McDougall, Trevor John (1952 - )

Summary

Trevor McDougall was with the CSIRO division of Oceanography for over 20 years from 1983 and since 2012 has been Scientia Professor of Physical Oceanography at the University of New South Wales. He is the foremost world authority on many aspects of oceanic mixing. He has discovered four new oceanic mixing processes and has pioneered the concept of neutral surfaces along which strong lateral mixing occurs. Through his other discoveries, there has been a dramatic improvement in the ability of ocean models to simulate today's climate. In 2022 McDougall received the Prime Minister's Prize for Science.

Details

Chronology

1973

Education - Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (BMechEng (hons)), University of Adelaide

1973 - 1974

Career position - Research Officer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide

1974

Career position - Design Engineer, Public Buildings Department, South Australian Government

1974 - 1978

Career position - Graduate Student, St John's College and the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge

1978

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Cambridge

1978 - 1980

Career position - Queen's Fellow in Marine Science, Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University

1980 - 1983

Career position - Research Fellow, Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University

1982

Education - Graduate Diploma in Economics, Australian National University

1983 - 1987

Career position - Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Oceanography, Hobart

1985

Award - CSIRO Overseas Research Fellowship, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

1987 - 1991

Career position - Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Oceanography, Hobart

1988

Award - Frederick White Prize, Australian Academy of Science

1989

Award - CSIRO Overseas Research Fellowship, School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

1991 - 1993

Career position - Technology Program Manager, CSIRO Division of Oceanography, Hobart

1991 - 1997

Career position - Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Oceanography, Hobart

1992

Award - David Rivett Medal, CSIRO Staff Association

1997 -

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1997

Award - Humboldt Research Prize, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany

1997 - 2006

Career position - Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Oceanography, Hobart

1998

Award - M. R. Banks Medal, Royal Society of Tasmania

1999 - 2003

Career position - Member, Sectional Committee 4, Australian Academy of Science

1 Jan 2001

Award - Centenary Medal - for service to Australian society and science through marine science

2003 - 2008

Career position - Member, National Committee on Earth Systems Science, Australian Academy of Science

2004 -

Award - Inaugural Fellow, Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society

2004 - 2005

Career position - Climate Research Group Leader, CSIRO

2004 - 2007

Career position - Member of Council, Australian Academy of Science

2005

Award - A. G. Huntsman Award for Excellence in the Marine Sciences, Royal Society of Canada

2007 - 2009

Career position - Research Group Leader, Ocean Observation and Assessment, Collaboration for Australian Weather and Climate Research

2007 - 2011

Award - CSIRO Fellow

2008 - 2011

Career position - Visiting Rossby Fellow, University of Stockholm, Sweden

2009

Award - Anton Bruun Medal, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission

2011

Award - Prince Albert I Medal, International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans

2012 -

Career position - Scientia Professor of Physical Oceanography, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of New South Wales

2012 -

Award - Fellow, The Royal Society, London (FRS)

2012 -

Award - Fellow, Institute of Physics, United Kingdom

2012

Career position - Visiting Rossby Fellow, University of Stockholm, Sweden

2012 - 2015

Career position - Member, Sectional Committee 4, Australian Academy of Science

2013

Award - Royal Society of Tasmania Medal

2015 -

Award - Fellow, Royal Society of New South Wales

2015

Award - Jaeger Medal, Australian Academy of Science

2015

Career position - Henry Houghton Visiting Chair, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

2015 - 2019

Career position - Vice-President, International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans

2016 -

Award - ARC Laureate Fellow

2017

Award - Prize for Excellence in Mathematics, Earth Sciences, Chemistry and Physics, New South Wales Premier's Prizes in Science

2018 -

Award - Fellow, American Geophysical Union

2018

Career position - Peterson Excellence Professorship, Christian-Abrechts University of Kiel, Germany

2018

Award - Prize of Excellence, Werner Petersen Foundation, Kiel, Germany

26 Jan 2018

Award - Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) - for eminent service to science, and to education, particularly in the area of ocean thermodynamics, as an academic, and researcher, to furthering the understanding of climate science, and as a mentor of young scientists

2019 -

Career position - President, International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans

2022

Award - Prime Minister's Prize for Science, Commonwealth of Australia

2023

Award - Scientist of the Year, New South Wales Premier's Prizes in Science

2023

Award - Fellow, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics

2025

Award - Alfred Wegener Medal & Honorary Membership, European Union of Geosciences

Related entries

Published resources

Journal Articles

• McDougall, Trevor J., Church, John A. and Zillman, John, 'Angus McEwan 1937 - 2018', Historical Records of Australian Science, 36 (2024), 1-7, https://www.publish.csiro.au/HR/pdf/HR24005. Details
• McDougall, Trevor; Church, John; and Zillman, John, 'Vale Dr Angus McEwan FAA FTSE', Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, Supplement (2018), 8, https://view.joomag.com/bamos-vol-31-special-issue-october-2018-bulletin-vol-31-special-issue-01-2018/0218810001540846020?short. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21166460. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/101576956. Details
• NSW Premier's Prizes for Science and Engineering, NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, Sydney, 2023. https://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/events/nsw-premiers-prizes-for-science-and-engineering. Details
• Frederick White Medal, Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, 2022. https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/awards-and-opportunities/frederick-white-medal. Details
• Jaeger Medal, Australian Academy of Science, 2025, https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/awards-and-opportunities/jaeger-medal. Details
• Department of Industry, Science and Resources, The 2022 Prime Minister's Prizes for Science have been announced, Australian Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Canberra, 2022. https://www.industry.gov.au/news/2022-prime-ministers-prizes-science-have-been-announced. Details
• 'McDougall, Trevor John (1952-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1475679. Details

Resource Sections

• McDougall, Trevor, 'Interview with Dr Shirley Jeffrey', in Interviews with Australian scientists, Australian Academy of Science, 27 Jun 2000, http://www.science.org.au/scientists/interviews/j/sj.html. Details
• McDougall, Trevor, 'Interview with Professor Stewart Turner, geophysicist', in Interviews with Australian scientists, Australian Academy of Science, 2004, https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/history/interviews-australian-scientists/professor-stewart-turner. Details
• McDougall, Trevor, 'Interview with Dr Angus McEwan (1937-2018), oceanographer', in Interviews with Australian scientists, Australian Academy of Science, 2011, https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/history/interviews-australian-scientists/dr-angus-mcewan-oceanographer. Details
• Ward, Colin, 'Trevor John McDougall', in CSIROpedia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation, 2013. https://csiropedia.csiro.au/McDougall-Trevor-John/. Details

See also

• Companion (AC) in the General Division of the Order of Australia [Australia Day 2018], Governor General's Office, Canberra, 2018, https://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-02/ad18_media_notes_-_ac.pdf. Details
• Robson, Alexandra K.; Production Manager and Editor eds, Who's who in Australia 2019 (Southbank, Vic.: AAP Directories, 2018), 1788 pp. Details