John Watt (born c.1932) is an Australian physicist, former Assistant Chief of the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

Division of Mineral and Process Engineering, and Australia Prize winner. Watt was educated at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

where he obtained a Master of Science degree in 1956. From around 1956 to 1967 he was a Research Officer with the

Australian Atomic Energy Commission The Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) was a statutory body of the Australian Government devoted to nuclear science, engineering and research. It was established in 1952, replacing the Atomic Energy Policy Committee. In 1981, parts of th ...

. John Watt started work with the

(AAEC) as a Research Officer after graduating from The University of Sydney in 1956 with a Master of Science. He worked in the AAEC Isotope Division, becoming Head of the Radioisotope Applications Research Section in 1967. In 1982, he was transferred to the CSIRO Division of Mineral Physics as a Chief Research Scientist and Officer-in-Charge of the Division's Lucas Heights and Port Melbourne sites. He was appointed an Assistant Chief of the CSIRO Division of Mineral and Process Engineering in 1985, and returned to full-time research work as a CSIRO Fellow in 1995. He retired from CSIRO in 1997. John's research has covered a whole range of on-line analysis applications in the minerals, coal and oil industries. He pioneered this research in Australia, developing a balance between laboratory research and field trials. He also undertook the first major commercialisation of on-line mineral slurry analysis systems in the early 1970s, which led to the setting up of the on-line analysis manufacturing industry in Australia. In 1991 Watt achieved an Australian Nuclear Association Award. In 2003 Watt was awarded a

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 g ...

for service to Australian society in applied physics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watt, John Australian physicists Living people 1935 births Australia Prize recipients