. it shows the geological history of the entire Australian continent.

Events

1967 - 1970

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

1971 - 1974

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

1974 -

Career position - Member of the Geological Society of Australia

1975 -

Career position - Member of the Geological Society of America

1975

Career position - Research Fellow at Birkbeck College at the University of London, UK

1976

Career position - Tutor in Geology at the University of Melbourne

1977 - 1978

Career position - Queen Elizabeth II Research Fellow in the Department of Geology at the University of Melbourne

1979 - 1981

Career position - Research Fellow in Antarctic Geology at the University of Melbourne

1980 -

Career position - Member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society

1982 - 1988

Career position - Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Fission Track Research Group in the Department of Geology at the University of Melbourne

1983 -

Career position - Member of the Petroleum Exploration Association of Australia

1984 - 1987

Career position - Managing Director of Geotrack International Pty. Ltd.

1985

Career position - Visiting Research Scientist at Abteilung für Isotopengeologie at the University of Bern in Switzerland (six months)

1987 - 1993

Career position - Director of Geotrack International Pty. Ltd.

1988 - 1991

Career position - Chair of the Geology Department at La Trobe University in Bundoora, Victoria

1988 - 1998

Career position - Professor of Geology / Earth Sciences at La Trobe University

1990 -

Career position - Member of the American Geophysical Union

1992

Award - F. L. Stillwell Medal received from the Geological Society of Australia

1992 - 1993

Career position - Dean of the School of Physical Sciences at La Trobe University

1993 - 1996

Career position - Director of the Victorian Institute of Earth and Planetary Sciences

1993 - 1997

Career position - Deputy Director of the Australian Geodynamics Cooperative Research Centre

1993 - 2000

Career position - Research Coordinator of the Australian Geodynamics Cooperative Research Centre

1995

Award - 1994 Research Medal received from the Royal Society of Victoria

1995 - 1998

Career position - Head of the School of Earth Sciences at La Trobe University

1997

Award - Gold Medal for Excellence in Research received from the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering

1999 -

Career position - Professor of the School of Earth Sciences at The University of Melbourne

1999 -

Award - Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1999 - 2004

Career position - Head of the School of Earth Sciences at The University of Melbourne

2000 - 2001

Career position - Assistant Dean (IT) of the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne

2001 -

Career position - Member of the National Committee for Earth Sciences of the Australian Academy of Science

2001 - 2003

Career position - Interim Research Program Coordinator of the Predictive Mineral Discovery Cooperative Research Centre

2002 -

Career position - Honorary Professor at Northwest University in Xian, China

2002

Award - Selwyn Medal received from the Geological Society of Australia

2003

Award - Centenary Medal received from the Australian Government

2004

Award - Jaeger Medal received from the Australian Academy of Science

2004 - 2006

Career position - Vice-President and President Elect of the Geological Society of Australia

2005 -

Career position - Deputy-Head of the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne

2005

Career position - Member of the Environmental Subcommittee of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, Dept Education, Science and Training, Australian Government

2005 - 2006

Career position - Chair of the National Committee for Earth Sciences

Related entries

Published resources

Book Sections

• Hegarty, K. A. (coordinator), Birch, W. D., Douglas, J. G., Mccann, D., Archbold, N. W., Gleadow, A. J. W., Vandenberg, A. H. M. and Phillips, G.N., 'Inspired Observations', in William D. Birch (ed.), Geology of Victoria, Geological Society of Australia (Victoria Division), Sydney, 2003, pp. 687-702. Details

Journal Articles

• O'Neill, Graeme, 'Smart 100 Science Top 10', The Bulletin, 8 April 2004. Details

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'Gleadow, Andrew J W', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-612719. Details