CURRICULUM VITAE

Work was commenced on my PhD in March 1996 at the Department of Civil, Surveying and Environmental Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Australia. The topic of my PhD was Estimating Soil Moisture Profile Dynamics From Near-Surface Soil Moisture Measurements and Standard Meteorological Data. This research was supervised by Associate Professor Garry Willgoose and Professor Jetse Kalma. My thesis was submitted for examination in June 1999 and accepted without change in February 2000.

Soil moisture varies in both time and space as a function of atmospheric forcing, soil properties and topography. Model estimates of this variation in soil moisture are often poor due to inherent model errors and an inaccurate knowledge of model inputs. Soil moisture measurements may be made at discrete points, but they are not always representative of the spatial variation in soil moisture. Remote sensing observations provide information on soil moisture in a thin surface layer at discrete times, but do not provide any information on soil moisture with depth. To overcome these shortcomings, an effective soil moisture monitoring scheme must utilise: (i) point measurements for model calibration and evaluation; and (ii) remote sensing observations for updating of the model to overcome the effects of model error and model input inadequacies.

This research investigated the effectiveness of the soil moisture monitoring scheme outlined above. In order to achieve this, it was required to develop an appropriate distributed soil moisture model for soil moisture forecasting, and to collect appropriate data for model calibration, evaluation and updating. Research efforts were focused on the following issues: (i) measurement of surface soil moisture from remote sensing; (ii) estimation of the satellite observation depth; (iii) techniques for assimilation of surface observations into the hydrologic model; (iv) importance of increasing the satellite observation depth on profile retrieval; (v) required frequency of surface observations to keep the model on-track; and (vi) the necessity for accurate model forcing and soil parameter values in such a soil moisture monitoring scheme.

During this period individual degrees were completed for both Bachelor of Surveying and Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) at the Department of Civil, Surveying and Environmental Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Australia.

The title of my Honours project was Accuracy of DEMs (Digital Elevation Models). This research investigated the magnitude of elevation errors in published DEMs and the effect these errors may have on potential applications of this data. Of particular interest was the effect of these errors on hydrologic modelling. This investigation involved a Monte-Carlo analysis of geomorphic parameters used in hydrology by making comparisons with an accurate DEM. Hydromorphic parameters investigated include: (i) inferred catchment shape, size and stream network; (ii) width function; (iii) cumulative area diagram; and (iv) slope area diagram.

• Inaugural Anton Hales Medal. Recognises distinguished research in the Earth sciences, honouring the contributions to Earth sciences by the late Professor Anton L Hales FAA, the founding director of the Research School of Earth Sciences in the Australian National University.
• Best Paper. Awarded by Institution of Engineers Australia to the presenter of the best paper submitted to the Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium.
• University Medal in Civil Engineering. Awarded to a graduand who, in addition to achieving Honours, displays ability in the discipline concerned. In assessing eligibility the Medals Committee takes into account the graduand’s record throughout the Bachelor’s degree course, but particular regard is paid to achievement in the final year of study.
• University Medal in Surveying. As above.
• Deans Medal. Awarded annually to final year students graduating with a weighted average mark in excess of 85.
• The Board of Surveyors’ Medal. Awarded annually for outstanding performance, if of sufficient merit, in the final year of the Bachelor of Surveying degree course.
• The ACSE Prize in Structural Engineering. Awarded annually to the student enrolled as a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Engineering who achieves the best performance, if of sufficient merit, in the structural design component of the fourth year Civil Engineering Design subject.
• The Consulting Surveyors New South Wales Prize in Land Studies. Awarded annually to the student achieving the best performance, if of sufficient merit, in the field of Land Studies in the Bachelor of Surveying degree course.
• The Hunter Water Corporation Achievement Award. Awarded annually to the student undertaking the course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Engineering specialising in the area of Civil Engineering who, in completing the subjects in the field of Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering, achieves the best in completing the subjects in the field of Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering and achieves the best overall performance, if of sufficient merit.
• The Institution of Engineers Australia Civil and Structural Branch Prize in Civil Engineering. Awarded annually to the Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) graduate who achieved the best overall performance, if of sufficient merit, in the final year of the course.
• The Institution of Surveyors Australia Hunter-Manning Group Prize in Surveying. Awarded annually for the best performance, if of sufficient merit, in the final year of the Bachelor of Surveying course.
• The James Hardie Pipelines Water Resources Engineering Prize. Awarded annually to the student undertaking the degree of Bachelor of Engineering, specialising in the area of Civil Engineering who, in completing the subjects in the field of Water Resources Engineering achieves the best overall performance, if of sufficient merit.
• The Peter Kleeman Medallion. Awarded annually to the graduate in the Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) who has achieved the best overall academic performance over the duration of the course in the field of Structural Mechanics.
• The Spruson & Ferguson Prize in Civil Engineering. Awarded annually to a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) who submits the most innovative Final Year Project Report, if of sufficient merit.
• Mine Subsidence Technological Society Prize in Geotechnical Design. Awarded annually to the student undertaking a bachelor degree course program with the best overall performance, if of sufficient merit in the Geotechnical Design component of the subject CIVL 454 - Civil Engineering Design 2.
• The Tony Herzog Award. Awarded to an undergraduate student in the Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying who has submitted a final year project report of outstanding merit.
• The Metal Building Manufacturers' Association Prize. Awarded annually to the student with the best overall performance, if of sufficient merit, in completing the subjects in the field of Structural Design and Engineering, in the third year of the Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree.
• The SRIA University Award for Concrete Design. Awarded annually to the student with the best performance, if of sufficient merit, in the subject, Reinforced Concrete Design.
• The Astley Pulver Prize for Second Year Surveyors. Awarded for the best Performance, if of sufficient merit, in the subjects dealing with surveying topics in the second year of the Bachelor of Surveying degree.
• The BHP Rod & Bar Products Division Prize in Civil Engineering. Awarded annually for the greatest proficiency, if of sufficient merit in the second year of the Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree.

