March 11, 2015, 4 a.m.

THE DUX of Dubbo High School in 1974 is returning to the city after serving as a world-class paediatrician, teacher and academic.

Macquarie University Vice-Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton. Photo contributed.

THE DUX of Dubbo High School in 1974 is returning to the city after serving as a world-class paediatrician, teacher and academic.

Professor S Bruce Dowton will be the guest speaker at a cocktail reception for Western NSW alumni of the University of Sydney on Thursday, March 12.

On Tuesday more than 90 people had signalled their intention to attend the event to be hosted by the University of Sydney's School of Rural Health in Moran Drive.

Among them will be senior doctors who still remember Professor Dowton's first career steps.

"He is remembered locally for his scientific experiments while still a junior student, investigating antibiotic properties in soil micro-organisms, antibiotic-resistant bacterial mutants and the ionising effect of X-rays, among other interests," a spokeswoman for the School of Rural Health said.

"No one doubted that he was headed for an interesting scientific career."

The spokeswoman said in 1973 the University of Sydney Science Foundation for Physics awarded the future professor a scholarship to the 16th International Science School.

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Renowned paediatrician returns to the city