Professor Sir Kerr Grant (1878–1967) was an Australian physicist and a significant figure in higher education administration in South Australia in the first half of the twentieth century.
Kerr Grant was born in the then rural town of Bacchus Marsh, near Melbourne in the Australian state of Victoria in 1878. He was awarded a scholarship to Ormond College and studied mathematics at the University of Melbourne and was awarded a B.Sc. in 1901 and M.Sc. in 1903, both with first class honours. In 1904, he studied at the University of Göttingen in Germany where he studied with American Nobel Prize winning chemist and physicist Irving Langmuir. In 1911, he was appointed Elder professor of physics at the University of Adelaide. He held this position until 1948 and his students included Dr. Douglas Allen of the British atomic research team, Professor George Eric MacDonnell Jauncey,[1] professor of physics at Washington University in St. Louis,[2] Hugh Cairns, Mark Oliphant, and Howard Florey (later Baron Florey).[3]
In 1919, he attended the laboratories of the General Electric Co. at Schenectady in the United States. While there he was intrigued by the work performed there on molecular films and on return to Adelaide encouraged study on such films on mercury. During World War II, like many scientists, Grant was involved in war work. He was appointed chairman of the Scientific (physics) Manpower Advisory Committee, controller of the Adelaide branch of the Army Inventions Directorate, a member and later chairman of the Optical Munitions Panel (of the Ordnance Production Directorate), and a member of the physical and meteorological sub-committee of the Chemical Defence Board.[3]
While he never considered himself an outstanding physicist, Grant's work during the war and in teaching and administration led to the award of a knighthood in the 1947 New Year Honours. He was involved in the popularisation of science through a newspaper column answering reader questions on scientific matters and was seen by some as an archetypal absent minded professor, a portrayal which he greatly enjoyed. He was an extremely popular figure at the University of Adelaide, and cheerfully played along with the many practical jokes played upon him by his students, usually involving his 1929 vintage car, which he steadfastly refused to get rid of.[4] His final lecture on his retirement in 1948 was attended by around 700 past and present students, and was the rowdiest "rag" honouring a departing professor in the history of the University.[5] Sir Kerr Grant died in 1967 from pneumonia after being admitted to hospital with a broken hip.[3] Kerr Grant Terrace in the Adelaide suburb of Plympton is named after him, as are lecture theatres in both the University of Adelaide's North Terrace campus and the University of South Australia's City East campus.
^"Jauncey, George Eric (1888–1947)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 31 October 2014. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
^Cyril Burley "A Professor is saying goodbye" The News, Adelaide, 29 October 1948
^ abcTomlin, S. G. (1983). "Sir Kerr Grant (1878–1967)". Grant, Sir Kerr (1878–1967). Australian National University. Retrieved 23 March 2007. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^"All Loved 'The Old Professor'" obituary, no byline, original cutting from The Advertiser vol. 110 no. 33,998 on reverse, otherwise no date shown (after 15 October 1967)
^"Hilarious Rag for professor", no byline, The News, Adelaide, Friday 29 October 1948
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London University for the Royal Society of London." Statement made by Sir KerrGrant, in: "The Life and work of Sir William Bragg", the John Murtagh Macrossan...
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2009. "Domi traded to Nashville". National Hockey League. July 1, 2002. Kerr, Grant (July 13, 2002). "'Tie is our guy,' Domi returns to Leafs". The Globe...
St. Louis-based band Cake Pop with Cali Cartier, Ravenna Golden, Lewis Grant, Pritty, Robel Ketema, Kevin Bedford, and Adam Newcomer. They released their...
reinstated immediately". ESPN.com. August 8, 2005. Retrieved June 4, 2023. Kerr, Grant (August 9, 2005). "Relieved Bertuzzi goes back to work". The Globe and...
Times. Archived from the original on 2010-12-07. Retrieved 2022-03-05. Kerr, Grant (April 1, 1993). "NHL formally announces complete realignment package"...
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sind Schweizer Meiser". watson.ch (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-01. Kerr, Grant (February 18, 2004). "Naslund hit sparks fury". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved...
Archived from the original on April 20, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2024. Kerr, Grant (March 23, 2005). "Rookie head coach maintains the Rockets' glare". The...
highest earning film of Grant's career at the US box office, with takings of $9.5 million. In 1960, Grant appeared opposite Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and...
30, 1953). "Two New Arrivals Open; Metro's 'Dream Wife' With Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Betta St. John at the Rivoli ' The Stranger Wore a Gun,' Starring...
minister, Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), by Sir John Kerr, the Governor-General who then commissioned the leader of the Opposition...
Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2009. C. Kerr-Grant (10 November 1955). "The Adelaide Earthquake of 1st March 1954" (PDF)...
first he was interested in a career in medicine, but later in the year, KerrGrant, the physics professor, offered him a cadetship in the Physics Department...
"NHL moving draft to B.C. Place Stadium". The Vancouver Sun. p. F2. Kerr, Grant (June 17, 1990). "Nordiques gamble on tough guy Nolan". The Gazette....