to build a magnetron, producing a working prototype on 23 May 1942. He then went on to build an original magnetron that generated 25 centimetre microwave radiation. These magnetrons were used in radar equipment by the Army, RAAF, Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Wishing to return to Melbourne, he stepped down as Deputy Chief of the Division of Radiophysics in January 1944, and took charge of the Valve Laboratory at the University of Melbourne. On 1 January 1945 he became Professor of Physics at the University of Melbourne vice Laby, a position he held until 1959. He built up a nuclear physics research school at a time when Australian universities were only just beginning to award PhDs, and most research students went abroad to pursue their studies. He attempted to equip it as best as his limited funds would allow. Wherever possible, equipment and parts were built by staff and students. His cosmic ray group participated in the 1947–48 Antarctic expedition of , and he designed and built a 200 kV neutron generator and a 1 MeV Van de Graaff generator. A 3 MeV betatron was converted an 18 MeV electron synchrotron in 1948. A 5 to 12 MeV cyclotron was the largest machine built at the university up to that time. Design work began in 1953, and it commenced operation in 1957, running until 1976. Martin did not have the money to build it, but managed to scrounge funding and components from various sources. Although he was an experimental physicist, he created a theoretical physics group under Courtney Mohr. He also managed to persuade the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to transfer CSIRAC, Australia's first digital electronic computer, to the School of Physics in 1955, creating the first academic computing facility in Australia, and the beginning of computer science at the University of Melbourne. Other work The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research created the Atomic Physics Section in 1947 led by Martin. In 1948 he became a member of the Interim Council of the Australian National University. He was president of the Australian Branch of the Institute of Physics in 1952 and 1953. From 1953 to 1963 he was a Trustee of the Science Museum of Victoria and its chairman in 1962 and 1963. He became a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1954 and was elected