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Cultural Sensitivity Warning

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that the State Library of Western Australia catalogue includes images, sounds, and names of deceased persons.

All users should be aware that certain words, terms, or descriptions may be culturally sensitive and considered inappropriate today, but reflect the period in which they were written.

Author	Allen-Williams, David John Francis, 1918-2004, interviewee.
Title	Interview with David John Francis Allen-Williams in 1986 / interviewed by Anne Reid.
Published/Produced	1986.

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Interview with David John Francis Allen-Williams / interviewed by Anne Reid. Part 1

Interview with David John Francis Allen-Williams / interviewed by Anne Reid. Part 2

Interview with David John Francis Allen-Williams / interviewed by Anne Reid. Part 3

Interview with David John Francis Allen-Williams / interviewed by Anne Reid. Part 4

Interview with David John Francis Allen-Williams / interviewed by Anne Reid. Part 5

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Interview with David John Francis Allen-Williams / interviewed by Anne Reid. Part 6

LOCATION	CALL NO	STATUS	NOTE	MESSAGE
Online	OH4120	AVAILABLE

Details

Call Number	OH4120
Physical description	1 online resource (6 audio files (2 hr., 51 min., 50 sec.)) : digital, WAV
Series	University of Western Australia Archives oral history project
	University of Western Australia Archives oral history project
Notes	Title devised by cataloguer.
	This sound recording has been preserved and made available by the University of Western Australia.
	Digital preservation in WAV format.
Access advisory	Access open.
Date/time and place of an event	Interview by Anne Reid with Emeritus Professor David John Francis Allen-Williams, Chair of Mechanical Engineering, took place in the studios of 6UVS FM on Thursday 20 March, 2 and 29 April 1986.
Additional formats	Audio cassette tape also available at the University of Western Australia Archives.
Original version	Original version: 3 audio cassettes University of Western Australia Archives OH53.
Rights advisory	Copyright or other restrictions may apply. For public use, contact the State Library of Western Australia.
Biography/history	First foundation professor in mechanical engineering from 1958-1983. Professor Allen-Williams obtained his education at Harrow School and Clare College, Cambridge and graduated as a Civil Engineer. He initially worked on the design of government ammunition factories and storage tunnels. In 1940 he transferred to the Air Ministry Research Establishment where he worked in the “Secret War” on radio and radar countermeasures research. After the war, he led the Telecommunications Research Establishment Group making the electronic instrumentation to control Britain’s first research nuclear reactor, GLEEP. In 1947, he left Harwell to write his Cambridge PhD thesis on the first 30 million electron volt synchrotrons used for radiation therapy of deepseated cancers. In 1954, he joined the Ruston-Paxman Group of companies to study the development of nuclear energy and automatic controls in industry which resulted in 1956 in his appointment as Chief Research Engineer with Davey Paxman and Co Ltd. Following his appointment as the Foundation Chair of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Western Australia which he took up in April 1958, he started to provide significant benefits to the State through his experience with nuclear science and engineering. As a member of the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering, he was able to travel frequently and quickly helped set up the first linear accelerator for radiation therapy at the Sir Charles Gardener Hospital in Perth. These efforts lead to the formation at the Royal Perth Hospital of the Physics and Engineering Department which has now evolved into the Biomedical Engineering Department. While he was Dean of the Engineering Faculty, he introduced the first Masters Degree by Coursework and Dissertation programme in 1972. His most significant contribution to mechanical engineering at the University of Western Australia was his efforts to bring large industry funded projects to the Department. These included the Australian Wool Corporation’s to base its multimillion dollar research programme on robotic sheep shearing and research for Hammersley Iron and Mt Newman Mining on iron ore trains. (Adapted from Engineering WA, newsletter of WA Division of Engineers Australia, Oct 2004)
Summary	Professor David Allen-Williams talks about his early life in England, the war years, his various research and his academic career at University of Western Australia and his industry-related projects.
Subjects	Allen-Williams, David John Francis, 1918-2004 -- Interviews.
	University of Western Australia -- Faculty -- Interviews.
	University of Western Australia. Department of Mechanical Engineering -- History.
	Engineers -- Western Australia -- Interviews.
	Engineering -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Western Australia -- History.
	Mechanical Engineering -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Western Australia -- History.
	College teachers -- Western Australia -- Interviews.
Related names	Reid, Anne, interviewer.