Emeritus Professor
Citation delivered by Professor Chris Cook, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Wollongong on the occasion of the admission of John Norrish as an Emeritus Professor of the University on 12 December 2012.
Chancellor I present John Norrish.
John Norrish was already a leading figure in welding education and research when he joined the University of Wollongong in 1995, moving from the UK to take up the Chair in Materials Welding and Joining. He was responsible for the wide introduction of electronically regulated, computer controlled welding power supplies. This innovation set the tone for Professor Norrish’s career: inventive, focused and practical.
Through his teaching and research, John has set a high standard which has ensured that welding technology at this University is foremost throughout the world. He provided students and colleagues with a role model few can emulate and his work has seeded future technological innovation.
John Norrish has over 200 research publications and his definitive welding textbook is used through the world. He has been recognised internationally for his published work, receiving the Ramsay Moon and Sir William Hudson Medals, as well as the prestigious E. O. Paton Award for his lifelong contribution to welding research. In 2007, he was awarded the Dr Wilfred Chapman Award for outstanding achievements in fundamental research into welding science and technology at Australian and international levels.
John Norrish brought to the University what was, at the time, one of the largest single industrial research contracts with BOC gases. Later, he was instrumental in the genesis and operation of the Defence Materials Technology Centre, a multi partner collaborative research centre aimed at providing the defence industry with materials and manufacturing solutions. He has also been instrumental in the development of other collaborative research centres in welding and pipelines.
Chancellor, John Norrish has given and continues to give great service to his discipline, his students and colleagues and his University. Even in retirement he is still supervising PhD students, mentoring staff, and sharing imaginative research ideas. He continues to publish, to represent the University at international conferences and to serve as a Board Member of the Defence Materials Technology Centre.
On behalf the University community and particularly his faculty, I am pleased and privileged to present John Norrish for admission as an Emeritus Professor of the University of Wollongong.