John Ralston

John Ralston (born 20 June 1946) is an Australian physical and colloid chemist with training in metallurgy, whose research embraces various aspects of interfacial science and engineering. He was made the Professor at the School of Chemical Technology at the University of South Australia (UniSA) in 1984. In addition, he was the Director of the Sir Ian Wark Research Institute of the UniSA between 1994 and 2012. Ralston was awarded South Australian of the Year in 2007 due to his research.

Due to Ralston's work at the UniSA, the University has established the Ralston Medal for Excellence in Physical Chemistry and also the John Ralston Chair in Minerals and Resource Engineering for his scientific legacy. Despite retiring in 2012, Ralston still partially works at the UniSA as an Emeritus Professor. "For service to Australian society in colloid and surface chemistry" 2002 – Honorary Doctorate at the Abo Akademi University in Finland 2000s – Honorary Professorships at the University of Tokyo in Japan and Tianjin University in China 2008 – Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) "For service to science and to scientific research, particularly in the field of physical chemistry and minerals processing, to education and to the creation and application of new scientific knowledge to industry" 2012 – Appointed Emeritus Laureate Professor by the University of South Australia 2005 – Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)