Sue Barrell's 'Balancing Act'

As a professional meteorologist, working on international climate coordination and climate change issues, Sue Barrell knows all about multitasking. Combining the rigors of a full-time career with the demands of family life, it becomes, as Sue says, "a real balancing act."

Sue was born in England and emigrated to New Zealand at the age of four. Raised with brothers and a sister and attending a public girls' school, Sue was always taught she could 'be what she wanted to be'. The encouragement of her teachers and a well-organised science program prompted Sue's love for science.

Sue gained her PhD at the Australian National University and joined the Bureau of Meteorology in 1980. The thought of being a woman entering this career never really posed a problem for her. Although she says "you'll always encounter someone who's prejudiced against women", there have been more benefits for her than setbacks, she says.

Sue's career in the Bureau has taken her through operational (NMC), support (OEB), research (R&D, BMRC) and systems (SPB) areas, leading to her current position. For the past few years her work has been largely project orientated. Some of the many projects that Sue has played a role in include the Cold Fronts Research Program, the Touchscreen display, the video 'Farming a Sunburnt Country', the initial AIFS specification and the BMRC review.

One of her most enjoyable projects was managing the Bureau's participation in the final phase of the Cold Fronts Project, in 1984.

People from the Bureau, CSIRO, Universities, the armed forces and other agencies worked together to develop a better understanding of the cold fronts that affect southern Australia. Sue had the dubious pleasure of assisting on a calibration flight. They flew along the coast only a few metres above the sea surface to calibrate air speed instruments, and just a few metres above the runway to calibrate the altimeter against the barometer at the met office. "I then understood why people only volunteer once for calibration flights", Sue said.

Bureau of Meteorology