BAMOS
Sep 2019
Tributes
Andrew Marshall John Church
I recently advised our membership of the very sad news
that Dr Penny Whetton passed away suddenly on 11
September, aged 61 years. Penny was elected to the
position of AMOS Fellow in 2018, and I'd had the privilege
of informing her of this late last year—her sincere delight
and appreciation for the honour left a lasting impression
on me. Penny was a well‑loved member of the AMOS
community and she will be sadly missed. My thoughts are
with Penny's wife Janet, their sons John and Leon, and all
those who have been deeply impacted by Penny's passing. I have known Penny since the start of the CSIRO climate
change program in about 1989. Penny has been a national
leader in understanding the impacts of climate change
and made major international contributions, including,
but not only, as an IPCC lead author. As a program leader,
she went out of her way to be inclusive, ensuring all CSIRO
and BoM program members voices were heard. She was a
great colleague who has left an indelible mark for future
generations. She will be greatly missed by the Australian
and international science community and by the broader
Australian community that so needs the type of climate
leadership and guidance she has provided.
Michael Grose Paul Durack
I once heard scientists are on a spectrum between ‘big
game hunters’ and ‘butterfly chasers’, and I found Penny to
be a butterfly chaser in the best sense of the term—both
as a scientist and as a person. Rather than outdoing rivals
to land the big paper or win the prizes, Penny took a soft
approach and enjoyed working with others and building
relationships, listening to and respecting other opinions,
building up young researchers, and pursuing the ideas
wherever they led. I always enjoyed talking with Penny
about our full range of research topics without a hint that
she was being possessive. In fact, it was sometimes hard
to get her to talk about her achievements at all. Penny was
equally great to talk with about ancient Rome, the great
philosophers, photography, free will and consciousness,
the culture wars, and a thousand other subjects. I found
Penny to be not in a competition to win, nor putting
anything on, she was living her vocation as a researcher
and enquirer. In this way, I found her to be a role model
not just in the workplace but in life. Penny was also super
friendly and a lot of fun, and I will miss her very much. My thoughts go out to Janet, John and Leon during this
difficult time, and I know we’re all hurting in our unique
way at the shocking sad news of the loss of Penny. It was
my pleasure to work with Penny as a colleague and mentor
in the early 2000s, in what was known as the CSIRO Climate
Impact Group. She had just finished her contribution
as an IPCC Third Assessment Report (2001) lead author
and was beginning her personal transition and gender
affirmation. What struck me most about Penny was her
zeal and excitement in the learning process, her eagerness
to dig deep and understand a new question or challenge
and her willingness to go the extra mile to triple check a
new result or calculation. She was also incredibly candid
about her personal transition, and was more than willing
to engage with anyone to educate them and include
them in the process, easing the many inquisitive scientific
minds that were unfamiliar with this new territory, even
for international colleagues over the phone who thought
they’d rung a wrong number! I vividly recall hearing her
cheeky laugh flowing through the hallways of CSIRO
Aspendale, it was infectious, and drew people into her
office to share new insights and engage in discussions
of science or anything really. She was a truly wonderful
human to have known and spent time with and I will miss
her positivity and passion. She will be sorely missed.
Memorial service and memorial fund information
A memorial service for Dr Penny Whetton will be held at 2pm on Sunday
6 October 2019 at the Footscray Community Arts Centre, 45 Moreland Street Footscray.
In Penny's memory, a memorial fund has been established to support revegetation
and erosion control work at Sisters Beach, a special place dear to Penny and her family.
Donations can be made at https://chuffed.org/project/dr‑penny‑whetton‑memorial‑fund.
A separate memorial fund for Penny is being set up through the University of Melbourne
to establish a graduate scholarship or postdoctoral fellowship in climate science.
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