Professor Dan Haneman 1931-2002
Dan Haneman, who worked in the School of Physics at UNSW for over 40 years, died on 13 December 2002. He was recognised internationally for his research in condensed matter physics, particularly surface and thin film physics. Dan graduated from the University of Sydney in 1952 with First Class Honours in theoretical physics. During his doctorate (Reading University, UK) and post-doctoral work (Brown University, USA), Dan became the first researcher to report measurements on semiconductor surfaces obtained by cleavage in ultra high vacuum and shortly afterwards proposed what became known as the “Haneman” model for the silicon surface.

In 1961 he returned to Australia and began his long career in the School of Physics, quickly establishing a research laboratory in condensed matter physics. During his career, he received numerous recognitions for his achievements. He was awarded a D.Sc. from Sydney University in 1973 and a Personal Chair at UNSW in 1983. He was an Official Guest of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1983 and of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1986. He was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences in 1989.

Dr Raymond Gary Simons 1937-2002
Ray Simons completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Sydney in 1961 and obtained a Master of Science degree from the University of Tel Aviv. Ray was appointed to the School of Physics as a Lecturer in 1964 and was later promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1971. He was one of the first members of the newly formed Biophysics research group that much later became the Department of Biophysics. He was awarded a PhD from UNSW in 1970 for his studies in the area of the electrical properties of membranes. This was an area of research he continued to work in for the rest of his life. His work on electric field induced water dissociation in bipolar membranes was particularly significant. He became an internationally recognised authority in this field and his publications on the subject remain milestones in the area. Applications of that work were taken up by industry, notably in the USA.

After a prolonged illness he took up voluntary redundancy in 1997 and was appointed as an Honorary Visiting Fellow, a position he held until his passing on the 27th of August 2002