Vale John Sandeman

Published in the Research School of Physics Event Horizon
Vol44 Issue29 22–26 July 2019

Vale John Sandeman

John Sandeman came to the ANU in 1965 joining the Department of Physics in the then School of General Studies.  He, with Ray Stalker and Hans Hornung, carried out ground breaking work in the 1960s and 1970s in the area of reacting and non-equilibrium flows, combining John’s optical diagnostic skills with the analytical abilities of Hans Hornung and the test facilities of Ray Stalker. When Stalker and Hornung left,  John in the 1980s drove  a new direction for the Department toward quantum optics and related sciences via crucial appointments in what was then a new area of research.  

John was the first person at the ANU to be awarded a personal chair, setting a precedent for promotion to level E.  On his retirement in 1993,  he was active in the Emeritus Faculty, on the School’s Development Committee and took on the role as the inaugural Chairperson of the Australian Consortium for Interferometric Gravitational wave Astronomy, a position he held for 5 years.

Sadly he passed away on Saturday 13th July 2019. His funeral was held at Norwood Park Crematorium on Friday 19th July 2019.