Posted through the URSI-Commission-G Mailing List: Bill Ellis

Michael Rietveld mike at eiscat.uit.no
Tue Apr 5 18:33:12 EST 2011


Bill Ellis died recently.  He was Prof in Hobart (U. of Tasmania). 
His work was very much Commission G (Z-hole in ionosphere), 
Comm H (nose whistler) and J (Jupiter emissions).

Here is his obituary from the Academy Newsletter:

Graeme Reade Anthony (Bill) Ellis was
born in Launceston, Tasmania, on
20 December 1921 and died in Hobart
on 4 February 2011. Bill was educated at
the University of Tasmania completing a
BSc (Hons), PhD and DSc. He served with
the RAAF and was a navigator with the
RAF between 1942 and 1945. In 1950
he became a scientific officer with the
Ionospheric Prediction Service (IPS).
While with the IPS he published his
work showing that it was possible for
electromagnetic waves of frequency as
low as 1 MHz to penetrate the ionosphere
in some circumstances. In 1957 he spent
a year at the University of Queensland
as a senior lecturer. Between 1958 and
1960 he was a senior and then principal
research officer at CSIRO.s Upper
Atmosphere Section, where he worked
on very low frequency radio waves,
predicting the existence of a new type
of very low frequency emission, the
nose whistler.
In 1960 he became professor of physics
at the University of Tasmania. His
appointment was very timely, injecting
new vitality into the Physics Department
both in teaching, where he was very
popular, and in establishing new research
directions. He remained in this position
until his retirement and received the title
of emeritus professor.
His 30 year study of radio emissions
from the atmosphere of Jupiter resulted
in the development of a very advanced
technique to determine the dynamic
spectra of bursts of these emissions.
Bill was a foundation member of the
Australian Research Grants Committee
which broke new ground in national
funding for research in universities and
eventually evolved into the Australian
Research Council. He was also patron
of the Astronomical Society of Tasmania
for 20 years.
In 1963 he was awarded the Australian
Academy of Science Lyle Medal, and in
1965 he was elected to the Fellowship
of the Academy. In 1984 he was made
an Officer of the Order of Australia.
His wife Helen predeceased him. He is
survived by his children Elizabeth, Susan
and David, and his grandchildren Chris,
Anna and Hannah.



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