Education at the forefront of Australia Day honours (January 2024)
University of Melbourne Emeritus Laureate Professor David Boger, who pioneered constant viscosity elastic liquids – now universally known as Boger fluids.
Four distinguished academics and university leaders have been recognised with the top accolade in this year’s Australia Day Honours list, placing the real-world application of higher education research at the fore of this year’s honours.
Three women and one man – leaders at universities in Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland – were appointed Companions of the Order of Australia (AC), in recognition of their achievements and service to Australia, or to humanity at large.
University of Melbourne Emeritus Laureate Professor David Boger, who pioneered constant viscosity elastic liquids – now universally known as Boger fluids – said he was delighted and flattered by his recognition.
In the 1970s, Boger discovered a high viscosity fluid that was also Newtonian (fluids that don’t change in composition when they are subjected to force, like honey and milk), and added polymers. Boger fluids flow like a liquid, but behave like an elastic solid when they are stretched out.
His work has led to widespread application including in agriculture, where chemical sprays have been developed to adhere to foliage, rather than “bouncing off”. But Boger is most passionate about the impact his work has had on the mining industry.
“The mining industry is the biggest producer of waste in the world,” he said. “It takes something out of the ground and then extracts a really small amount of material and the rest is generally disposed of as a fluid into tailings dams. And then these things can be enormous, and there are usually two major tailings dam failures every year.”
Based on Boger’s work, Alcoa devised a way to dispose of tailings waste more safely and sustainably, by removing water from the material. The practices have since been adopted by large sections of the industry.
“It’s now pumped out as a paste, at a higher concentration, and then it’s easy to dry it in the sun. Now, once people are disposing of the material as a paste and letting it dry, the probability of the failure of a dam is almost non-existent.”
Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in the General Division
Emeritus Professor David Vernon Boger, VIC
For eminent service to chemical engineering as a scientist, academic and researcher, particularly in the field of non-Newtonian fluid mechanics, and to the environment.
Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, The University of Melbourne
Emeritus Professor, since 2009.
Laureate Professor, 2000-2009.
Director, Particulate Fluids Processing Centre, Australian Research Council, 2000-2004.
Head, Department of Chemical Engineering, 1997-1999.
Professor of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 1982 2009.
Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Engineering, 1990-1992.
Deputy Dean, Faculty of Engineering, 1988-1990.
Deputy Director, Advanced Mineral Products Centre, Australian Research Council, 1991-1999.
Research Program Leader, Co-operative Research Centre for Bioproducts, 1992-2000.
Monash University
Professor of Engineering, 2011-2015.
Reader, 1980-1982.
Senior Lecturer, Department of Chemical Engineering, 1971-1980 and Lecturer, 1965-1971.
Research and Publications
Discoverer of Constant viscosity elastic liquids - Boger fluids.
Author, over 367 technical publications.
Co-author of five Books.
Advisory Board Member, Special Research Centre for Multiphase Processes, University of Newcastle, since 1997.
Chairman, Trade Waste Acceptance Advisory Committee, Melbourne Water Corporation, 1991-2002.
Board Member, G K Williams Cooperative Research Centre for Extractive Metallurgy, 1996-1999.
BHP Billiton Fellow, 1998-2003.
Australian Society of Rheology
President, 1999-2002.
Committee Member, 1991-1995.
Delegate, International Committee on Rheology, 1990-2004 and 1978-1983.
British Society of Rheology, Victorian Group
Secretary, 1968-1969.
Committee Member, 1980-1983, 1972-1975 and 1967.
President, Australian Branch, 1978-1979.
Australian Academy of Science
Council Member, 1999-2002.
Committee Member, Sectional Committee 5, 1995-1998.
Professional Organisations
Member, US National Academy of Engineering, since 2017.
Emeritus Fellow, The Society of Rheology, since 2016.
Fellow, Australasian Institute of Fluid Mechanics, 2010.
Inaugural Bragg Member of the Royal Institute of Australia, 2009.
Fellow, The Royal Society of Victoria, 2008.
Fellow, The Royal Society, UK, 2007.
Prime Minister’s Prize for Science, 2005.
Fellow, Australian Academy of Science, 1993.
Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, 1989.
Fellow, Institution of Chemical Engineers in Australia, 1986-2003.
Committee Member, Institution of Chemical Engineers, Victorian Group, 1974-1976.
Awards and Recognition includes:
Prime Minister’s Prize for Science, 2005.
Gold Medal of the British Society of Rheology, 2004.
Centenary Medal, 2003.
K L Sutherland Memorial Medal, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, 2002.
Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture, Australian Academy of Science, 2000.
Chemeca Medal, The Australian and New Zealand Federation of Chemical Engineers, 2000.
CSIRO External Medal for Excellence in Research, 1998.
Walter Ahlstroem Environmental Prize, Finnish Academy of Technology, 11995.
Australian Society of Rheology Medallion, 1994.
Royal Society of Victoria Medal for Research, 1985.