Person

Messel, Harry (1922 - 2015)

AC CBE

Born
3 March 1922
Levine Siding, Manitoba, Canada
Died
8 July 2015
Southport, Queensland, Australia
Occupation
Physicist and University Chancellor

Summary

Harry Messel was Professor of Physics and Head of the School of Physics, University of Sydney 1952-1987. Earlier he had lectured in mathematical physics at the University of Adelaide 1951-1952.

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Details

Chronology

1951 - 1952
Career position - Senior Lecturer in Mathematical Physics, University of Adelaide
1952 - 1987
Career position - Professor and Head, School of Physics, University of Sydney
1954 - 1987
Career position - Director, Nuclear Research Foundation (later Science Foundation for Physics), University of Sydney
1975 - 1981
Career position - Commissioner, Australian Atomic Energy Commission
31 Dec 1978
Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire(CBE, Civil) - for education and science
1987
Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Sydney
1989 - 2004
Career position - Chairman, Crocodile Specialist Group, IUCN/Species Survival Commission
1992
Award - DSc (Honoris Causa), University of Sydney
1992 - 1997
Career position - Chancellor, Bond University, Queensland
1995
Award - ANZAAS Medal, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
2004
Award - Sir Peter Scott Medal, International Union for the Conservation of Nature
26 Jan 2006
Award - Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) - for service to Australian science and to education as an outstanding educator raising awareness of the importance of the study of science and in particular physics, for instrumental contributions to improving science teaching in schools, and for conservation advocacy relating to endangered crocodile and alligator specie
2014
Award - Academy Medal (jointly), Australian Academy of Science , Australian Academy of Science

Subordinate

Related Corporate Bodies

Archival resources

National Library of Australia Oral History Collection

  • Harry Messel - Records, 1925 - 1972, DeB 577; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details

University of Sydney, Archives

  • Harry Messel - Records, 1952 - 1981, P 146; University of Sydney, Archives. Details

Published resources

Edited Books

  • Moyal, Ann ed., Portraits in Science (Canberra: National Library of Australia, 1994), 209 pp. Details

Journal Articles

Resources

See also

Gavan McCarthy

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 28 August 2025

EOAS ID: biogs/P000637b.htm

This Edition: 2026 February - 1926 Centenaries
Kooyang - Gariwerd calendar - Late summer: late January to late March - season of eels
Reference: https://www.bom.gov.au/resources/indigenous-weather-knowledge/indigenous-seasonal-calendars/gariwerd-calendar#bom-anchor-list__item-kooyang-season-of-eels

Publisher: Swinburne University of Technology.

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Cite this page: https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P000637b.htm

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"... the rengitj, as a visible mark or imprint on the land, is characterised as a place of origin, the repository of all names, as well as a kind of mapped visual expression of the connection between people and places which is to be carried out in the temporal sequence of the journey." Fanca Tamisari (1998) 'Body, Vision and Movement: In the footprints of the ancestors'. Oceania 68(4) p260