January 8, 2010

Roger Francey

R J Francey, 2009

Roger Francey

  • Resigned in 2004 after 31 years in CSIRO, during which he was promoted to Chief Research Scientist level.
  • Has had advisory roles in Europe , including 5 years on the Advisory Board of the new Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena (East Germany), 8 years with the European Commission CarboEurope Program, and currently as the Senior Advising Scientist on IMECC (Infrastructure for the Measurement of the European Carbon Cycle).
  • BSc Hons and PhD at University of Tasmania, with PhD Thesis title “Cosmic X-Ray Surveys“. Continued X-ray astronomy for 4 Years at Simon Fraser University Canada as a PostDoc / Research Associate.
  • Joined CSIRO to carry out Micrometeorology research (heat and moisture fluxes from land and sea surfaces).
  • After 3-4 years moved into Tree Ring research, with the aim of reconstructing atmospheric CO2 from carbon isotopes in trees (and proved it would not work, but enjoyed leading a series of multi-institutional and international expeditions, “The Stanley River Expeditions” into the forests of western Tasmania).
  • Was seconded from CSIRO 1981-83 to be the first scientific director of the new Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station, Tasmania, helping to establish it as a premier station in the United Nations Environment Program Global Atmosphere Watch program (and once described by Barry Jones as the “jewel in the crown” of his science portfolio).
  • In the early 1990s, established the Global Atmospheric Sampling Laboratory (GASLAB) in Aspendale, and later advised on the establishment of similar GASLABs in Germany and France. CSIRO GASLAB plays a critical underpinning role for Cape Grim, maintains a global atmospheric composition sampling network, and has provided unmatched records of archived air, including from ice cores.
  • Assisted with the development of several measurement methods, in particular the LoFlo CO2 analyser, which remains by far the most precise and stable system available for the measurement of atmospheric CO2.
  • Shared, with Paul Steele, the Victoria Prize in 2001, and was awarded a Federation Fellowship in 2003 (which did not survive economic restructuring within CSIRO).