Person
Clarke, Reginald Henry (1914 - 1990)
- Born
- 1 December 1914
Melrose, South Australia, Australia - Died
- 13 June 1990
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Meteorologist
Summary
Reginald Clarke joined the Bureau of Meteorology in 1940 as a recruit to the RAAF Meteorological Service from the South Australian Education Department. He remained with the Bureau after the war and spent some time in charge of the Canberra office, during which time he developed a keen interest in frontal and boundary layer phenomena, before being promoted to the analysis and weather development section in Melbourne. In 1957 Clarke joined the CSIRO Meteorological Physics Research Section at Aspendale and was the first head of the Australian Numerical Meteorology Research Centre 1974-1978. He continued working after retirement, in 1978, with the University of Melbourne on the 'Morning Glory' phenomenon of the southern Gulf of Carpentaria. Clarke's research interests focused on sea breezes and cold fronts, and the use of numerical modelling in understanding these. He was noted for his meticulously planned and extensive field observations: several of these studies attracted international attention. Since 1987 the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society has hosted the annual R. H. Clarke Lecture.
Details
Chronology
- 1939 - 1940
- Career position - Teacher, Quorn High School, South Australia
- 1940 - 1946
- Career event - Served with the Meteorology Branch, Royal Australian Air Force
- 1946 - 1949
- Career position - Officer-in-Charge, Meteorological Office, Canberra Airport
- 1949 - 1957
- Career position - Meteorologist, Air Mass and Frontal Analysis Section, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne
- 1957 - 1971
- Career position - Research Scientist, CSIRO Meteorological Physics Research Centre
- 1971 - 1974
- Career position - Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Meteorological Physics
- 1974 - 1978
- Career position - Officer-in-Charge, Australian Numerical Meteorology Research Centre (ANMRC)
- 1978
- Life event - Retired
- 1979 - 1980
- Career position - Chairman, Royal Meteorological Society Australian Branch
- 1983
- Education - Doctor of Science (DSc), University of Melbourne
- 1985
- Award - Priestley Medal, Royal Meteorological Society Australian Branch
- 1988 - 1990
- Award - Honorary Member, Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'Reginald Harry Clarke BA, MSc, DSC 1914 - 1990', Australian meteorological magazine, 38 (1990), 223-5. Details
- Anon, 'Reg Clarke: his life and work', Australian meteorological magazine, 41 (1992), 3-5. Details
Resources
- Inspiration for Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society awards, Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, 2022. https://www.amos.org.au/activities/awards/inspiration-for-awards/. Details
- 'Clarke, R H (1914-19900613)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-547946. Details
See also
- Federation and Meteorology, 2001, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/fam/index_c.html. Details
Helen Morgan and Helen Cohn
Created: 10 May 2001, Last modified: 22 December 2022
- Foundation Supporter - National Council for the Centenary of Federation