CSIRO and the Universities (continued)

In 1944 Uwe Radok was employed as a technical assistant in the Department. On my return to Melbourne in 1946 I found him to be a source of much information and inspiration. In 1948 the Bureau decided that it no longer needed Fritz and Uwe to assist in its training of meteorologists, but my association with Uwe continued and I found him entertaining and helpful.

In parallel with his other duties Uwe worked for many years to gain his Ph.D. in 1952. By that time the Department was providing opportunities for Bureau staff to gain higher academic recognition. Thus M.Sc.s were gained by Keith Morley in 1952, Reg Clarke (then with the CSIRO) and Gerry O'Mahony in 1961, Bruce Retallack in 1962 and Ross Maine in 1966. Kevin Spillane was awarded Ph.D. in 1969, and Bob Brook and Doug Gauntlett in 1973.

Both Fritz and Uwe were keenly interested in snow and ice and made research contributions in that field as well as meteorological questions. Fritz wrote about global radiation and upper winds while Uwe studied upper air cross-sections, the heat economy of the Southern Ocean and clear air turbulence. He and Dick Jenssen pioneered the use of a rather primitive electronic computer to produce a NWP in 1960.

Other staff of the University of Melbourne with whom the Bureau had close contact were Vic Hopper of the Physics Department and Professors Carl Forster and Geoff Leeper of the Department of Agriculture.

I have mentioned Bureau involvement with Professor Crawford Munro and Jack Wiesner of the Engineering Department of the University of NSW, Professor Harry Messel of the University of Sydney and Professor Webster of the University of Queensland. These contacts and those with staff of the University of Melbourne were among the most valuable in making Bureau staff aware of the benefits to be gained in discussions with university staff.

Bureau of Meteorology