Vale Dr Roger Gammon, nuclear physicist Thursday, 03 November 2016

Engineers Australia Newcastle General Manager Helen Link pays tribute to a truly great man.

It is with great sadness that I inform you that Dr Roger Barry Gammon MIEAust CPEng(Ret) passed away on Thursday 28 July 2016. Thanksgiving service for Roger was held at Port Macquarie in August.

Roger was a very keen supporter of Engineers Australia Newcastle’s Mid North Coast group of engineers who encouraged many students to pursue engineering and science as a career. Roger was a leading nuclear physicist who regularly attended many of our local tours and seminars and provided valuable input into the Division.

Roger was born in England where he commenced his eminent career in science with the UK Atomic Energy Authority. In 1971 Roger was recruited by the University of Technology Sydney to set up Nuclear and Vacuum Physics courses. Roger spent a sabbatical in Pasadena USA at NASA’s lead centre for the Voyager spacecraft missions, specialising in solar thermal and photovoltaic research. He then returned to Sydney where he later became the Director of the NSW Government’s Solar Energy Program, being instrumental in establishing the White Cliffs Solar Thermal Power Station. Roger served as the CEO of the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering at Lucas Heights during the decade 1988 to 1998.

Even during retirement, Roger and his wife Diana found time to teach the new generation of engineers and scientists. They would take 40 American students twice yearly to the Australian outback to teach more about science and our environment.

Many local schools benefitted from Roger’s popular presentations regarding his vast experience and knowledge of science and engineering.

Roger will be sorely missed by the engineering community, but will always be remembered.

Image: Dr Roger Gammon MIEAust CPEng(Ret).