Oliphant, Mark (Marcus Laurence Elwin) (1901–2000)

Australian nuclear physicist, who from 1927 worked in Cambridge, England. He was involved in the development of radar, which was a device used by British pilots during air-raids of World War II. He was also involved in the Manhattan Project, which raced to develop the atomic bomb during World War II. After the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Oliphant worked to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

In the 1930s, Oliphant was assistant director, under Ernest Rutherford, of the Cavendish laboratory, Cambridge. In 1937 he moved to Birmingham University, England, and in 1946 became the first scientific adviser to the United Nations (UN) atomic energy commission. He was involved in the setting up of the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, and in 1950 returned to Australia to head the physics research school there. He became involved with Pugwash, a scientific organization working for nuclear disarmament. He retired from academia in 1970, and was governor of South Australia 1971–76.