Person
Squires, Patrick (1914 - 1990)
- Born
- 12 July 1914
Carlton, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 14 November 1990
Reno, Nevada, United States of America - Occupation
- Meteorologist and Physicist
Summary
Patrick Squires was a pioneer of cloud physics. In 1937 he joined the Bureau of Meteorology where he trained as a meteorologist. Squires was appointed squadron leader in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1942 where he continued his meteorological research. He then spent several years at the Radiophysics Division of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) where he and his co-workers carried out groundbreaking work in areas including cloud seeding and air parcel cooling. In 1962 Squires moved to the USA where he spent the next 22 years working with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the Desert Research Institute (DRI).
Details
After completing tenth grade, Patrick Squires began studying to join the priesthood. During this time he independently studied science and at age 16 enrolled at the University of Melbourne. In 1934 Squires successfully completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics. His first job after leaving university was in the actuarial department of an insurance company. Then in 1937 Squires joined the Bureau of Meteorology as a trainee meteorologist under the guidance of John Lillywhite, Neil McRae and others. In 1941 the RAAF took over the Bureau for the duration of the war. Squires was appointed squadron leader and engaged mainly in meteorological research. For the next 30 plus years Squires made several inroads in cloud physics working for CSIRO Australia, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, Colorado, as an adjunct professor with the State University in Fort Collins, Colorado and the Desert Research Institute (DRI), Reno, Nevada. The DRI named their research library in honour of Patrick Squires major contributions to cloud physics. Squires retired in 1986, at age 72.
Chronology
- 1934
- Education - Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of Melbourne
- 1936
- Education - Master of Arts (MA), University of Melbourne
- 1937 - 1946
- Career position - Research Officer at the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology
- 1941 - 1944
- Career position - Editor of Air Mass & Frontal Analysis Monthly Note (AMFA Note)
- 1941 - 1946
- Career position - Meteorologist in the RAAF
- 1946 - 1962
- Career position - Research Physicist in the Division Radiophysics at CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
- 1959
- Education - Doctor of Science (DSc), University of Melbourne
- 1962 - 1966
- Career position - Research Meteorologist at NCAR in Boulder, Colorado, USA
- 1966 - 1977
- Career position - Research Meteorologist at DRI, University of Nevada, USA
- 1977 - 1984
- Career position - Director of the Convective Storms Division at the NCAR
- c. 1986 -
- Life event - Retired
Related entries
Published resources
Resources
- 'Squires, Patrick (1914-1990)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1473297. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Squires, Patrick', in Physics in Australia to 1945, R.W. Home, with the assistance of Paula J. Needham, Australian Science Archives Project, June 1995, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/physics/P001812p.htm. Details
See also
- Federation and Meteorology, 2001, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/fam/index_s.html. Details
Annette Alafaci
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 7 February 2011
- Foundation Supporter - National Council for the Centenary of Federation