Patrick Moran was appointed foundation Professor of Statistics in the Research School of Social Sciences on 1 January 1951. He had studied chemistry, mathematics and physics at the University of Sydney, Cambridge University and Oxford University, and worked on rocketry and applied physics projects during World War II. He retired in 1982 but remained at ANU as Emeritus Professor working on the application of statistical methods and epidemiological methods to psychiatry. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the Academy of Science and was awarded the Lyle Medal for outstanding research accomplishments in mathematics.