Person
Wall, Gordon Elliott (Tim) (1925 - 2023)
FAA
- Born
- 11 March 1925
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia - Died
- 9 July 2023
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Mathematician
- Alternative Names
- Wall, Tim
Summary
Tim Wall was one of Australia's leading mathematicians, his research focusing on algebra and group theory. His interests intersected with some of the principal algebraic themes of his era. Among his most influential papers were those published in 1961, where he analysed in detail several aspects of the structure and classification of p-groups (Wall's conjecture), and 1963 where he wrote on the classification of the conjugacy classes in the unitary, symplectic and orthogonal groups. Between 1965 and 1990 Wall was Professor of Mathematics at the University of Sydney. Wall was a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, serving on Council and as a member of the National Committee for Mathematical Sciences. He was active in the Australian Mathematical Society, being President from 1970 to 1972.
Details
Chronology
- 1946
- Education - BSc, University of Adelaide
- 1949 - 1951
- Career position - Assistant Lecturer in Mathematics, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
- 1952
- Education - PhD, University of Cambridge
- 1952 - 1956
- Career position - Lecturer in Mathematics, University of Durham, United Kingdom
- 1956 - 1965
- Career position - Senior Lecturer (later Reader), Department of Pure Mathematics, University of Sydney
- 1965 - 1990
- Career position - Professor of Mathematics, University of Sydney
- 1970 - 1972
- Career position - President, Australian Mathematical Society
- 1971 - 2023
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science
- 1977 - 1980
- Career position - Member of Council, Australian Academy of Science
- 1991 -
- Career position - Emeritus Professor, University of Sydney
- 1994 - 2023
- Award - Honorary Member, Australian Mathematical Society
Related entries
Archival resources
Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'Gordon E. (Tim) Wall', Gazette of the Australian Mathematical Society, 50 (3) (2023), 143, https://austms.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Jul23-503.pdf. Details
- Anon, 'Professor Gordon Elliott 'Tim' Wall FAA 11 March 1925 - 9 July 2023', Newsletter, Australian Academy of Science, 173 (2023), 1. https://www.science.org.au/academy-newsletter/july-2023-173/fellows-update. Details
- Hirschfeld, J. W. P.; and Wall, G. E., 'Thomas Gerald Room 10 November 1902 - 2 April 1986', Biographical memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 33 (1987), 574-601. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.1987.0020. Details
- Hirschfeld, J. W. P.; and Wall, G. E., 'Thomas Gerald Room 1902-1986', Historical Records of Australian Science, 7 (1) (1987), 109-122. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9870710109. Details
- Lehrer, Gustav, 'Gordon Elliott (Tim) Wall, 11 March 1925 - 13 July 2023', Historical Records of Australian Science, 36 (2025), 1-5, https://doi.org/doi:10.1071/HR24032. Details
- Newman, M. F.; and Wall, G. E., 'Hanna Neumann', Records of the Australian Academy of Science, 3 (2) (1976), 57-87. https://www.publish.csiro.au/hr/HR9760320057. Details
- Wall, G. E., 'Some applications of the Eulerian functions of a finite group', Journal of the Australian Mathematical Society, 2 (1961), 35-59, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1446788700026367. Details
- Wall, G. E., 'On the conjugacy classes in the unitary, symplectic and orthogonal groups', Journal of the Australian Mathematical Society, 3 (1963), 1-62, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1446788700027622. Details
- Wall, G. E., 'Hanna Neumann [Includes list of publications]', Journal of Australian Mathematical Society, 17 (1) (1974), 1-28. Details
- Wall, G.E.; Pitman, Jane; and Potts, R.B., 'Eric Stephen Barnes, 1924 - 2000', Historical Records of Australian Science, 15 (1) (2004), 21-45. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR03013. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q66738092. Details
- 'Wall, Gordon Elliott (Tim) (1925 - 2023)', The Academy's Fellows [including profiles and other relevant links], Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, 2019, https://www.science.org.au/profile/tim-wall. Details
- 'Wall, Gordon Elliott (1925-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1475043. Details
Resource Sections
- Hirschfeld, J. W. P.; and Wall, G. E., 'Thomas Gerald Room 1902-1986', in Australian Academy of Science Biographical Memoirs, Australian Academy of Science, 2006, https://www.science.org.au/fellowship/fellows/biographical-memoirs/thomas-gerald-room-1902-1986. Details
Rosanne Walker and Helen Cohn
Created: 25 May 2001, Last modified: 22 July 2025