Jeffery Lewis Tallon (born 1948) is a New Zealand physicist specialising in high-temperature superconductors.

Early life and education

Tallon was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

on 17 December 1948, the son of Phyllis Blanche Tallon (née Currie) and George Frederick Tallon. He grew up in Mount Albert, and was educated at Gladstone Primary School, and later

Mount Albert Grammar School Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. , Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in N ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

from 1962 to 1966. After a BSc(Hons) at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, he undertook doctoral studies at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

under Stuart Smedley and

Bill Robinson Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20 ...

, completing his PhD in chemistry in 1976. In 1971, Tallon married Mary Elaine Turner, and the couple went on to have three children.

Academic career

He was awarded a

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

by Victoria University of Wellington in 1996, on the basis of a selection of published papers.

Honours and awards

In 1990, Tallon was awarded the Michaelis Medal for physics research. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

in 1993, and in 1998 he won the society's

Hector Medal The Hector Medal, formerly known as the Hector Memorial Medal, is a science award given by the Royal Society Te Apārangi in memory of Sir James Hector to researchers working in New Zealand. It is awarded annually in rotation for different science ...

jointly with

Paul Callaghan Sir Paul Terence Callaghan ( ; 19 August 1947 – 24 March 2012) was a New Zealand physicist who, as the founding director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology at Victoria University of Wellington, held ...

. In 2002, Tallon was awarded the Rutherford Medal, the highest award in New Zealand science. In 2011 Tallon was awarded the

Dan Walls Daniel Frank Walls FRS (13 September 1942 – 12 May 1999) was a New Zealand theoretical physicist specialising in quantum optics. Education Walls gained a BSc in physics and mathematics and a first class honours MSc in physics at the Univers ...

Medal by the

New Zealand Institute of Physics New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

. In 1990, Tallon received the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to 3,632 people. Background The New Zealand 1990 Com ...

. In the

2009 Queen's Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 2009 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, he was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to science.

References

External links

MacDiarmid Institute page

Callaghan Innovation page
1948 births Living people People from Hamilton, New Zealand People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School University of Auckland alumni Victoria University of Wellington alumni Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Recipients of the Rutherford Medal 20th-century New Zealand chemists 21st-century New Zealand chemists 20th-century New Zealand physicists 21st-century New Zealand physicists James Cook Research Fellows {{NewZealand-academic-bio-stub