78-year-old Dr Douglas Mercer has had a longer career as a university student than most. It has been 56 years since he was awarded his first degree, and tonight, he will receive his latest.
Dr Mercer (telephone 07 3268 7584) will be awarded his PhD in history at a University of Queensland graduation ceremony at 8.15pm at Mayne Hall.
Just over half a century ago, he received his Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical and Electrical) at UQ (in 1946).
The following year (1947), Dr Mercer was awarded honours, and subsequently undertook a Master of Engineering (Electrical) degree at UQ in 1960, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts (in Applied History) in 1997.
He said he highly recommended University study to other septuagenarians as it was the perfect way to avoid becoming an “old drifter”. “It gives you focus, you have directed reading to do and your powers of analysis are sharpened,” he said.
“My thesis shows that Australia’s well-known cultural cringe also extended to engineering and encouraged a view that Australia should look overseas for all its electrical research data. By 1950, this attitude had placed Australia 25 years behind the times in lightning knowledge. My thesis comments on these issues, and the lightning research program at UQ between 1950 and 1995.”
As an electricity industry engineer, Dr Mercer had a part-time involvement in UQ–electricity industry cooperative research from 1960 onwards and following his retirement, was an honorary research consultant to the Department of Electrical Engineering from 1988 until 1996.
He said until the late Professor Sydney Prentice began the studies, Australia borrowed all its knowledge about lightning’s effect on power systems from overseas.
“This was extremely ineffective as some power systems were over-insulated, resulting in excessive capital expenditure, while others were under-insulated, causing excessive numbers of black-outs after lightning strikes.
“Professor Prentice as the first Chair of Electrical Engineering at UQ quickly recognised the urgent need for lightning research in Australia and adopted it as the main research thrust of his new department.
“During the next few years, he recruited several outstanding people with interests in high-voltage research including Drs Thomas Parnell, Mat Darveniza and David Mackerras and enlisted industry support for the construction of first-class laboratory facilities. An outstanding research program led to great improvements in the design, efficiency and costs of Australia’s power systems and gradually won world recognition for Australian excellence in this field of engineering,” Dr Mercer said.
The father-of-three and grandfather-of-five said he might publish a book based on his thesis. He said he was grateful to his thesis supervisor Professor John Moorehead and associate supervisor Emeritus Professor Malcolm Thomis for their guidance.
“Professor Thomis was the one who advised me to convert from a Masters of Arts to the PhD so I am particularly indebted to him,” Dr Mercer said.
On hand to see him graduate will be his wife Rosemary (Diploma of Physiotherapy from UQ 1946), son Andrew (an anaesthetist with an MBBS from UQ 1975) and his wife Caroline (nee Cavaye) (also UQ MBBS (1977) and now practising as a dermatologist), daughter Louise (BA 1975 from UQ and coming from her special education teaching post in Canada for the ceremony) and daughter Susan (Bachelor of Physiotherapy from UQ (1980) and travelling from her senior lecturing post in anatomy at Otago University).
Media: Further information Shirley Glaister telephone 3365 2339.
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