MEDIA RELEASE
Senator the Hon. Ian Macdonald
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment
12 November 1997
Australian meteorologist wins international award
The Parliamentary Secretary for the Bureau of Meteorology, Senator Ian Macdonald, will participate in the presentation ceremony today for the World Meteorological Organization's 1997 Professor Dr Vilho Vaisala Award at the Bureau of Meteorology Head Office in Melbourne.
'The award recognises the significant contributions Dr Forgan's research has made to Australian and international meteorological programs, especially to meteorological observing systems,' Senator Macdonald said.
'Solar energy drives our weather systems; his technique will be particularly valuable for the accurate measurements of the planet's radiation balance essential for climate studies and climate change research. It has been adapted for key global solar radiation observing networks, including those at the Bureau's Alice Springs meteorological station.'
Dr Forgan will receive the Vaisala diploma and medal from Professor G O P Obasi, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The Permanent Representative of Australia at WMO, Dr John Zillman (Australian Director of Meteorology), and the president and CEO of Vaisala, Mr Pekka Ketonen, will also be present. Dr Forgan is in the Atmosphere Watch section of the Bureau's Observations and Engineering Branch and is responsible for national solar and terrestrial monitoring and basic laboratory services.
Vaisala, a Finnish company which is a leading supplier of electronic measurement systems and equipment for meteorology and the environmental sciences, created the award in 1985 in memory of its founder to encourage and stimulate interest in instruments and methods of observation. The award, which includes a $US5000 prize, recognises Dr Forgan's paper A New Method For Calibrating Reference and Field Pyranometers, published last year in the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology. The paper describes a powerful technique combining a simple set of measurements and a mathematical algorithm to accurately calibrate pyranometers which measure solar radiation. The technique halves the uncertainty in routine global solar radiation measurements.
Dr Forgan, born in Mt Gambier, SA, has a PhD from Flinders University of South Australia. Since joining the Bureau in 1980 he has worked in the Bureau's Research Centre, and as Officer In Charge (1984-88) of the Baseline Air Pollution Station at Cape Grim in northwest Tasmania.
Media are invited to the presentation to be held at the Bureau of Meteorology, 150 Lonsdale St, Melbourne, at 2PM on Wednesday, November 12.
Contact:Bureau of Meteorology: Peter Price (03) 9669 4111
Senator Macdonald's office: (06) 277 3665