Ronald Gordon Giovanelli, DSc, FAA (/dʒoʊvɑ’nɛli/; 30 April 1915 — 27 January 1984) was an Australian solar researcher, astronomer and physicist, who contributed to the fields of astrophysics, solar physics, radiative transfer, and astronomical optics. His career spanned more than 40 years, commencing prior to World War II. Giovanelli was the recipient of the 1949 Edgeworth David Medal by the Royal Society of New South Wales for the discipline of astrophysics, which recognises distinguished contributions by scientists under the age of 35 in their respective fields. He was also elected into the Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science in 1962 for his contributions in the field of physics. Giovanelli served as Chief of the Physics Division of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) from 1958 to 1976, during which he also became Chairman of the Australian National Committee from 1962–1965, President of the Astronomical Society of Australia from 1968 to 1971, and President of Commission 12 (Solar Radiation) of the International Astronomical Union from 1973 to 1976. He served as Chairman of the Australian National Committee for Solar-Terrestrial Physics in 1973, and from 1979–81.
Early life and education Ronald Gordon Giovanelli was born on 30 April 1915 in Grafton, New South Wales. He was the only child of Irwin Wilfred Giovanelli, a schoolteacher, and Gertrude May. Ronald's great-grandfather Giuseppe migrated from Ravenna, Italy to Sydney during the 1850s. He settled and married in Sydney, with his wife giving birth to their son George Henry in 1857. George Henry would go on to marry Lucy Ellen Arkey and have eight children, with Irwin Wilfred, Ronald's father, being born on 7 August 1887. Irwin Wilfred attended school in Grafton, and proceeded to attend Sydney Teacher's College. With this training, he became a mathematics teacher at Grafton High School. Irwin Wilfred earned respect and recognition as a teacher, and started serving as a headmaster at various schools in the country. With his father becoming a headmaster, Ronald attended a variety of schools in the towns of Milton, Trundle, and Forbes in New South Wales during his early years. Upon turning 12 years old, he moved from the country to Sydney to board privately while attending Fort Street Boys' High School. He was made prefect based on his academic performance. During his time in school, Ronald started taking an interest in music and sports, playing the piano and tennis. After finishing his studies in Fort Street Boys' High School, he decided to attend the University of Sydney, where he studied a Bachelor of Science, and subsequently graduated with First Class Honours in Mathematics and Physics in 1937. He proceeded to do a master's degree and doctorate, obtaining his M.Sc. and D.Sc. in 1939 and 1950, respectively. While obtaining these degrees, Giovanelli conducted a lot of scientific research, for which he was awarded the Edgeworth David Medal. He married Katherine Hazel Gordon on 8 February 1947 at St. Michael's Church of England in Vaucluse. Katherine was a painter, and also served as one of his laboratory assistants. The pair had two children — Lesley Anne, born December 1948, and Philip Gordon, born November 1950.
Career Giovanelli was appointed as a research fellow at the Commonwealth Solar Observatory (now known as Mount Stromlo Observatory) at Mount Stromlo, Canberra from 1937 to 1939, while he was completing his master's degree. His role as a research fellow at the observatory developed his interest in solar active regions and optical astronomy. He also served as a physics teacher at Sydney Technical College from 1939 to 1940. In 1938, The Commonwealth government created a National Standards Laboratory (NSL) within the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Giovanelli and eight other scientists were recruited by the CSIR as research scholars to develop the NSL, primarily tasked with being able to establish national standards of measurement. The nine scientists were to work at the British National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, South West London under the supervision of George Henry Briggs, who was Officer-in-Charge of the Physics division of the NSL during that time. The purpose of the assignment was to gain experience that could assist them in accomplishing this task. Giovanelli sailed for England in February 1940, where he specialised in optics, light, and photometry. During his time in the British National Physical Laboratory, he attended scientific symposiums in The Royal Institution in London, as well as visiting The University of Cambridge, where he was able to meet Sir Arthur Eddington OM FRS due to the earlier work he conducted during his stint at the Commonwealth Solar Observatory. Giovanelli returned to Sydney in 1941 via Canada and the United States, where he visited the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa, and the National Bureau of Standards (now known as the National Institute of Standards and Technology) in Washington, D.C. He returned to a newly-constructed NSL building within the University of Sydney. The occurrence of World War II meant that the NSL's tasks were diverted from creating measurement standards towards more urgent war-time national defence projects. The National Standards Laboratory was then declared as a full division in the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 1945. In 1956, Giovanelli established a small observatory in Fleurs. During this time, Giovanelli desired to measure the sun's velocity, temperature, pressure, and other properties. He wanted to take the sun's measurements over time in the shortest amount of time possible. The execution of these measurements entailed specialised strategies and optical equipment. To carry this out, they required filters that would have extremely high resolutions in order to create an image of the sun. In collaboration with various other physicists, Giovanelli designed and created a 1/8 Å birefringent filter.
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