Joseph Lade Pawsey
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Joseph Lade Pawsey (14 May 1908 – 30 November 1962) was an Australian scientist, radiophysicist and radio
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...
.


Education

Pawsey was born in
Ararat, Victoria Ararat () is a town in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands region in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, about west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway, Victoria, Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills ...
to a family of farmers. At the age of 14 he was awarded a government scholarship to study at
Wesley College, Melbourne Wesley College is a co-educational, open-entry private school in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 1866, the college is the only school in Victoria to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) from early childhood to Year 12. The college ...
, followed by a scholarship to study at the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
. In 1929, he earned his
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree from the university, followed by a
Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...
in Natural Philosophy in 1931. Pawsey was then awarded an Exhibition Research Scholarship to study at
Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...
at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, where he worked under the direction of J.A. Ratcliffe. He studied the effects of the ionosphere on radio propagation and his discovery of the presence of irregularities in the Kennelly-Heaviside Layer proved vital to the later development of this branch of ionospheric physics. In 1935, he was awarded a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
from Cambridge and in September of that year he married Greta Lenore Nicoll, a 32-year-old Canadian. Pawsey then became a research physicist at
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
until 1939.


Career

In February 1940, Pawsey returned to Australia to work at the recently formed Division of Radiophysics in CSIR (later renamed
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 ...
). One group he led developed a
microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...
set for the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
while another group under his direction investigated the 'super-refraction' of radio waves in the Earth's atmosphere. Pawsey continued as a research physicist at the Division of Radiophysics until 1962, becoming assistant chief of division in 1952. At the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he became a pioneer of the new science of
radio astronomy Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies Astronomical object, celestial objects using radio waves. It started in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observat ...
, his interest being stirred by the discovery of radio waves from the
Galaxy A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...
and by reports of intense interference in metre-wave radar receivers caused by disturbances on the
Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...
. To investigate the latter Pawsey, with
Ruby Payne-Scott Ruby Violet Payne-Scott (28 May 1912 – 25 May 1981) was an Australian pioneer in radiophysics and radio astronomy, and was one of two Antipodean women pioneers in radio astronomy and radio physics at the end of the second world war, Ruby Payn ...
and Lindsay McCready, used an existing
Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
antenna at
Collaroy Plateau Collaroy Plateau is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Collaroy Plateau is 22 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area o ...
, a northern
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
suburb. In addition to confirming that the Sun was a source of
radio noise In radio reception, radio noise (commonly referred to as radio static) is unwanted random radio frequency electrical signals, fluctuating voltages, always present in a radio receiver in addition to the desired radio signal. Radio noise is a comb ...
their data also showed that the temperature in some regions of the Sun were as high as one million degrees. This temperature was far higher than was thought possible at the time. Work by the physicist David Forbes Martyn showed that temperatures peak in the Sun's
corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...
at one million degrees. The observations with the Collaroy antenna not only marked the beginning of radio astronomy in Australia, but also the first time radio astronomy had provided important information on a problem in traditional optical astronomy. The introduction of interferometry was probably Pawsey's most important contribution to radio astronomy. In early 1946 he turned his attention to
sunspots Sunspots are temporary spots on the Sun's surface that are darker than the surrounding area. They are one of the most recognizable Solar phenomena and despite the fact that they are mostly visible in the solar photosphere they usually affe ...
as a source of strong fluctuating radio noise. To overcome the limitations of the available antennas, Pawsey used sea interferometry and began observations at
Dover Heights Dover Heights is a cliffside Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Dover Heights is 9 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local ...
which provided a better vantage point than Collaroy. The observations confirmed beyond doubt that sunspots were the source of the strong increase in radio noise. This work was confirmed four months later by radio astronomers at
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
led by
Martin Ryle Sir Martin Ryle (27 September 1918 – 14 October 1984) was an English radio astronomer who developed revolutionary radio telescope systems (see e.g. aperture synthesis) and used them for accurate location and imaging of weak radio sourc ...
. Members of Pawsey's group invented techniques that were subsequently incorporated into general use in radio astronomy and made important discoveries about the discrete sources of radio emission in the Milky Way and external galaxies. Pawsey did some work on his own, but his main focus was on guiding and administering his research teams, which worked in comparative isolation and sometimes in competition with each other. He was straightforward, honest and humble, and scrupulous in acknowledging his colleagues' achievements. His subordinate Paul Wild, who in 1971 became division chief, said:
Joe Pawsey was the ... father of radio astronomy in Australia. ... His influence on the growth of radio astronomy in Australia was great because … he just provided ideal conditions, an ideal environment to allow everyone to use their own initiative. ... ewas a wonderfully inspiring leader, very self-effacing and taking no credit for himself, and he was a delight to work under. ... is advicewas often very perceptive, very good".
International authorities gave much credit to his leadership. In 1963, in his introduction to the Utrecht Symposium on the Solar Spectrum, Professor M.G.J. Minnaert remarked:
The history of solar radio-spectroscopy is mainly the history of Australian work on this subject. At each meeting of the
IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
, at each important symposium on radio-astronomy, highly competent specialists such as Wild, Smerd and Christianson, headed by the dynamic personality of ... Pawsey, were able to announce spectacular progress.
In 1952, Pawsey became president of the Radio Astronomy Commission of the
International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
, serving until 1958. From 1960 until 1961 he was president of the Australian Branch of the
Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based not-for-profit learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, physics research, research and applied physics, application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide ...
. He was appointed as director of the US
National Radio Astronomy Observatory The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a federally funded research and development center of the United States National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. for the purpose of radi ...
in 1962, but he died in Sydney of a
brain tumour A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cancero ...
before he took office. He was survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. The crater Pawsey on the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
is named after him. Also named after him is the
Pawsey Supercomputing Centre The Pawsey Supercomputing Centre (PSC) is the government-supported high-performance computing national facility located in Perth, Western Australia. Pawsey supports researchers in Western Australia and across Australia through the Pawsey Centre ...
, the home of
petascale Petascale computing refers to computing systems capable of performing at least 1 quadrillion (10^15) floating-point operations per second (FLOPS). These systems are often called petaflops systems and represent a significant leap from traditional ...
supercomputing A supercomputer is a type of computer with a high level of performance as compared to a general-purpose computer. The performance of a supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second (FLOPS) instead of million instruc ...
facilities and expertise to support international
Square Kilometre Array The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is an intergovernmental organisation, intergovernmental international radio telescope project being built in Australia (low-frequency) and South Africa (mid-frequency). The combining infrastructure, the Square ...
research and other high-end science (based at Technology Park in the
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
suburb of Kensington).


