Guide to the Papers of Ralph Owen Slatyer, 1959-1999

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9476

Creator:

Ralph Owen Slatyer

Extent:

2.4 metres and (16 ms boxes + 4 sound/av carriers)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Ralph Owen Slatyer, National Library of Australia, MS 9476, [box number and series and/or folder number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

Ralph Slatyer had a long association with the CSIRO and the Australian National University and was actively involved in many research and official organisations and committees. Much of the work would be recorded on ANU and official files. The papers that he retained mainly relate to some of his activities toward the end of his career.

Slatyer was appointed Australia's Ambassador to UNESCO in 1978 by the Fraser government and then Chairman of the Australian Science and Technology Council in 1982 by the Fraser government, continuing under Prime Minister Hawke. He was then appointed Australia's first Chief Scientist and adviser to the Hawke and later the Keating Governments. There are many government papers, which are mainly correspondence, in his papers. Other material includes biographical sketches, a list of Slatyer's publications, videocasettes, an audio tape, speeches, reports, discussion papers, photographs and medals. The series also comprises files relating to the establishment of the Cooperative Research Centres Program, and other research initiatives.

Biographical Note:

Ralph Slatyer was born in Perth, on the 16 April 1929. He was educated at the University of Western Australia where he obtained his Bachelor's (1951) Master's (1955) and Doctoral (1960) degrees in agricultural science.

Career details - Full time positions

Date	Event
1951-66	CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Research Scientist, Division of Land Research
1966-67	CSIRO Associate Chief of the Land Research Division
1967-92	Australian National University: Professor of Biology and Foundation Head of the Department of Environmental Biology
1984-89	Australian National University: Director, Research School of Biological Sciences
1963-64	Duke University, North Carolina: Visiting Professor of Forestry and Botany and National Science Foundation Senior Fellow
1973-74	University of California: Visiting Professor of Biological Sciences and Ford Foundation Senior Fellow
1978-81	Australian Ambassador to UNESCO, Paris
1989-92	Australia's first Chief Scientist and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Science and Technology

Date	Event
1973-83	International Coordinating Council of the major UNESCO inter governmental Program of 'Man and the Biosphere' (Chairman, 1977-81)
1976-91	SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment) (President 1982-85, member of the executive committee until 1991)
1979-83	World Heritage Committee (Chairman, 1981-83)
1982-87	Chairman of ASTEC (Australian Science and Technology Council)
1990-93	Chairman of Cooperative Research Centres Program
1970-80	Member of the Australian National Commission for UNESCO (Chairman, 1976-78)
1995-96	Chairman, Review of the Bureau of Meteorology ( BOM )
1995-97	Chairman Commonwealth State Working Group on Access to Australia's Genetic Resources

Date	Event
1967	Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
1975	Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS)
1976	Foreign member of the United States National Academy of Sciences
1977	Queen's silver jubilee medal
1981	Foreign member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
1982	Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)
1983	Honorary degree of Doctor of Science from University of Western Australia
1984	Honorary member of the British Ecological Society
1986	Honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Duke University
1991	Medal of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
1992	Honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Queensland
1992	Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
1993	Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) (Appointed Officer (AO) in 1982)
1993	Foreign member of the Korean Association for Science and Technology
1993	Gold medal of the Ecological Society of Australia
1998	Honorary degree of Doctor of Applied Science from Charles Sturt University
2001	Clunies Ross award for lifetime contribution to science and technology.

Books (authored or edited)

Practical micro-climatology, R. Slatyer and I.C. Mcllroy eds. UNESCO, Paris 1961Plant-water relationships, Academic Press, London, 1967Arid lands of Australia, R. Slatyer and R. A. Perrys eds. ANU Press, Canberra,1969Man and the new biology, ANU Press, Canberra, 1970Photosynthesis and photorespiration, M.D. Hatch, C.B. Osmond and R.Slatyer eds. Wiley Interscience, New York, 1971Plant responses to climatic factors, R. Slatyer ed. UNESCO, Paris, 1974

Provenance:

The papers were donated by Professor Ralph Slatyer in 1999.

Arrangement:

For the most part, the file titles are those supplied by Slatyer, with additional information in a few instances for clarification.

Indexed terms

Names:

Ralph Owen Slatyer

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn545308).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Ralph Owen Slatyer, National Library of Australia, MS 9476, [box number and series and/or folder number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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