My primary research ambition is to lead programs in socially relevant research that will have a positive impact on the way we take care of the environment so as to result in an improved quality of life both now and in the generations to come. I believe that the key to this is through improved earth system state and flux monitoring, prediction and reporting, in a way that is relevant to policy and decision making processes, flood and drought prediction and assessment, land and water management, national weather and climate forecasting, etc. My vision is that this goal will be realised through a combination of i) environmental sensing, ii) earth system modelling, and iii) optimal convergence of model predictions with observations through data assimilation. This is a new area of research that has gained wide spread interest over the past years.

• 2009-2011, CI: Active Passive Microwave Soil Moisture Remote Sensing: Towards Sustainable Land and Water Management from Space,AU$540k.
• 2009-2011, CI: A New Paradigm for Improved Water Resource Management Using Innovative Water Modelling Techniques,AU$420k+AU$117k.
• 2009, CI: Airborne Hyperspectral Scanning for Advanced Monitoring and Assessment of Vegetation and Water Properties,AU$400k+AU$385k.
• 2009, CI: Towards Improved Soil Moisture Retrieval by LiDAR Measurement of Microwave Properties of Vegetation and Development of a Data Assimilation Framework,AU$10k.
• 2007-2009, Co-I: Quantifying Near-surface Diffuse Discharge from the Southwest Great Artesian Basin,AU$297k+AU$160k.
• 2006-2007, Co-I: Advanced Algorithms to Retrieve Remotely Sensed Soil Moisture and Enhance Hydrological Prediction,AU$20.5k.
• 2006-2008, Co-I: Integrate NASA’s Global Soil Moisture Remote Sensing and Modeling Data into USDA’s Global Crop Production Decision Support System,US$493k.
• 2005-2007, CI: High resolution mapping of surface and root zone soil moisture, AU$667k.
• 2005, Co-I: Airborne laser scanning for advanced environmental monitoring, AU$168k+AU170k.
• 2005-2010, Co-I: The Australian climate system network, AU$1,950k.
• 2005-2006, CI: Assimilation of latent and sensible heat flux data into the CSIRO Biosphere Model, AU$53k.
• 2004-2005, CI: On the use of remote sensing data in bio-geo-chemical marine models, AU$56k.
• 2004, Co-I: The Australian climate system network, AU$20k.
• 2004, CI: A new airborne facility for environmental, hydrological, atmospheric and oceanic research: high resolution measurement of soil moisture, temperature and salinity, AU$395k+AU$262k.
• 2003, CI: Optimal land initialisation for seasonal climate prediction: brightness temperature assimilation, AU$24k.
• 2003, CI: Validation of the AMSR-E satellite soil moisture product, AU$10k.
• 2003-2005, CI: Gravity changes, soil moisture and data assimilation, AU$277k.
• 2003-2005, Co-I: Optimal land initialisation for seasonal climate prediction, US$240k.
• 2002, CI: Optimal land initialisation for seasonal climate prediction: brightness temperature assimilation, AU$8k.
• 2002, CI: Optimal land initialisation for seasonal climate prediction: soil moisture assimilation, AU$10k.
• 2002-2004, CI: Scaling and assimilation of soil moisture and streamflow, AU$235k.
• 2002-2004, CI: Use of remote sensing actual evapotranspiration estimates and water delivery data for assessing water use efficiency in an irrigated landscape, AU$148k.
• 2002-2004, Co-I: Assimilation of satellite observations of the land surface in support of NASA's Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction Project, US$540k.
• 2002-2004, Co-I: A catchment-based global river routing scheme for climate models and assimilation of streamflow and altimetry data, US$165k.
• 2002-2004, Co-I: Global validation of EOS-AQUA land surface dynamics using data assimilation, US$300k.
• 2001-2003, Co-I: A global land data assimilation system (GLDAS), US$860k.
• 2001-2003, PI: Assimilation of remotely sensed snow observations into the NSIPP land surface model, US$600k.

