Anthony William Thomas

{{short description|Australian physicist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2015}} {{Infobox scientist |name = Anthony Thomas |honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|size=100%|country=AUS|AC|FAA}} |image =  |caption = |birth_date = {{birth-date and age|15 November 1949}} |birth_place = Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |death_date = |death_place = |fields = Theoretical physics |workplaces = {{ubl|University of British Columbia|University of Adelaide|TRIUMF}} |alma_mater = Flinders University |doctoral_advisor = |academic_advisors = |doctoral_students = |notable_students = |known_for = |author_abbrev_bot = |author_abbrev_zoo = |influences = |influenced = |awards = {{ubl|Walter Boas Medal (1987)|Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal (1997)|Humboldt Research Award (1992)|Harrie Massey Medal (2000)|{{Nowrap|Australian Laureate Fellowship (2009)}}|South Australian Scientist of the Year (2014)}} |religion = |signature =  |footnotes = }}

'''Anthony William (Tony) Thomas''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|sep=,|AC|FAA}} (born 15 November 1949) is an Australian physicist, Professor of Physics at the University of Adelaide since 1984 and Elder Professor of Physics since 1990.<ref name=eoas> {{cite web |url=http://www.eoas.info/biogs/P003614b.htm |title=Thomas, Anthony William (Tony) |author=Rosanne Walker |publisher=Encyclopedia of Australian Science |access-date=19 May 2012}}</ref>

Thomas was born in Adelaide and educated at Adelaide Boys High School where he won the Thomas Price Scholarship (for the top student in the South Australian Leaving Examinations) in 1966. He was awarded the BHP Medal in 1967 as the top student in South Australia in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry in the (new) Matriculation Examinations.<ref name=UA> {{cite web |url=http://www.physics.adelaide.edu.au/theory/staff/thomas/thomasbio_1102.html |title=Anthony Thomas: Brief Biography |publisher=University of Adelaide |access-date=19 May 2012}}</ref> He completed a Ph.D. at Flinders University in 1973.<ref name=eoas/>

From 1973 to 1975 Thomas was Killam Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia, then from 1975 to 1976 was Scientific Associate of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva. With Harold Fearing he was a founding member of the theory group at TRIUMF (Canada's National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics) in Vancouver, where he carried out research from 1976 to 1982. He chaired the Experiment Evaluation Committee there from 1982 to 1987. From 1982 Thomas was a staff member in the Theory Division at CERN, leaving only to take up a chair in Adelaide.<ref name=eoas/>

In 1983 Thomas accepted an offer of the Chair of Physics at the University of Adelaide; he started there in February 1984. In 1990 he was appointed Elder Professor of Physics at the University of Adelaide, and was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. From 1991 to 1993 he was President of the Australian Institute of Physics.<ref name=UA/> From 2004 to 2009 he served as Chief Scientist and associate director for Theoretical and Computational Physics at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. In 2014, he was named as the South Australian Scientist of the Year for his work on the structure of subatomic matter.<ref>{{cite web |title=2014 South Australian Science Excellence Awards Winners |url=http://www.dfeest.sa.gov.au/Science-research/Science-Awards/2014-Science-Excellence-Awards-Winners |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140816200538/http://www.dfeest.sa.gov.au/Science-research/Science-Awards/2014-Science-Excellence-Awards-Winners |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 August 2014 |publisher=Government of South Australia Department of State Development |access-date=21 August 2014 }}</ref>

Thomas was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Australia Day Honours for "eminent service to scientific education and research, particularly in the field of nuclear and particle physics, through academic leadership roles."<ref name="2020 AO">{{cite news |last1=Stehle |first1=Mark |title=Australia Day Honours 2020: Full list of recipients |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/australia-day-honours-2020-full-list-of-recipients-20200125-p53uqy.html |access-date=25 January 2020 |work=Sydney Morning Herald |publisher=Nine Entertainment Co |date=25 January 2020}}</ref>

==Awards and honors== *2009: Awarded an Australian Laureate Fellowship.<ref name=laureate>{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-09/sa-scientist-of-the-year-professor-anthony-thomas/5658828 |title=Particle physicist Professor Anthony Thomas named SA Scientist of the Year |date=11 August 2014 |work=ABC News (Australia) |access-date=3 May 2020 }}</ref> *1987: Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society ''"for elucidating fundamental aspects of pion-nucleus interactions. developing the Cloudy Bag Model, and discovering the importance of nuclear binding effects in understanding the EMC effect"''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm?initial=&year=1987&unit_id=&institution=|title=APS Fellow Archive|publisher=APS|access-date=24 September 2020}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://inspirehep.net/author/profile/A.W.Thomas.1 Scientific publications of Anthony William Thomas] on INSPIRE-HEP

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Anthony William}} Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:Australian physicists Category:Flinders University alumni Category:Academic staff of the University of Adelaide Category:Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Category:Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Category:People associated with CERN Category:Companions of the Order of Australia Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society Category:Presidents of the Australian Institute of Physics Category:People educated at Adelaide High School