Geoffrey Victor Herbert Wilson (23 September 1938 – 9 January 2020) was an internationally distinguished

nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

who made contributions to

nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy or magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), is a spectroscopic technique to observe local magnetic fields around atomic nuclei. The sample is placed in a magnetic fiel ...

and

low temperature physics In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures. The 13th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington DC in 1971) endorsed a universal definition of “cryogenics” and “cr ...

. His research team achieved the lowest temperature ever recorded in Australia. He was born in

Mentone, Victoria Mentone is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Mentone recorded a population of 13,197 at the . It is known local ...

. He was National President of the Australian Institute of Physics and held appointments as Chair of the Victorian and Queensland Vice-Chancellors’ Committees, Vice President and Acting President of the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee. He has been Chair of the Boards of Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre, Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre and the Graduate Careers Council of Australia. Wilson had a distinguished career as a physicist with more than 100 published papers in international scientific journals. He was a member of the

Australian College of Educators The Australian College of Educators (ACE) is an Australian national professional association for educators. Membership is open to all professional educators working in the early childhood, school, and tertiary education sectors, as well as to ed ...

and a director of the

Australian Institute of Management The Australian Institute of Management Education and Training Pty Ltd, commonly known as AIM or AIMET, is an Australian education provider. Its courses include business, management and leadership. AIM offers short courses, nationally accredited qu ...

. After retiring from

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...

he carried out extensive consulting including the development of drafts of the new National Protocols on Higher Education Processes and was a member of the Cooperative Research Centres Committee. He chaired the Board of AMCSearch. Deakin University awards the Geoff Wilson Medal ''"to celebrate the career of Professor Geoffrey Victor Herbert Wilson AM"''. Wilson died on 9 January 2020 in Geelong, Victoria at the age of 81.

Appointments

* Vice-Chancellor and President of

, 1996–2002. * Vice-President,

Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee Universities Australia (formerly the ''Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee'') is an organisation founded in Sydney in May 1920, which attempts to advance higher education through voluntary, cooperative and coordinated action. After being ba ...

, 1996–1997, a member of the Board of Directors, 1994–1999 and Chair of the Standing Committee on Research. * Vice-Chancellor of

Central Queensland University Central Queensland University (alternatively known as CQUniversity) is an Australian public university based in central Queensland. CQUniversity is the only Australian university with a campus presence in every mainland state. Its main campus ...

, 1991–1996. * Member of the

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

, 1988–1991, Deputy Chair of the Council, 1989–1990, and held the inaugural chair of the Council's Research Grants Committee. * Inaugural Rector of the University College of the UNSW at the

Australian Defence Force Academy The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Royal Aus ...

. He held appointments at Monash and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

universities and the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

Awards

Wilson made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) in the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours. He was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

in 2001 for "For service to tertiary education and academic achievement in the field of physics".

References

1938 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Australian physicists Australian nuclear physicists Deakin University faculty Central Queensland University faculty University of New South Wales faculty University of Melbourne alumni Monash University alumni Members of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal People from Mentone, Victoria Scientists from Melbourne {{Australia-scientist-stub