News of the recent death of Emeritus Professor DJM “Judge” Bevan, Professor of Chemistry at Flinders from 1968 to 1983, has saddened his former students and colleagues as well as the wider Australian scientific community.

Born in 1926 and educated in Melbourne, after graduating from the University of Melbourne with a Master of Science, Judge Bevan followed his great mentor, JS Anderson, to the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, UK, to work as a junior research fellow. He completed a PhD at Imperial College, London, and in 1957 took up a post as senior lecturer in inorganic chemistry at the University of Western Australia, In 1968, at the age of 42, he was appointed to a chair in chemistry within the School of Physical Sciences at Flinders.

Professor Bevan’s research was in the solid state chemistry of rare earth oxides, which form very complex defect structures and can be used to store oxygen in the solid state, an area that remains difficult to study to this day.  Professor Bevan made major contributions to the field by careful measurements using simple equipment and ingenious experimental design. His 70 research papers, which were distinguished by their clarity of prose, proved highly influential, with some still cited 50 years after their publication.

During his time as Head of Department, teaching and research in chemistry thrived at Flinders, and when ill health forced his resignation in 1983, the University made him Professor Emeritus, also acknowledging his service to both teaching and administration.

Although his health forced him to work increasingly from home, he continued his collaboration with long-time friend and colleague, Professor Ray Martin, and published his last paper, on the structure of complex metal oxides, in 2013.

Professor Bevan died peacefully at home on May 15.