Fellows' biographical memoirs

Sir Otto Frankel was a geneticist by training, plant breeder by occupation, cytologist by inclination and genetic conservationist by acclaim. His career in science was unusual in that his most widely acclaimed work was done after his official retirement.

Professor Paul Korner AO FAA was a cardiovascular physiologist who made major contributions to understanding the pathogenesis of hypertension and to improving the management of cardiovascular diseases.

Pehr Victor Edman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in April 1916 and died in Munich, FRG, in March 1977. He was born into a lawyer's family and received his schooling in Stockholm. In 1935 he began medical studies at the Karolinska Institute and graduated with his primary medical qualifications in 1938. He became interested in research and, following graduation, continued to work at the Karolinska Institute, largely in the laboratory of Professor Eric Jorpes.

Professor Peter Hall was a mathematician and statistician, one of the most influential and prolific theoretical statisticians in the history of the field.

Professor Peter Bishop AO FAA FRS was a neurophysiologist who pioneered precise, quantitative methods for studying the mammalian visual system, uncovering neural mechanisms of binocular vision and stereopsis.

Peter William Gage (1937–2005) was recognised nationally and internationally as one of Australia’s leaders in membrane physiology, biophysics and neuroscience. His research on neurotransmission, muscle and the structure–function of ion channels was extraordinarily productive, with over 7,000 citations. A gifted speaker with a great enthusiasm for research and for the introduction of cutting-edge technology, Peter Gage influenced and encouraged a great many research students, postdoctoral fellows and senior colleagues in their scientific careers.

Dr Phillip Law AC CBE FAA FTSE was the defining figure of Australia's Antarctic program for many years, leading the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) 1947–66 and establishing Australia's permanent presence on the continent.

Professor Ralph Slatyer AC FAA FTSE FRS made foundational contributions to plant physiology and ecology. He was a towering figure in science policy as the nation's first Chief Scientist.

Raymond James Wood Le Fèvre was born in North London on the first day of April, 1905. He was the eldest of three children of Raymond James Le Fèvre, the managing clerk of a firm of London solicitors, and his wife Ethel May (née Wood). Of his four grandparents, three had died before 1910. Only his father's mother, née Louise Darby, of Bath survived into his childhood.

Ray Stalker was an aerospace engineer who designed the free piston shock tunnel – known as the "Stalker tube" – and designed the first scramjet to produce more thrust than drag, pioneering Australia's hypersonic research program.