Person

Radok, Uwe (1916 - 2009)

Born
8 February 1916
Germany
Died
28 August 2009
New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Meteorologist

Summary

Uwe Radok was one of Australia's pioneers in meteorological and glaciological research. He came to Australia as one of the 'Dunera Boys', and served with the Australian army from 1942 to 1944. In 1966 he succeeded Fritz Loewe as Reader in charge of the Department of Meteorology at the University of Melbourne. Here he established an internationally respected research program, particularly in Antarctic glaciology, forging links with the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO, the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority and the Weapons Research Establishment. With collaborators Radok pioneered numerical weather prediction in Australia, made globally important discoveries on the mechanisms of clear air turbulence, and undertook early aerological studies over Australia. Despite his large scientific output and the high regard in which he was held, Radok was not promoted to Professor. He spent the last years of his career in Boulder, Colorado, ultimately retiring to Australia. Radok Lake in the Prince Charles Mountains in Antarctica was named in his honour.

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Details

Chronology

1942 - 1944
Career position - Served with the Australian Army
1944 - 1960
Career position - Technical Assistant, Department of Meteorology, University of Melbourne
1960 - 1977
Career position - Reader, Department of Meteorology Department, University of Melbourne

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Books

  • Radok, Uwe, UNIMET - the Meteorological Department of the University of Melbourne 1937-1990 (Melbourne: University of Melbourne, Meteorology Section, School of Earth Sciences, 1993), 50 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • Bourke, William, 'Pioneering of numerical weather prediction in Australia: Dick Jenssen, Uwe Radok and CSIRAC', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 133 (1) (2021), 67-81. https://doi.org/10.1071/RS21010. Details
  • Zillman, John W., 'The remarkable German contribution to Australian meteorology', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 127 (1) (2015), 110-6, https://doi.org/10.1071/RS15013. Details

Resources

See also

  • Antonello, Alessandro, 'Glaciological bodies: Australian visions of the Antarctic ice sheet', International Review of Environmental History, 4 (1) (2018), 125-44. Details

Helen Cohn

Last modified: 16 February 2017

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