Arthur Derek Campbell OBE (27 May 1925 – 20 December 2020) was a New Zealand analytical chemist. He was a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Otago from 1948 to 1988, becoming a professor emeritus on his retirement.
Arthur Campbell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Arthur Derek Campbell 27 May 1925 Waimate, New Zealand |
| Died | 20 December 2020 (aged 95) Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Alma mater | University of Otago |
| Spouse |
Ruth Florence Smith
(m. 1950; died 2019) |
| Children | 3 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Organic microanalysis |
| Institutions | University of Otago |
| Thesis | Some applications of acrylonitrile (1952) |
Early life and education
editCampbell was born in Waimate on 27 May 1925, the son of Mona Sevicke Campbell (née Jones) and David Brown Campbell.[1] He was educated at Waimate High School, and then proceeded to study chemistry at the University of Otago, graduating Master of Science with second-class honours in 1948, and PhD in 1953.[1][2] His doctoral thesis was titled Some applications of acrylonitrile.
In 1950, Campbell married Ruth Florence Smith, and the couple went on to have three children.[1][3]
Academic and research career
editCampbell was a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Otago from 1948 to 1988.[4] He was appointed as an assistant lecturer in 1948, rising to become a professor in 1971, and the Mellor Professor of Chemistry in 1983.[1] He served as a member of the University Council from 1963 to 1971, dean of the Faculty of Science from 1980 to 1982, and head of the Department of Chemistry from 1983 to 1988.[1] When he retired in 1988, he was conferred the title of professor emeritus.[4]
Campbell's early research centred on carboxylic acid derivatives.[5] However, he became interested in organic microanalysis, and developed many analytical procedures, and improved techniques for analysing perfluorinated organic compounds.[5] Campbell served as chair of the Chemical Testing Registration Advisory Committee of the Testing Laboratory Registration Council of New Zealand from 1973 to 1985.[1] Internationally, he was a Bureau Member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry from 1981 to 1989.[1] The University of Otago's Campbell Microanalytical Laboratory is named in his honour.[5]
Between 1979 and 1980, Campbell was president of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry.[1]
Later life and death
editCampbell's wife, Ruth, died in Dunedin on 18 March 2019.[3] Campbell died in Dunedin on 20 December 2020.[6]
Honours and awards
editIn the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours, Campbell was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to science.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 89. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
- ^ "NZ university graduates 1970–1961: Ca–Cl". Shadows of Time. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Ruth Florence Campbell". Tributes Online. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ a b University of Otago Calendar (PDF). Dunedin: University of Otago. 2019. p. 114. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ a b c "Arthur D. Campbell". Otago University Research Heritage. University of Otago. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ "Arthur Derek Campbell". Tributes Online. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ "No. 51774". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 17 June 1989. p. 32.