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Former Pupil Biographies
Professor Gavin Brown (1942 - 2010 )
Gavin Brown was a Scottish-born mathematician, and
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney between 1996 and 2008.
After attending secondary school at Madras College in St Andrews, Brown
graduated with a Master of Arts degree (1st Class Honours and the Duncan
Medal) from the University of St Andrews (1963), a Doctor of Philosophy
degree from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (1966). His academic
career began at the University of Liverpool, where he became a senior
lecturer in mathematics. |
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Brown accepted the Chair of Pure
Mathematics at the University of New South Wales in 1975 when he and his
family emigrated to Australia. During this time, he was awarded the Sir
Edmund Whittaker Memorial Prize and the Australian Mathematical Society
Medal. At the University of New South Wales, Brown held a number of
academic administrative posts, including Head of the Department of Pure
Mathematics, Head of the School of Mathematics, and Dean of the Faculty of
Science. In 1992, he became the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the
University of Adelaide; later, in 1994, he became the Vice-Chancellor. He
took up his position as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney in
1996, and retired from the university in 2008.
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involved in the work of the Australian Research Council as a chairman of
various funding committees from 1988 to 1993, and a member of the Council
from 1992 to 1993. He wrote more than 100 research papers and served on
the board of several international journals. His research areas were
broad, including harmonic analysis, measure theory and algebraic geometry.
He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of St Andrews
(1997) and an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Dundee (2004).
In 2006, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. |
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Brown died of a heart attack in Adelaide in December 2010.
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