Nobel Prize honour for USC staff member and adjuncts
The recent awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to former US Vice-President Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had special significance for the University of the Sunshine Coast.
One USC staff member Associate Professor Richard Warrick and three adjunct academics – Associate Professors Graham Sem and Jeff Price and Emeritus Professor Blair Fitzharris – are all lead authors for the IPCC.
Professors Warrick and Fitzharris have been lead authors for all four of the IPCC assessment reports dating back to 1990, long before climate change was considered an issue.
IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri said on the organisation’s website that the Nobel Peace Prize honour goes to all the scientists and authors who have contributed to the work of the IPCC.
“The IPCC’s strength lies in the processes and procedures that it follows,” he said. “Most important is its ability of carrying out rigorous scientific assessment which undergoes the scrutiny of government representatives.”
Earlier this year, Professor Warrick helped USC launch Australia’s first accredited post-graduate program in Climate Change Adaptation.
This intensive 120-hour course, which was delivered over two weeks, was designed to help equip public and private sectors in making informed decisions about managing the risks arising from climatic variability and change.
It is part of a suite of courses developed over the past three years by USC in collaboration with the International Global Change Institute (at the University of Waikato, New Zealand), the Environment Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist (eriss) and other partners.
— Terry Walsh