David G. Blair (born 1946) is an Australian physicist and professor at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

and Director of the Australian International Gravitational Research Centre. Blair works on methods for the detection of

gravitational wave Gravitational waves are waves of the intensity of gravity generated by the accelerated masses of an orbital binary system that propagate as waves outward from their source at the speed of light. They were first proposed by Oliver Heaviside in 1 ...

s. He developed the niobium bar gravitational wave detector

NIOBE In Greek mythology, Niobe (; grc-gre, Νιόβη ) was a daughter of Tantalus and of either Dione, the most frequently cited, or of Eurythemista or Euryanassa, the wife of Amphion and the sister of Pelops and Broteas. Her father was the ru ...

, which achieved the lowest observed noise temperature, and participated in a worldwide collaboration that set the best limit on the burst events in 2001. He has been responsible for numerous innovations including the 1984 invention of the first sapphire clock, a super-precise timepiece designed for space, as well as underpinning the research of the Frequency Stability Group at The University of Western Australia. In 2003, together with Prof. John de Laeter, Blair founded the

Gravity Discovery Centre The Gravity Discovery Centre and Observatory is a "hands-on" science education, astronomy, Aboriginal culture and tourist centre, situated on the site of the Gravity Precinct in bushland near Gingin, north of Perth, Western Australia. It is ...

, a major centre for the promotion of science in Western Australia. In 2010, Blair and collaborating partners developed an educational research program called the Science Education Enrichment Project, to research the benefits of specialist exhibition centres such as the Gravity Discovery Centre. In 2014, Blair led the Einstein-First Project which aims to introduce Einsteinian Physics at an early age. The project partners included Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Graham (Polly) Farmer Foundation, U.S. Air Force Academy and the Gravity Discovery Centre.

Honours and recognition

In 2013 Blair was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society; 2007 Western Australian (WA) Premier's Science Award for Scientist of the Year; 2005

World Year of Physics The year 2005 was named the World Year of Physics, also known as Einstein Year, in recognition of the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's " Miracle Year", in which he published four landmark papers, and the subsequent advances in the field of p ...

, Blair was awarded the

ANZAAS The Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) is an organisation that was founded in 1888 as the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science to promote science. It was modelled on the British A ...

Medal as well as a WA Government Centre of Excellence Grant to develop the Australian International Gravitational Research Centre; 2004 Learning Links Certificate, Minister for Education and Training; 2003 National Medal for Community Service; 2003 Centenary Medal (for Promotion of Science); 2003 Clunies Ross Medal for Science and Technology and in 1995 Blair won the

Walter Boas Medal The Walter Boas Medal is awarded by the Australian Institute of Physics for research in Physics in Australia. It is named in memory of is named in memory of Walter Boas (1904-1982) — an eminent scientist and metallurgist who worked on the physic ...

of the

Australian Institute of Physics The Australian Institute of Physics was established in 1963, when it replaced the Australian Branch of the British Institute of Physics based in London.

. In 2018 Blair was elected 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 ...

Publications

Professor Blair is the co-author of ''Ripples on a Cosmic Sea: The Search for Gravitational Waves'', and the editor of the book ''The Detection of Gravitational Waves''.

References

Presentation of the ANZAAS medal to Professor David Blair
1946 births Living people Australian physicists Academic staff of the University of Western Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science {{Physicist-stub