McCusker, Charles Brian Anthony

McCusker was born on 24 February 1919 in Stockton-on-Tees, England. He was a student of Middlesbrough High School and the University of Manchester from which he graduated as Bachelor of Science in 1940, Master of Science in 1942 and Doctor of Science in 1962. 

In 1944, McCusker married Emily Mary Maltby in Wigan. They had two sons and one daughter. Their marriage ended in divorce. He later married Cherie Sutherland. 

In 1952, he was elected to membership of the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA).

The University of Sydney appointed McCusker to the position of Reader in Experimental Physics in September 1959 and Professor of Physics (High Energy Nuclear) in November 1961. In 1958, McCusker had been a visiting Professor at the University. Following his retirement in 1984, he was appointed Emeritus Professor.

Prior to his appointment to the University of Sydney, McCusker held positions in England and Eire - as lecturer in Physics at Wigan Technical College from 1942 to 1946, lecturer and later assistant Professor in Physics at the University of Liverpool from 1946 to 1953, and Professor at the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies from 1953 to 1958.

During his term of office at the University of Sydney, McCusker held appointments overseas, as senior visiting scientist at Cornell University (1965-1966) and visiting Professor at Tokyo University in 1976. McCusker was much in demand as a teacher of elementary physics. He directed the production of the television lecture course for students in Physics I and wrote many of the lectures. On the basis of this experience, he wrote 'New Trends in Physics Teaching' and 'Teaching School Physics', articles for UNESCO handbooks published in 1970 and 1972 respectively. He devised and presented programs for the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) television and radio networks and commercial television stations. His script for ABC radio in 1984 entitled 'The Demise of Atomism and the Future of Science' is located in Series 1621, Item 1 of this record group.

McCusker's research was initially in the field of cosmic radiation studies, searching for fundamental particles in matter. While Professor at the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, he initiated, built, and administered a cosmic ray station in Jamaica with funds from the United States Air Force. McCusker described the reason for establishing the station in a letter written in 1987 in response to a request from the University Archives for autobiographical data (refer to Series 1621, Item 1 in this group of archives).

This station was later transferred to the University of Sydney and used in conjunction with cosmic ray stations set up by McCusker in New South Wales and Dublin. McCusker described his research in his later years as in the 'field of modern psychology'.

The majority of McCusker's writings appeared in scholarly periodicals devoted to physics research published in various countries. In 1970, the University of Sydney 'Current Affairs Bulletin' published his article 'High Energy Physics'. In late 1983, Cambridge University Press published his book "A Quest for Quarks", with a Japanese edition, published by Kodan-sha in 1986. In 1985 and 1986, two articles on his research in collaboration with his wife, Cherie Sutherland, a lecturer in Social Work at the University of Sydney, were published in the journal 'Mental Health in Australia'.

References used for this administrative history include Series 1621, Item 1, 'Who's Who 1980’, and ‘University of Sydney News’ Vol 16 pages 255, 259 described by McCusker as ‘a good article with no inaccuracies'. This biography on McCusker was prepared by Margaret Dwyer 16/06/1992. Sydney Morning Herald 4 September 1969 p.1 "Sydney scientist finds evidence of new particle: story about McCusker's discovery of "what look to be quarks" whether this proved to be the case or not is not evident from any of the material available in his files.