Corporate Body

CSIR/O Division of Tribophysics (1948 - 1978)

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

From
19 April 1948
Parkville, Victoria, Australia
To
1978
Functions
Industrial or scientific research
Location
Parkville, Victoria

Summary

The CSIR/O Division of Tribophysics began in 1946 as the Tribophysics Section, becoming a CSIR/O Division two years later. In 1978 the Division's name was changed to the CSIRO Division of Materials Science.

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Details

From "CSIRO research for Australia" (1962) pdf pages 56-57:
"After the war, Dr. Bowden returned to England, and Dr. S. H. Bastow became Officer-in-Charge of the Section. The study of lubricants and bearings was extended to cover all aspects of the study of metal surfaces, and a new name, "Tribophysics", meaning "rubbing physics", was coined to describe the Section's work. By 1949, when Dr. Bastow was appointed to the C.S.I.R.O. Executive, the group had grown into a full-scale Division. Dr. W. Boas, an eminent metal physicist, became the Chief of the Division, which moved into a new laboratory in the University grounds four years later.

The Division has made, over the last ten years, an impressive contribution to our knowledge of the structure of metals and the properties of metal surfaces.

Ingenious experimental techniques have been used to obtain an understanding of the crystal defects in metals, and how these are related to the strength, deformation, "working" and annealling of metals. In the study of the physics and chemistry of solid surfaces, particular emphasis is laid on their shape or profile. This work has led to better understanding of surface catalysis and adsorption and, of course, friction. An oil company is currently supporting a research project on solid lubricants.

The Division's expert knowledge of many branches of metallurgy is widely recognized by the engineering industry, and the Division's officers are frequently called upon to supply the answers to industrial problems. "

Timeline

 1939 - 1946 CSIR Lubricants and Bearings Section
       1946 - 1948 CSIR Tribophysics Section
             1948 - 1978 CSIR/O Division of Tribophysics
                   1978 - 1986 CSIRO Division of Materials Science
                         1980 - 1997 CSIRO Division of Manufacturing Technology
                         1987 - 1997 CSIRO Division of Materials Science and Technology
                               1997 - 2002 CSIRO Division of Manufacturing Science and Technology
                               1997 - 2002 CSIRO Division of Manufacturing Science and Technology

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See also

  • Avery, Neil R.; Jackson, W. Roy; and Spurling, Thomas H., 'John Robert Anderson 1928-2007', Historical Records of Australian Science, 25 (2) (2014), 253-63, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR14018. Details

Ailie Smith

Created: 15 June 2000, Last modified: 2 May 2025

EOAS ID: biogs/A000595b.htm

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