Director Of Wool Research

Press, Volume C, Issue 29695, 13 December 1961, Page 18

Director Of Wool Research

An Australian textile scientist, Mr N. F. Roberts, has been appointed director of t’ e Wool Research Organisation. He is a principal research officet at the laboratories of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Division of Textile Physics, at Ryde, New South Wales. He is a master of science and a fellow of the Institute of Physics. The Wool Research Organisation, which is financed jointly by the Government and the Wooi Board, was set up early this year for the study of the chemical, physical and biological properties of New Zealand wool. Its laboratories at Lincoln -viU provide for a staff of about 20 scientists. They are expected to be completed by 1965 Recruiting of staff has already begun, and scientists wil< be working with other institutions until the laboratorie are ready Aged 46 Mr Roberts is a graduate of Sydney University He was on the physics staff of the university until 936 when he joined the staff of Amalgamated Wireless ‘A"«t.l Ltd.. working on radar and other electronic equipment later used by the Australian armed services in the war. Shortly after the war Mr Roberts joined the CAIRO as the first officer in charge of the Fleece Analysis Laboratarv in the Division of Animal Health He was responsible for extensive work on fleece characteristics, behaviour in processing and the sicentific assessing of commercial wool appraisement. In 1954 he joined the Divis-

ion of Textile Physics, and m 1956 made a world tour of wool research institutions. He has published many papers on aspects of wool physics and technology. In recent years. Mr Roberts has been principally concerned with a programme to facilitate the marketing of wool efficiently on technical merit This has involved a study of the effects of fleece '•haracteristics on processing and the incidence of “tender-ness"-—a common fault of New Zealand wools He has also been connected vzith work on core-boring of bales for sampling and experiments on higher-density wool packing. Mr Roberts is married and has four daughters. He ex-

pects to take up his new appointment about June of next year “We have been very fortunate to have obtained a man of Mr Roberts’s calibre to head our organisation,” said Mr C. H. Bethell, of Waikan, who is chairman of the Woo) Research Organisation. last evening in expressing his pleasure that Mr Roberts had accepted the position of director of the organisation. “We look forward to his taking charge of the organisation with his broad background of scientific knowledge and his very good record of work in the Commonwealth Scientific and In. dustria) Research Organisation.” said Mr Bethell. “We feel that he will be a great asset to scientific knowledge on wool in Nev Zealand, and I am confident that he will be able to work in very close liaison with the existing workers in wool in New Zealand and overseas, and in particular with his colleagues in the CAIRO.” Mr Bethell said that he felt certain that farmers and scientists in New Zealand would soon come to know of Mr Roberts’s good qualities, his good public relations and his extremely good scientific knowledge. Mr Bethell recalled that in ‘he 10 months since the Wool Research Organisation had come into being it had decided on a site for its laboratories. had anoointed an architect and had now ap. pointed a director. This further step, he said, should further speed up the establishment of the organisation’s laboratories.