Person
Spies, Brian Roy (1949 - 2020)
FTSE
- Born
- 1949
- Died
- 8 February 2020
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Geophysicist and Science administrator
Summary
Brian Spies was a geophysicist widely recognised in Australia and internationally for his distinguished contributions in exploration geology. During his early career with the Bureau of Mineral Resources he conducted extensive field trials of the new transient electromagnetic (TEM) method as a practical exploration method for metallic ore deposits in Australia. From 1980 to 1996 Spies developed new for non-destructive technology for testing for oil pipelines and deep imaging electromagnetic techniques which are now widely used in the industry. On his return to Australia in 1996 to lead the CRC for Australian Mineral Exploration Technologies he led the development of a new generation of geophysical exploration technologies for Australian conditions of deep and varied weathered cover. Spies was actively involved in Australian and overseas professional societies including the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and the Australian Academy of Technological Science and Technology.
Details
Chronology
- 1970 - 2020
- Career position - Member, Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (ASEG)
- 1971
- Education - BSc, University of New South Wales
- 1972
- Education - Post-Graduate Diploma in Applied Geophysics, University of New South Wales
- 1972 - 1996
- Career position - Member, Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG)
- 1973? - 1980
- Career position - Geophysicist, Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR)
- 1976
- Award - Society of Exploration Geophysicists Foundation Scholarship
- 1980
- Education - PhD, Macquarie University
- 1980 - 1981
- Career position - Senior Geophysicist, Exploration Data Consultants, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
- 1981 - 1984
- Career position - Vice President and Director, Electromagnetic Surveys Inc., California, U.S.A.
- 1984 - 1990
- Career position - Senior Principal Research Geophysicist, ARCO Oil and Gas Research Center, Texas, U.S.A.
- 1988
- Career position - Technical Program Co-Chair and Organiser, ASEG-SEG Joint Conference Technical Program Co-Chair and Organiser, ASEG-SEG Joint Conference
- 1989
- Award - Outstanding Technical Achievement Award in Research (for development of the Transient Electromagnetic Probing (TEMP) corrosion detection technique), ARCO
- 1990 - 1996
- Career position - Geophysicist, Schlumberger-Doll Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
- 1996 - 2000
- Career position - Director, CRC for Australian Mineral Exploration Technologies (CRC AMET)
- 1996 - 2020
- Award - Life Member, Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG)
- 1998
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE)
- 1999 - 2000
- Career position - President, Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (ASEG)
- 2000 - 2003
- Career position - Honorary Professional Fellow, University of Wollongong
- 2000 - 2003
- Career position - Director, Physics Division, Australian Nuclear Science Technology Organisation (ANSTO)
- 2000 - 2012
- Career position - Senior Visiting Fellow, University of New South Wales
- 2001
- Award - Centenary Medal for service to Australian society in exploration geophysics
- 2003 - 2004
- Career position - Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Exploration and Mining
- 2003 - 2004
- Career position - First Vice-President, Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG)
- 2004 - ?
- Career position - Science Manager (Principal Scientist), Sustainability and Climate Change, Sydney Catchment Authority
- 2016 - 2020
- Award - Fellow, Royal Society of New South Wales
- 2020
- Award - Gold Medal (awarded posthumously), Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'Dr Brian Roy Spies FTSE FRSN: a passionate and hard-working problem solver', Impact, 210 (2020), 68, https://www.atse.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/ATSE-IMPACT-2020.pdf. Details
- Anon, 'ASEG Honours and Awards: ASEG Gold Medal awarded to Brian Spies in 2020', Preview, 208 (2020), 5-6. https://doi.org.10.1080/14432471.2020.1828319. Details
- Spies, Brian, 'Keeva Vozoff AO FTSE: a pioneer in electrical geophysics', Impact, 209 (2019), 66. https://www.atse.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/IMPACT-2019-September-low-res-spreads-for-web.pdf. Details
- Tyne, Ted, 'Vale: Brian R. Spies PhD FTSE FRSN (1949 - 2020)', Preview, 205 (2020), 8-12. https://doi.org.10.1080/14432471.2020.1751779. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 17 May 2022