Biographical entry Slatyer, Ralph Owen (1929 - 2012)
AC, FAA, FRS, FTSE
- Born
- 16 April 1929
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 26 July 2012
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia - Occupation
- Biologist and Chief Scientist
Summary
Ralph Slatyer was Australia's first Chief Scientist and one of Australia's most distinguished scientists. He was internationally recognised for his research on water relations of plants, ecological succession and disturbed ecosystems in alpine and arid regions, and for his commitment to ecologically sustainable utilization of the natural environment. In his leadership roles at the CSIRO Division of Land Research and as inaugural Professor of Biology at the Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Slatyer was equally committed to co-operation and teamwork between individuals and organisations. This was also evident in his roles as Chairman or member of policy advisory bodies over many years within Australia and internationally, including as Australian Ambassador to UNESCO. Among his achievements were the emergence of the Australian Research Council and the establishment of the Co-operative Research Centres Program intended to facilitate collaboration between researchers and business. In 2017 the A.N.U. Research School of Biology awarded the inaugural Ralph Slatyer Medal for outstanding biological research. The Co-operative Research Centre Association established the annual Ralph Slatyer Address.
Details
Events
- 1951
- Education - BSc (Agric), University of Western Australia
- 1951 - 1966
- Career position - Research Scientist-Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Land Research
- 1955
- Education - MSc (Agric), University of Western Australia
- 1960
- Education - DSc (Agric), University of Western Australia
- 1961
- Award - Edgeworth David Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales
- 1963 - 1964
- Career position - Visiting Professor, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, U.S.A.
- 1966 - 1967
- Career position - Associate Chief, CSIRO Division of Land Research
- 1967 - 1992
- Career position - Foundation Professor of Biology, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University
- 1967 - 2012
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science
- 1968
- Award - Australian Medal of Agricultural Science
- 1969 - 1970
- Career position - President, Ecological Society of Australia
- 1969 - 1972
- Career position - Member, Australian Research Grants Committee (ARGC)
- 1973 - 1974
- Career position - Ford Foundation Fellow and Visiting Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara, U.S.A.
- 1973 - 1976
- Career position - Member, National Planning Commission
- 1975 - 2012
- Award - Fellow, Royal Society, London
- 1976
- Award - Foreign Associate, US National Academy of Sciences
- 1976 - 1978
- Career position - Member, Australian National Commission to UNESCO
- 1977
- Award - Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
- 1977 - 1981
- Career position - Chairman, UNESCO Inter-governmental Programme on “Man and the Biosphere”
- 1978 - 1981
- Career position - Australian Ambassador to UNESCO, Paris
- 1981 - 1983
- Career position - Chairman, UNESCO World Heritage Committee
- 1981 - 1984
- Career position - Member, Board of Management and Policy Advisory Council, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)
- 1981 - 1984
- Career position - Chairman, Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS)
- 1982
- Award - Foreign Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1982
- Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to science and technology and its application to industry development
- 1982 - 1985
- Career position - President, Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE)
- 1982 - 1987
- Career position - Chairman (part-time), Australian Science and Technology Council (ASTEC)
- 1983
- Award - Elected Honorary Member, British Ecological Society
- 1983
- Career position - President, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS)
- 1984 - 1989
- Career position - Director, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University
- 1989 - 1992
- Career position - Chief Scientist, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
- 1989 - 1992
- Career position - Chairman, Prime Minister’s Science Council
- 1989 - 1992
- Career position - Chairman, Cooperative Research Centre Program, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
- 1989 - 1992
- Career position - Chairman, Co-ordination Committee on Science and Technology
- 1989 - 1993
- Career position - Deputy Chairman, National Greenhouse Advisory Committee, Commonwealth Department of the Arts, Sport, Environment and Territories
- 1991
- Award - ANZAAS Medal
- 1992
- Award - Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for service to science
- 1992 - 1994
- Career position - Chairman, Australian Foundation for Science
- 1992 - 1999
- Career position - Director, Australian Minerals and Energy Environment Foundation
- 1992 - 2002
- Career position - Chairman, CRC for Tropical Forest Ecology and Management
- 1992 - 2012
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
- 1993 -
- Career position - Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University
- 1993
- Life event - Retired
- 1993
- Award - Gold Medal, Ecological Society of Australia
- 1995 - 2000
- Career position - Director, Crawford Fund for International Agricultural Research
- 1995 - 2003
- Career position - Member, Australian National Commission to UNESCO
- 1996
- Award - Foreign Member, Korea Academy of Science and Technology
- 1999
- Award - Honorary Doctorate of Applied Science, Charles Sturt University
- 2001
- Award - Lifetime Award for Science and Technology, Clunies Ross Foundation
- 2001
- Award - Centenary Medal for a lifetime of service to environmental issues
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Slatyer, Ralph Owen, Ecological Society of Australia: the first 25 years (Canberra: Ecosystems Dynamics Group, Australian National University, 1999), 28 pp. Details
Edited Books
- Moyal, Ann ed., Portraits in Science (Canberra: National Library of Australia, 1994), 209 pp. Details
Newspaper Articles
- Farquhar, Graham, 'Ralph Owen Slayter, AC, scientist, 16-4-1929 - 26-7-2012: visionary took science to highest government level', The Age (2012), 35. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7288094. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/237634331. Details
- 'Slatyer, R O (1929-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-527637. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Obituaries - Ralph Slatyer', in Australian Academy of Science Newsletter, Australian Academy of Science, September 2012, http://science.org.au/publications/newsletters/documents/aas89.pdf. Details
- Blythe, Max, 'Interview with Professor Ralph Slatyer', in Interviews with Australian scientists, Australian Academy of Science, 14 September 1993, http://www.science.org.au/scientists/interviews/s/rs.html. Details
- Ward, C., 'Ralph Owen Slatyer', in CSIROpedia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), 2011, https://csiropedia.csiro.au/Slatyer-Ralph-Owen. Details
McCarthy, G.J. and Helen Cohn
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 12 December 2017
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education