Person

Polya, John Bela (c. 1914 - 1992)

FRACI

Born
c. 1914
Budapest, Hungary
Died
15 December 1992
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Chemist

Summary

John Bela Polya was Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Tasmania from 1955 to 1979. When he joined the university in 1944 he was the sole organic chemistry lecturer and set about expanding teaching and research in the subject. He gained international recognition for his work in heterocyclic chemistry, especially 1,2,4-triazoles. Polya was a very passionate and opinionated person, who was staunchly opposed to the fluoridation of Australia's drinking water.

Details

Chronology

1936
Education - Completed studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
1937 - 1939
Career position - Rockefeller Scholar in Organic Chemistry at the University of Manchester and then Imperial College, London
1939 - c. 1945
Career position - Worked in the chemistry industry in Sydney and Melbourne
1944 - 1948
Career position - Corporate member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute
1945 - 1946
Career position - Head of the chemical investigations sub-section at the Munitions Supply Laboratories in Maribyrnong, Victoria
1946 - 1955
Career position - Lecturer in Organic Chemistry at the University of Tasmania
1948 -
Award - Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (FRACI)
1952
Education - Doctor of Science (DSc) received from the University of Tasmania
1955 - 1979
Career position - Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Tasmania
1977 - 1978
Career position - President of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, Tasmanian branch
1978 - 1979
Career position - Chairman of the Organic Chemistry Division of the RACI
1979
Life event - Retired

Published resources

Journal Articles

  • Smith, Peter, 'Obituary: John Bela Polya (FRACI)', Chemistry in Australia (1993), 191. Details

Resources

EOAS ID: biogs/P004756b.htm

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