Awards and honours

*
Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal The Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal is awarded at most every two years by the Australian Academy of Science to a mathematician or physicist for his or her outstanding research accomplishments.
, 1953. *Fellow,
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, 1954. * Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture, 1957 *
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
Hughes Medal The Hughes Medal is a silver-gilt medal awarded by the Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. T ...
, 1960. * Foundation Fellow of the
Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...
, 1954.
Fellow 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 society, learned or professional society, p ...
,
Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...
(1954). * Honorary DSc from the Australian National University, 1961. * The
Pawsey Medal The Pawsey Medal is awarded annually by the Australian Academy of Science to recognize outstanding research in the physics by an Australian scientist early in their career (up to 10 years post-PhD). This medal commemorates the work of the late Jos ...
of the Australian Academy of Science, awarded since 1967, commemorates his contributions to science in Australia. * The Pawsey Memorial Lecture is delivered annually by a distinguished scientist.


Bibliography

* R.N. Bracewell and J.L. Pawsey, ''Radio Astronomy'', 1955, Clarendon Press. * J L Pawsey et al., "Cosmic radio waves and their interpretation", 1961, ''Rep. Prog. Phys.'' 24.


See also

* Joan Maie Freeman *
Ruby Payne-Scott Ruby Violet Payne-Scott (28 May 1912 – 25 May 1981) was an Australian pioneer in radiophysics and radio astronomy, and was one of two Antipodean women pioneers in radio astronomy and radio physics at the end of the second world war, Ruby Payn ...


References


External links


Encyclopedia of Australian Science
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pawsey Joseph Lade Pawsey, Joseph Lade Pawsey, Joseph Lade Pawsey, Joseph Lade Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Pawsey, Joseph Lade Pawsey, Joseph Lade CSIRO people Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science People from Ararat, Victoria People educated at Wesley College (Victoria) Radio astronomers University of Melbourne alumni