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BAMOS
Dec 2019
President’s report
Andrew Marshall, December 2019
As I write my final BAMOS column for the year—and my last as
AMOS president—I reflect on 2019 as a year of gains and losses
for the Society. In terms of gains, it was a wonderful year of
engagement and outreach with a mix of regional and national
events including: a Fire Weather Workshop and Public Talk in
Melbourne (February), a Plastics in the Ocean Public Forum
in Hobart (August), and our first ever Annual Conference to
be held in Darwin (June). Student‐focussed events took place
in Canberra (March and July), we welcomed the International
Forum of Meteorological Societies (IFMS) President Dr Harinder
Ahluwalia on his visit to Melbourne (October), and new
Memoranda of Understanding were developed in partnership
with the Meteorological Society of New Zealand and the Indian
Meteorological Society. See my annual report in this issue of
BAMOS for a full summary of the year's activities.
Sadly, the AMOS community lost two of our much‐loved science
leaders this year—Professor Matthias Tomczak (University of
Adelaide) and Dr Penny Whetton (CSIRO). Professor Tomczak,
who passed away on Friday 31 May, was one of the great leaders
of oceanographic science and a mentor to many Australian
oceanographers. Dr Whetton, who passed away suddenly
on Wednesday 11 September, was one of Australia's leading
innovative climate scientists and an international leader in
the science of regional climate change projections. Both were
deeply respected AMOS Fellows, who made significant and
influential contributions to our sciences and they will be sorely
missed. Our 2019 Annual Conference featured a special tribute
to the life of Prof Tomczak presented by Assoc Prof Jochen
Kaempf, and our upcoming Annual Conference in February
2020 will feature a memorial session to Dr Whetton. I also note
that the Dr Penny Whetton Memorial fund has now exceeded its
$20,000 target. Thanks to all who have generously donated to
support revegetation & erosion control work at Sisters Beach in
Tasmania, a special place very dear to Penny and her family. I
took the below photo during my visit to Sisters Beach in October.
With the 2019 AMOS Awards and new Fellows announced last
month, I wish to extend my congratulations to:
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Dr Ariaan Purich (UNSW), Uwe Radok Award
Prof Neville Nicholls (Monash University), Zillman Medal
Prof Nerilie Abram (ANU), Priestley Medal
Dr Rob Taggart (Bureau of Meteorology), Christopher Taylor Award
Dr Joëlle Gergis (ANU), Science Outreach Award
Prof Lisa Alexander (UNSW), Fellow
Dr Rachel Law (CSIRO), Fellow
Each of our award winners and Fellows for 2019 will be formally
recognised during the 2020 AMOS conference. I wish to extend
my sincere thanks to the Awards Committee, chaired by Dr Beth
Ebert, and the Awards Selection Panels who put a lot of work
into assessing the nominations received this year.
On the topic of awards and recognition, I would also like to
congratulate these members of the AMOS community for their
recent achievements:
• Dr Jessica Melbourne‐Thomas (CSIRO), Tasmania's Australian of the Year
• Dr Beth Fulton (CSIRO), Australian Society for Fish Biology’s K. Radway
Allen Award winner
• Dr Helen Cleugh (CSIRO), Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology
and Engineering
• Dr Jaci Brown (CSIRO), incoming Director of CSIRO's Climate Science Centre
• Prof Todd Lane (Univ. Melbourne), elevated to full Professor
• Prof Lisa Alexander (UNSW), elevated to full Professor
• Prof Moninya Roughan (UNSW), elevated to full Professor
• Prof Katrin Meissner (UNSW), elevated to full Professor
• Prof Matthew England (UNSW), Royal Society of NSW’s 2019 James Cook
Medal
• Prof Andy Pitman (UNSW), Royal Society of Victoria's Medal for Excellence
in Scientific Research
• Prof Matthew England (UNSW), 2019 Highly Cited Researcher by Web of
Science
• Dr Andréa Taschetto (UNSW), member of the newly approved CLIVAR
Tropical Basin Interaction Research Focus
• Prof Nerilie Abram (ANU), elevated to full Professor AND Vice‑Chancellor's
Award for Impact and Engagement
• And, for something a little different, the Bureau of Meteorology's Dr
Eun‑Pa Lim led a study that made it to the front cover of Nature Geoscience
last month—with an accompanying image painted by Eun‑Pa's mother!
In closing, I wish to thank all AMOS councillors, committees
and team members for working hard behind the scenes to
deliver a successful program of diverse activities and events
for our members in 2019. As we move into the festive season,
our thoughts are with those affected by the bushfire crisis that
has devastated parts of eastern and western Australia over the
last few months. We extend our thoughts and best wishes also
to the emergency personnel from around Australia who work
tirelessly, often away from families and loved ones, to ensure
the highest level of protection for our communities.
Take care over the next few weeks and I look forward to catching
up with you at AMOS2020 in February.
Sisters Beach, Tasmania. Source: Andrew Marshall