The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is Australia's national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world.
Welcome to CSIRO’s achievements timeline. The timeline explores some of our greatest innovations and discoveries across the decades. Since 1926, CSIRO has been responsible for many major and minor breakthroughs. Some, like Aeorgard, are now household names.
The timeline provides a brief overview of just some of our achievements and will grow to become a valuable collection of important milestones in CSIRO’s history.
CSIRO’s first three statisticians were all women and all three had trained at Rothamsted Experimental Station in the UK under RA Fisher or F Yates, two of the founders of modern statistics.
Many statisticians and mathematicians work at CSIRO. Miss Betty Allan’s appointment in 1930 to CSIRO's predecessor, CSIR, as their first statistician, marked the beginning of recognition of statistics' vital role in scientific research. (12 pages)
For over 30 years the Australian National Wildlife Collection (ANWC) has been the primary collection of Australian land vertebrates, including birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
From Fleece to Fabric provides an overview of the wool industry from 1948–1998 and how research by CSIRO’s Wool Technology group helped create one of the nation’s main export industries.
Over eight decades, CSIRO has made an indelible mark on the nation, through internationally renowned scientific and technological advances. Ms Clare Peddie reports on just a few of those advances, which have brought us closer to a sustainable future.
CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, based in Hobart, continues nearly 100 years of Australian research into our oceans, fisheries, atmosphere and climate.
For generations Australia’s growth and development has hinged upon science and innovation with CSIRO at the cutting edge. In 2006, this Australian icon celebrates its 80th anniversary.
In the 1990s, concerns over global warming and environmental issues were at an all-time high. CSIRO helped provide some solutions and alternatives. Other key areas of research included manufacturing and biotechnology.
CSIRO's achievements were diverse in the 1980s. Locally, rabbits were back in the spotlight and new solutions were required to slow their growing poulations. CSIRO found a biological control for the weed Salvinia which was causing flow problems in water bodies.
With 37 Divisions, CSIRO was armed with the infrastructure to make a real difference in the scientific and industrial issues of the time. The focus in the 1970s was on furthering the work of the previous decade in the areas of textiles and mining.
Considered the golden decade by some, the 1950s were a very productive decade for CSIRO. From rabbit control to Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy and computers, CSIRO scientists were involved in research of international significance.
World War II was a catalyst for change within CSIR. It brought about a change in focus, with research into aeronautics and metal production being increased and the development of the radar also a high priority.
CSIR continued to establish itself as a key body in agricultural research during the 1930s, as it began to establish laboratories around Australia. During this time, some important findings helped to improve the fight against disease in our plants and livestock.
CSIRO was born in the 1920s under British influence. During this era, its initial research into plant and animal disease was already of great importance.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is Australia's national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world.
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