Rodney James Baxter (born 8 February 1940 in London, United Kingdom) is an Australian physicist, specializing in statistical mechanics. He is well-known for his work in exactly solved models, in particular vertex models such as the six-vertex model and eight-vertex model, and the chiral Potts model and hard hexagon model. A recurring theme in the solution of such models, the Yang-Baxter equation, also known as the "star triangle relation", is named in his honour. Baxter received his BA from Cambridge University, before relocating to the Australian National University in Canberra to complete his PhD. He was among the first doctoral graduates in theoretical physics from the ANU, graduating in 1964 and then worked for the Iraq Petroleum Company in London in 1964 and 1965.