This annual UQ public lecture is a memorial to the late Thomas Gilbert Henry Jones, who joined UQ as an assistant lecturer and demonstrator in 1915. Following service in WWI as a munitions and explosives producer, he returned to UQ as a lecturer in inorganic chemistry, being promoted to professor and Head of Department in 1940. During his 50 years of service to UQ, Professor Jones was a member of the Senate (from 1944 to 1968), Dean of the Faculty of Science (from 1942 to 1949 and again from 1960 to 1961) and President of the Professorial Board (from 1951 to 1956).
Professor Jones initiated a program of research into the chemistry of natural (plant) products. He held officer positions in the Royal Society of Queensland and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. He led a public meeting in City Hall in 1957 to protest against State Government legislation that threatened the University’s autonomy in making appointments. He was awarded a CBE in 1960 and received honorary doctorates from UQ and the University of Newcastle.
The lecture was not offered in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2022 it is offered every second year, alternating with the School's other chemistry public lecture, the Bertram Dillon Steele Lecture.
Read more about Professor Jones on our history page.