Introduction.- The Early Years.- Pawsey – Grand old man of Radio Astronomy.- The Rebirth of Fleurs - Christiansen.- The Radioheliograph and Beyond - Wild.- The One Mile Cross - Mills.- A Transformed World - Bracewell.- Discussion.- Conclusions.
Robert H. (Bob) Frater has researched electronics, telecommunications, radioastronomy instrumentation, electroacoustics and biomedical devices for over 40 years. He was responsible for ground-breaking techniques in instrumentation and systems for radioastronomy and optical astronomy and obtained funding for and directed the construction of the Australia Telescope at Narrabri, NSW. In the 1980s and 90s, he played critical roles in CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) as a science administrator. He currently holds several consulting and Board positions. Bob Frater has been awarded many honours including the Australian Centenary Medal, the IEEE Centennial Medal, the Norman W. V. Hayes Medal and Officer of the Order of Australia.
W. Miller Goss received his undergraduate degree in astronomy from Harvard in 1963 and a PhD from the University of California (Berkeley) in 1967 while working on the newly discovered OH radio frequency line at the Hat Creek Observatory. He then moved to Australia to the CSIRO Division of Radiophysics, first as a postdoctoral fellow and later as a staff member. In 1976, he was the recipient of the Pawsey Medal of the Australian Academy of Science. From 1977 to 1986, he was on the staff of the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and then professor from 1980 to 1986. In 1986, he moved to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Socorro, New Mexico, (USA). He was director of the Very Large Array and the Very Long Baseline Array from 1988 to 2002. He published Under the Radar, the First Woman in Radio Astronomy: Ruby Payne-Scott in 2009, and in 2013, a popular version of this book was published by Springer in the Astronomers’ Universe series: Making Waves, The Story of Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian Pioneer Radio Astronomer. At present, W.M. Goss, Ron Ekers and Claire Hooker are working on a biography of J.L. Pawsey, From theSun to the Cosmos, Joseph Lade Pawsey, Founder of Australian Astronomy. W.M. Goss's scientific interests include radio astronomical studies of the interstellar medium in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. He is an emeritus astronomer at the NRAO and the author of over 550 astronomical publications.
Harry Wendt completed a PhD in the history of radio
astronomy in 2008. He retired from full time work in 2017 after a
28-year career in banking, including time as Chief Technology
Officer and General Manager of Digital for Westpac Banking
Corporation in Australia. Prior to this he worked in the computer
industry and spent eight years as an aircrew officer in the Royal
Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm. It was while learning to
navigate using a sextant that his interest in astronomy was first
kindled. He lives in Sydney, Australia, and is a keen surfer
and sailor.
“The book tells a highly readable story of four
scientists/engineers who contributed to the development and high
international standing of radio astronomy in Australia. … The book
is abundantly filled with original photos and illustrations. I can
recommend it to all radio astronomers that are old enough to have
personally known the Four Pillars. It will be a good read to anyone
with an interest in the development of science in post-war
Australia … .” (Jacob W. M. Baars, The Radio Science Bulletin,
Issue 365, June, 2018)
“Four Pillars of Radio Astronomy: Mills, Christiansen, Wild,
Bracewell, by R. H. Frater, W. M Goss, and H. W. Wendt, provides a
fascinating window on the remarkable development of Australian
radio astronomy in the decade following World War II. … The book is
short, concise, entertaining, and very well illustrated.” (James
Moran, Physics Today, Vol. 71 (09), 2017)
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