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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/nov/22/trevor-mcdougall-wins-250000-science-prize-for-researching-thermal-flywheel-of-climate-system>
"When Trevor McDougall began studying the ocean in the 1970s he had no idea
that his field would become a crucial part of climate science.
The University of New South Wales professor was on Monday awarded the top
honour at the prime minister’s prizes for science for his contributions to the
field of oceanography and research on the ocean’s role in regulating the
climate.
McDougall said he was “a bit overawed” by the $250,000 prize.
“I take it more as an acknowledgment of the importance of the field – climate
research and oceanography – and also all the people that I’ve worked with over
the years,” he said.
The prizes, now in their 23rd year, are Australia’s most prestigious awards for
scientific research, innovation and teaching.
McDougall – the first in his extended family to go to university – earned a
scholarship to complete his PhD at the University of Cambridge, studying ocean
mixing processes.
He said climate breakdown “became [a] clear and present danger” in the years
after he finished his studies. In 1988, a decade after McDougall’s PhD was
completed, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established.
McDougall later led a group of researchers who changed a 30-year-old definition
for heat in the ocean, improving the accuracy of seawater calculations by a
factor of 100. The idea for the change came to him while swimming in a
freshwater pond, he said.
For his ocean thermodynamics research, McDougall was recognised as a companion
of the Order of Australia in 2018."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
