Light Alloys

After a career in industry that included serving as Principal Research Scientist and Leader of the Aircraft Materials Group at Australia’s Aeronautical Research Laboratories, Dr. Polmear moved to academia where he became Chairman of the Department of Materials Science at Monash University as well as a founding member of the Department of Materials Engineering and later Deputy Vice-Chancellor. His research interests – which included precipitation hardening in aluminium alloys, development of high strength alloys for aircraft, metal fatigue and weldable light alloys – led to collaborations with laboratories and industries in Australia, Britain, Switzerland, USA and Germany. He published the first edition of Light Alloys in 1981. Dr. Polmear is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

Professor StJohn is a graduate of The University of Queensland (UQ) with a BSc(Hons) and PhD in Physical Metallurgy. He has held appointments in Canada, RMIT University and CRA-Advanced Technical Development in Perth as well as a long association with UQ. From 1994 to 2008 he was with the CAST Cooperative Research Centre becoming CEO from August 2002 until 2008. He led the successful bid for the Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC) in 2008 and initiated the Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing (AMPAM) at UQ in 2009. He also successfully led an application to the Queensland State Government to fund a new building to house AMPAM which led to a further application to the Australian Federal Government for additional funding to construct the Advanced Engineering Building (AEB). He was then Chair of the Project Control Group for the construction of the AEB which was completed in 2013. Prof StJohn is currently Emeritus Professor at UQ. He has over 300 publications in journals and conference proceedings with research interests covering a broad range of topics including grain refinement and the formation of defects in castings of Al, Mg and Ti alloys. Prof StJohn was awarded the John Campbell Medal in 2014, the Materials Australia Silver Medal in 2011, the Amercian Society of Metals Henry Marion Howe Medal in 2006 and the Magnesium Technology Award by TMS in 2003.