Fellows' biographical memoirs

Professor Ernest Ritchie FAA was an organic chemist who spent decades unravelling the chemistry of Australian plants. He discovered new alkaloid groups, extended synthetic techniques and trained a generation of chemists at the University of Sydney.

With the death of Sir Ernest Titterton on 9 February 1990, Australian has lost one of its most controversial scientists. Well known because of his forthright and uncompromising views on the subjects of nuclear weapons and nuclear power and because he 'pushed the button' for the world's first nuclear weapon, he was highly regarded by some and hated by others.

Mr Essington Lewis CH FAA was an industrialist whose career shaped both Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) and Australia's wartime industrial capacity.

Frank Dwyer was a pioneering figure in biological inorganic chemistry.

Frank Stillwell was a geologist and a member of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911–1913) led by Sir Douglas Mawson.

With the death of Frank Macfarlane Burnet on 31 August 1985, Australia lost its greatest biologist. His experimental work on bacteriophages and animal viruses, especially influenza virus, resulted in major discoveries concerning their nature and replication, and he was a pioneer in the application of ecological principles to viral diseases. He was a Foundation Fellow and, from 1965 to 1969, President of the Australian Academy of Science.

Dr Fraser Bergersen AM FAA FRS was a microbiologist who revealed how leghaemoglobin controls oxygen delivery in legume root nodules, transforming understanding of biological nitrogen fixation and its role in world agriculture.

Gavin Brown was a distinguished mathematician and was a key contributor to the area of harmonic analysis.

Geoffrey Burnstock was a biomedical scientist who gained renown for his discovery that adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) functions as an extracellular signalling molecule.

Geoffrey Ivan Opat, Professor of Experi­mental Physics at the University of Mel­bourne, died suddenly at home on 7 March 2002, at the age of 66. He was one of Australia’s most versatile and highly respected physicists, scholars and teachers and his death came as a profound shock to the staff of the University of Melbourne and to the physics community in Australia.