Murray Thomas Batchelor (born 27 August 1961) is an Australian mathematical physicist. He is best known for his work in

mathematical physics Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematics, mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The ''Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and t ...

and

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experim ...

Academic career

Batchelor was educated at Chatham Public School and

Chatham High School (Taree, New South Wales) Chatham High School is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Mixed-sex school, co-educational Comprehensive school, comprehensive secondary school, secondary day school, located in , in the Mid North Coast region of New So ...

. He completed an Honours degree in

Theoretical Physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experim ...

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 ...

in 1983, graduating with 1st class honours and a University Medal. Batchelor completed a PhD in

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

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 ...

in 1987. His first postdoctoral research position was at the

Lorentz Institute The Lorentz Institute ( nl, Instituut-Lorentz) is the institute for theoretical physics at Leiden University the Netherlands. It was established in 1921 and was named after physicist Hendrik Lorentz. Together with the experimental physics group ...

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

. After a time as a postdoctoral research fellow in mathematics at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

he took up an

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

QEII Fellowship at the

. He then was awarded two successive ARC Senior Research Fellowships, followed by an ARC Professorial Fellowship in 2003. Batchelor served as Head of the Department of Theoretical Physics from mid-2005 to March 2013. He has held visiting positions at a number of universities, including the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

and

Institut Henri Poincaré The Henri Poincaré Institute (or IHP for ''Institut Henri Poincaré'') is a mathematics research institute part of Sorbonne University, in association with the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). It is located in the 5th arrond ...

. He held a Visiting Fellowship at

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

, Oxford during

Michaelmas Term Michaelmas term is the first academic term of the academic year in a number of English-speaking universities and schools in the northern hemisphere, especially in the United Kingdom. Michaelmas term derives its name from the Feast of St Micha ...

2013. During his career, Batchelor has published over 150

peer-review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

ed papers. He is a Fellow of the

Australian Mathematical Society The Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS) was founded in 1956 and is the national society of the mathematics profession in Australia. One of the Society's listed purposes is to promote the cause of mathematics in the community by representing t ...

, the Australian Institute of Physics and the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physica ...

(UK). Batchelor was Editor-in-Chief of ''Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical''. Prior to this he served as Mathematical Physics Section Editor (2007–2008) and as a member of the Editorial Board (2005–2006). He is currently Topical Reviews Editor (2014-). In 2008 Batchelor was awarded an

Honorary Professor Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

ship at

Chongqing University Chongqing University (CQU; , colloquially abbreviated as ChóngDà) is a public research university located in Chongqing, China. It is a National Key University directly funded by the central government of China as part of the Double First Class U ...

, China. He took up a full-time position there in 2013 under the 1000 Talents Plan. He is a General Council Member of the

Asia-Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics (APCTP) is an international non-governmental research institute for physical sciences. It is located in the Campus of the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), in Pohang, South Korea, a ...

. He holds a part-time position at the

jointly between the Department of Theoretical Physics in the

Research School of Physics and Engineering The Research School of Physics (RSPhys) was established with the creation of the Australian National University (ANU) in 1947. Located at the ANU's main campus in Canberra, the school is one of the four founding research schools in the ANU's Ins ...

and the Mathematical Sciences Institute. However, Batchelor has also shown an interest in ancient and modern

stromatolites Stromatolites () or stromatoliths () are layered sedimentary formations (microbialite) that are created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and Pseudomonadota (formerly proteobacteria). The ...

, which has led him on a number of field trips to outback Australia, including to the

Pilbara Craton The Pilbara Craton is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The Pilbara Craton is one of only two pristine Archaean 3.6–2.7 Ga (billion years ago) crusts identified on the ...

and to

Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve The Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve is a protected marine nature reserve located in the UNESCO World Heritagelisted Shark Bay in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The nature reserve boasts the most diverse and abundant examples ...

. In 2018 he led research into the stones used to build

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

, determining that they were made from 200 million year old microbes.

Public roles

Batchelor served on the Mathematical and Information Sciences and Technology Assessment Panel for the Australian Research Quality Framework (2007).

Awards

* University Medal, UNSW - 1983 *

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 Jo ...

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 ...

- 1997 *

Australian Mathematical Society Medal The Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS) was founded in 1956 and is the national society of the mathematics profession in Australia. One of the Society's listed purposes is to promote the cause of mathematics in the community by representing t ...

- 1998 * ARC Professorial Fellowship - 2003 * Visiting Fellowship,

- 2013 * 1000 Talent Professor, China - 2013

Selected bibliography

* * *

References

External links

Personal home page (ANU)

Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batchelor, Murray Academic staff of the Australian National University Mathematical physicists Australian physicists Living people 1961 births People from Taree University of New South Wales alumni Theoretical physicists Fellows of the Australian Institute of Physics Australian National University alumni