John Henry Carver (5 September 1926 – 25 December 2004) was an Australian physicist who worked in

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

and

atmospheric physics Within the atmospheric sciences, atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere. Atmospheric physicists attempt to model Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of the other planets using fluid flow equations, che ...

Education

John Carver was educated at

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Mixed-sex school, co-educational Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective secondary school, secondary day school, located in Petersh ...

and obtained a first-class honors degree in physics in 1947 from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. On an Australian National University scholarship, he went to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and obtained a PhD in nuclear physics.

Career

After obtaining a PhD from

, Carver returned to the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

(ANU) as a Research Fellow in the Department of Nuclear Physics. Eight years later, he won the position of Elder Chair of Physics at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. This institution was not well equipped for nuclear physics research, and so Carver utilised the proximity of the

Weapons Research Establishment The Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) is part of the Australian Department of Defence dedicated to providing science and technology support to safeguard Australia and its national interests. The agency's name was changed from Defenc ...

and entered the field of atmospheric physics. Carver was involved in the design and launch of the first Australian-made satellite, which recorded data on the absorption of ultraviolet radiation in the upper atmosphere over a number of years. In 1970 Professor Carver was elected to the chair of the UN Scientific and Technical Sub-Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, and he held this position for the next 26 years. In 2000 he was awarded the UN's COSPAR Medal for this outstanding contribution. In 1978 he returned to the ANU as director of the Research School of Physical Sciences, a position he held until 1992.

References

Bibliography

* Australian Institute of Physics obituary
John Henry Carver
* Bright Sparcs biography

* Australian Academy of Science: Interviews with Australian Scientists

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carver, John Henry 1926 births 2004 deaths Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Members of the Order of Australia