Roderick William (Rod) Boswell AM

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

FTSE (born 1933 in `YackandandahRod W. Boswell - The Story
people.physics.anu.edu.au) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

physicist. He is a professor 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 ...

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 ...

, in the Space Plasma, Power and Propulsion group of the Plasma Research Laboratory. He invented a technology which become the basis for the development of a new type of rocket thruster, the

Helicon Double Layer Thruster The helicon double-layer thruster is a prototype spacecraft propulsion engine. It was created by Australian scientist Dr Christine Charles, based on a technology invented by Professor Rod Boswell, both of the Australian National University. The ...

: the ongoing development of the Australian Plasma Thruster is supported by the

European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...

. After taking his B.Sc. at the University of Adelaide, he completed a Ph.D. at

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 ...

. His graduate studies were undertaken at

, in

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 ...

where, in 1969, he was instrumental in establishing the radical student newspaper "

Empire Times 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 ...

" by purchasing and running, in the living room of his home, an

offset press Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on t ...

, thereby liberating the new newspaper from the censorious tendencies of commercial printers. His honours and awards include: *In 2001 he was awarded a

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 in applied physics". *In 2008 he was elected a

Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science The Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science is made up of about 500 Australian scientists. Scientists judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field may be elected to Fellowship of the Academy. ...

*In 2012 he was appointed a

Member 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 ...

(AM) "for service to science in the field of plasma physics as an academic and researcher and through contributions to the international scientific community".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boswell, Rod 1932 births Living people 20th-century Australian scientists 21st-century Australian scientists Australian National University faculty Australian physicists Members of the Order of Australia Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Flinders University alumni University of Adelaide alumni