George Adrian Horridge (1927–2024)

Mandyam V. Srinivasan

doi:10.1071/HR25004

EDITORIAL (Open Access)

Next Contents Vol 36(2)

George Adrian Horridge (1927–2024)

Mandyam V. Srinivasan

^A ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Building 79, St. Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: m.srinivasan@uq.edu.au

Historical Records of Australian Science 36, HR25004 https://doi.org/10.1071/HR25004

Published online: 10 July 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Australian Academy of Science. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Adrian Horridge is famous for his pioneering studies of invertebrate vision, wherein he used a variety of techniques, including optical analysis of the eyes, electrophysiology of the visual pathways, investigation of behaviour, and development of mathematical models of visual capacity and performance. Born, raised and educated in the United Kingdom, Horridge moved to Australia in the late 1960s to take up a position as a Founding Professor of the Australian National University’s Research School of Biological Sciences. He established a thriving department of neurobiology, which became one of the world’s leading entities in this field. He went on to establish a Centre for Visual Science at the university to foster collaboration across several laboratories on campus. This ultimately led to the establishment of a very successful Australian Centre for Excellence in Vision Science, funded by the Australian Research Council and including participation from other laboratories across Australia, as well from overseas. He was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society (1969) and the Australian Academy of Science (1971). Horridge continued to study and publish the results of his investigations on insect vision well beyond the date of his official retirement. He has received several awards and honours in recognition of his work. Horridge is also known for his studies in another quite unrelated field—the design of Indonesian sailing craft from antiquity to the twentieth century.

Keywords: behaviour, compound eye, electrophysiology, insect, invertebrate, neurobiology, ommatidium, optics, vision.

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