Penny Whetton

Dr Penny Whetton
Doctor of Philosophy
Personal details
Born Peter Whetton
(1958-01-05) 5 January 1958
Melbourne, Victoria
Nationality Australian
Spouse(s) Janet Rice
Children John Rice-Whetton
Leon Rice-Whetton
Alma mater Melbourne University
Occupation Climatologist

Penelope Whetton (born 5 January 1958) is a climatologist and an expert in regional climate change projections due to global warming and in the impacts of those changes. Her primary scientific focus has been Australia.[1]

Early life

Whetton was born in Melbourne, Victoria. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours), majoring in Physics, and an Honours year in Meteorology, from the University of Melbourne. She received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the same university in 1986.

Career

Whetton started her career in the late 1980s as a researcher in the Department of Geography at Monash University in Clayton, Victoria.[2]

In 1989, she joined the Atmospheric Research division of CSIRO (later becoming CMAR CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research). Whetton became a research leader in 1999 and a research program leader in 2009.[2] She was a lead author of the IPCC's Third Assessment Report, and of the Fourth Assessment Report which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (jointly with Al Gore).[3] She is currently a Lead Author of the yet to be released Fifth Assessment Report.

Whetton has been an invited speaker at various climate change conferences such as the Aspen Change Institute,[4] Four Degrees Or More? Australia in a Hot World[5] at the University of Melbourne in 2011, and the Greenhouse 2011: The Science of Climate Change conference.[6]

Whetton has published numerous scientific journal articles on climate change as well as a contribution to more popular publications.[7]

Personal life

Whetton lives in Footscray, Victoria with her spouse Janet Rice, a Greens politician and former Mayor of Maribyrnong, and their two sons. In 2003, Whetton underwent gender reassignment surgery.[8]

References

  1. Marsa, Linda. "The Continent Where Climate Went Haywire". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Dr Penny Whetton: researching climate impact and risk". CSIRO. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  3. "The Nobel Peace Prize 2007". The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  4. "Future Changes in Climate Extremes: Toward an Assessment for the Australian Report". Aspen Global Change Institute. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  5. "Four Degrees or More: Australia In A Hot World". University of Melbourne. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  6. "Greenhouse 2011: The Science of Climate Change". CSIRO. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  7. "Australia’s Dust Bowl and Global Warming: Earth Wind and Fire". The New York Times Company. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  8. Birnbauer, William. "Gender changes, but a wife's love stays". The Age Company Ltd. Retrieved 17 May 2013.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 26, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.