Dr Keith Norrish, regarded as the pre-eminent pioneer of wavelength dispersive X-ray spectrometry for the analysis of minerals, passed away peacefully on the morning of Wednesday 13th September, 2017, aged 93.
Keith Norrish - Life Member
Dr Keith Norrish is regarded as the pre-eminent pioneer of wavelength dispersive x-ray spectrometry (XRF) for the analysis of minerals. Keith has made a major contribution to the development of world-class analytical methods for the mining sector in Australia and his methods are now widely used in Australia and overseas. He has worked closely with the Standards Association of Australia and the International Standards Organisation to standardise x-ray analytical procedures.
Keith served for many years as a Chief Research Scientist with the CSIRO, Division of Soils, based in Adelaide, and his distinguished career in science has been recognised by various scientific bodies. He was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1977, was awarded the Prescott Medal by the Soil Science Society of Australia in 1977 and received the Commander Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1989. Other honours have included:
His classic XRF papers are much revered in Australia and overseas. These include:
Keith served for many years as a Chief Research Scientist with the CSIRO, Division of Soils, based in Adelaide, and his distinguished career in science has been recognised by various scientific bodies. He was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1977, was awarded the Prescott Medal by the Soil Science Society of Australia in 1977 and received the Commander Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1989. Other honours have included:
- Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy operating technique award in 1995
- Birks Award made by the Denver X-ray Conference in 1988 for excellence in x-ray spectrometry.
- Bailey Distinguished Member Award received from the Clay Minerals Society (USA) in 2001
- Honorary Doctor of Science (Hon DSc) received from the University of Western Australia in 2002
- President of the Australian Clay Minerals Society from 1968 – 69
- The mineral norrishite was named in honour of Keith.
His classic XRF papers are much revered in Australia and overseas. These include:
- Simultaneous Determination of Low Parts-per-Billion Level Pb and As in Waters using Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry, Terrance D. Hettipathirana, Lester H. Smith, and Keith Norrish, Applied Spectroscopy, 298, 55, 2001.
- XRS Analysis of Sulphides by Fusion Methods, K. Norrish and G. M. Thomson, X-Ray Spectrom., 67, 19, 1990.
- Determination of Forms of Sulfur in Plant Materials by X-Ray Fluorescent Spectrometry, A. Pinkerton, K. Norrish, and P. J. Randall, X-Ray Spectrom., 63, 19, 1988.
- Plant Analysis by X-Ray Spectrometry, K. Norrish and J. T. Hutton, Part 2. Element of Atomic Number Greater than 20, X-Ray Spectrom., 6, 12, 1977.
- Plant Analysis by X-Ray Spectrometry, K. Norrish and J. T. Hutton, Part 1. Low Atomic Number Elements, Sodium to Calcium, X-Ray Spectrom., 6, 6, 1977
- An Accurate X-Ray Spectrographic Method for the Analysis of a Wide Range of
Geological Samples, K. Norrish and J. T. Hutton, Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, 431, 33, 1969.