Raymond Leslie Martin (3 February 1926 – 25 February 2020) was an Australian chemistry professor and university administrator. He was Vice-Chancellor of

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

from 1977 to 1987.Martin, Raymond Leslie (1926 – )
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Early life

Martin grew up in Melbourne where he attended

Scotch College Melbourne Scotch College is an independent school, independent Presbyterian Day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, Victoria, Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Aus ...

from grade 6 until attaining his

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certifica ...

. His father had to move suddenly to Sydney for work reasons, and whilst in Sydney Martin attended North Sydney Boys' High School for a year before returning to Melbourne for his tertiary education. His tertiary education was 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 ...

and the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He was an outstanding student, receiving numerous prizes and scholarships. He gained two doctorates from Cambridge and one doctorate from 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 ...

, all in chemistry.

Professional career

In the 1950s, Martin was appointed lecturer 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 ...

, before being appointed professor of chemistry at Melbourne University at just 36 years of age. During this time, he worked in private industry, and was also a visiting scholar at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. In 1972, he moved to

ANU Anu ( akk, , from wikt:𒀭#Sumerian, 𒀭 ''an'' “Sky”, “Heaven”) or Anum, originally An ( sux, ), was the sky father, divine personification of the sky, king of the gods, and ancestor of many of the list of Mesopotamian deities, dei ...

, where he was Dean of the Research School of Chemistry. In 1984 Martin was elected chairman of the International Atomic Weights Commission where he served until 1987. In 1977, Martin was appointed the third Vice-Chancellor of

. The position was originally intended to go to a British academic, Lord John Vaizey. However, negotiations between Vaizey and the University broke down after Vaizey's demands became increasingly outlandish. As a result, the position went to Martin, after founding Dean of Arts Bill Scott filled the vacancy for a year. His leadership at Monash consolidated the extraordinary growth achieved by the University. In a sense, his vice-chancellorship was much quieter than the pioneering of

Louis Matheson Sir James Adam Louis Matheson KBE CMG (11 February 191227 March 2002) was a British engineer and university administrator, who served as the first Vice-Chancellor of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Early life Born in Huddersfield ...

or the massive expansion of

Mal Logan Malcolm Ian Logan (3 June 1931 – 17 September 2022) was an Australian geographer and university administrator. He was Vice-Chancellor of Monash University from 1987 to 1996. Logan grew up in country New South Wales, attending secondary schoo ...

. This was partly because funding for Australian universities slowed during his tenure, while no major educational reforms were made by Australian governments. When he stepped down from the lead role at Monash, he worked as a professor of chemistry at the University, before moving to Canberra to work in the Prime Minister's Department as Chair of the Australian Science and Technology Council.Martin, Raymond Leslie
Bright Sparcs Biographical entry

References

{{Chairmen of the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights 1926 births 2020 deaths Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni Monash University faculty University of New South Wales faculty University of Melbourne faculty Australian National University alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Officers of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering People educated at North Sydney Boys High School