Kenneth Richard Norris (28 March 1914 – 14 July 2003) was an Australian

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

Early life and education

He was born in Geraldton,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. The family moved to Fremantle in 1922, which was to provide the opportunity for Dick and his younger brother Donald to pursue studies in

agricultural science Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...

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 ...

(UWA). Don graduated in 1938, completed his MSc in 1944 and a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in 1948. His thesis for the doctorate was entitled 'History, Bionomics, and Control of Pests of the Australian Pastoral Industry'.

Career

He became a world authority on plant

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...

es, and chief research scientist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's (CSIRO) Division of Tropical Agronomy in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. He joined the CSIR - later to become the CSIRO - in 1937 as a temporary research officer for Western Australia. Ultimately he moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and progressed to become assistant chief of the Division of Entomology in 1965. In recognition of his unique contributions he was honoured with the title of Associate Chief in 1977. During his long career he undertook pioneering research on serious pests such as the red-legged earth mite,

buffalo fly ''Haematobia exigua'', its common name being buffalo fly, is a fly of the family Muscidae. The species is vastly present in Australia, inhabiting Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales. It is widely considered a pe ...

, lucerne fly,

cattle tick Cattle tick can refer to any of several species of ticks that parasitize cattle, including: * ''Haemaphysalis longicornis'', the Asian longhorned tick * ''Rhipicephalus annulatus'', the North American cattle tick * ''Rhipicephalus microplus The ...

clothes moth Clothes moth or clothing moth is the common name for several species of moth considered to be pests, whose larvae eat animal fibres (hairs), including clothing and other fabrics. These include: * ''Tineola bisselliella'', the common clothes moth ...

and the New Guinea screw-worm fly. However, he was perhaps best known as a leading authority on Australian blowflies. He was often consulted by Australian police and health authorities over forensic matters, and appeared in an Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) documentary on the subject a few years ago.

Retirement

After retirement in 1979 he continued as an honorary research fellow with the CSIRO well into his eighties. His last scientific publication was in 1999 at the age of 85. It exceeded 100 pages of original research and

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

drawings.

Death

He died in Canberra, having outlived five siblings from the family of Leonard and Constance Norris (née Wright). His mother, who died in 1955, is still well known in Geraldton for her posthumously-published historical reminiscences of the town. Norris is survived by his wife of 69 years, and two sons, both scientists. {{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Kenneth Richard 1914 births 2003 deaths People from Geraldton Australian entomologists University of Western Australia alumni 20th-century Australian zoologists