Michael Newton Barber (born 30 April 1947) is a

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. He was Vice Chancellor of

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

from 2008 until 2014.

Career

Barber studied at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

, where he received the University Medal in applied mathematics and graduated with first class honours. He received a PhD from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in the USA in theoretical physics in 1972. He is best known for the scaling theory of finite size effects at

phase transition In chemistry, thermodynamics, and other related fields, a phase transition (or phase change) is the physical process of transition between one state of a medium and another. Commonly the term is used to refer to changes among the basic states of ...

s, which he introduced together with

Michael Fisher Michael Ellis Fisher (3 September 1931 – 26 November 2021) was an English physicist, as well as chemist and mathematician, known for his many seminal contributions to statistical physics, including but not restricted to the theory of phase t ...

. Barber worked at 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 ...

and

as an academic in the 1970s and 1980s. in 1990, he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Science at the ANU. He assumed his first office-bearing position as Pro Vice Chancellor (Research) 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 ...

in 1994 and held the position until 2002. That year, Barber was appointed Executive Director, Science Planning at the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

. In 2006, he was appointed Group Executive, Information, Manufacturing and Minerals. He held this position until his appointment as Vice-Chancellor at Flinders University in 2008—a position he held until December 2014. During his time as Vice Chancellor he worked "to enhance the University’s contribution to the ‘new South Australia’ with its strong defence and resources sectors." In 2008 he stated: "The University is already more engaged with the defence and resource industries than many people recognise but we need to further strengthen the science and technology base at Flinders so that the University is better positioned to grasp more of the opportunities in the new South Australia. We need to work through this in a planned and deliberate way to find appropriate strategies to address it." In 2012, Barber was a member of the South Australian State Advisory Council of the

Committee for Economic Development of Australia The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) is a bipartisan, non-profit organisation providing thought leadership and policy perspectives on the economic and social issues affecting Australia. Its expressed aim is to "promote nat ...

(CEDA). That same year, Barber's salary for his position as Vice Chancellor of Flinders University became a controversial topic. '' The Advertiser'' revealed that he would receive between $710,000 and $719,999 in 2012. In 2010 his salary had been $545,000. A spokesperson from Flinders University stated that his remuneration was "in line" with industry standards. Throughout his career, Barber has acted as an advisor on science and research matters to government and industry in Australia and overseas.

Recognition

Barber was elected a 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 ...

in 1992. He served as the organisation's Secretary, Science Policy from 2001 until 2005. In 2001 he was awarded the

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 go ...

"for service to Australian society through university administration and scientific research". In 2009 he was elected a Fellow of the

Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) is a professional society dedicated to applied mathematics, computational science, and data science through research, publications, and community. SIAM is the world's largest scientific socie ...

(SIAM). In 2018 Barber was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) for "distinguished service to higher education administration, and in the field of mathematical physics, particularly statistical mechanics, as an academic and researcher, and through contributions to science policy reform".

Personal life

Barber's father was noted Australian botanist and geneticist

Horace Barber Horace Newton Barber FAA FRS (26 May 1914 – 16 April 1971) was an Australian botanist and geneticist, Foundation Professor of Botany at the University of Tasmania (1947–1963) and Foundation Professor of Botany at the University of New ...

References

External links

Biographical entry
Encyclopedia of Australian Science
SIAM fellows: class of 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Michael Living people Australian mathematicians University of New South Wales alumni Cornell University alumni Australian National University faculty University of New South Wales faculty University of Western Australia faculty Vice Chancellors of Flinders University Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Officers of the Order of Australia 1947 births