• 1999-2004: Optimal land initialisation for seasonal climate prediction.
• 2000: Soil moisture measurement with the OhmMapper.
• 1999: Soil moisture measurement from ERS-2 remote sensing observations.
• 1996-1999: Estimating soil moisture profile dynamics from near-surface soil moisture measurements and standard meteorological data.
• 1996-1999: Set up and monitoring of the Nerrigundah experimental catchment in New South Wales, Australia, including soil analysis for estimation of soil properties.
• 1996: Soil moisture monitoring in the Tarrawarra experimental catchment in Victoria, Australia.
• 1995: Published digital elevation model errors and their effects on hydromorphic parameters.

• Professor Dara Entekhabi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
• Dr Jared Entin, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, USA.
• Professor James Famiglietti, University of Texas, USA.
• Dr James Foster, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, USA.
• Dr Paul Houser, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, USA.
• Associate Professor Rodger Grayson, University of Melbourne, Australia.
• Professor Jetse Kalma, University of Newcastle, Australia.
• Dr Randal Koster, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, USA.
• Dr Manfred Owe, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, USA.
• Dr Rolf Reichle, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, USA.
• Dr Marc Stieglitz, University of Columbia, USA.
• Dr Chaojiao Sun, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, USA.
• Dr Peter Troch, University of Gent, Belgium.
• Dr Andrew Western, University of Melbourne, Australia.
• Associate Professor Garry Willgoose, University of Newcastle, Australia.

Teaching and Related Experience

• Coordination and teaching of various subjects within the Bachelor of Environmental Engineering degree at the University of Melbourne.
• Supervision of graduate students within the Bachelor of Environmental Engineering degree at the University of Melbourne.
• Supervision of graduate students at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
• Supervision of honours projects within the Bachelor of Surveying and Bachelor of Civil Engineering degrees at the University of Newcastle.
• Tutoring for Elementary Structures and Fluid Mechanics 1 undergraduate courses within the Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree at the University of Newcastle.
• Demonstrating and marking for Surveying 1 and Surveying 2 undergraduate courses within the Bachelor of Surveying degree at the University of Newcastle.
• Supervision of Survey Camp 1 and Survey Camp 4 within the Bachelor of Surveying degree at the University of Newcastle.
• AUSAID help desk for international students requiring extra assistance at the University of Newcastle.
• Personal tutor for Open Channel Hydraulics, Stress Analysis, Fluid Mechanics 1 and Fluid Mechanics 2 undergraduate courses within the Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree at the University of Newcastle.

• American Geophysical Union, member.
• International Soil Moisture Working Group, Member
• Prediction in Ungauged Basins Working Group on Remote Sensing and Data Assimilation, Member

I am currently employed as an associate professor and reader in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Australia. I am managing a number of research projects in addition to teaching.

Employed as a senior lecturer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Australia. During that period I managed a number of research projects in addition to teaching.

Employed as a lecturer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Australia. During that period I managed a number of research projects in addition to teaching.

During this period I was employed in a research scientist position at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, firstly with USRA (Universities Space Research Association) as part of the Goddard Visiting Scientist Program (GVSP) and then with the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) as part of the Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology (GEST) Center. The main project I worked on was entitled Optimal Land Initialisation for Seasonal Climate Prediction and sought to provide optimal initialisation of the NSIPP (NASA Seasonal to Interanual Prediction Project) land surface model, through assimilation of near-surface soil moisture observations into the land surface model. In addition, I was the PI on a project entitled Assimilation of Remotely Sensed Snow Observations into the NSIPP Land Surface Model and Co-I on a project entitled A Global Land Data Assimilation Scheme. I also collaborated with the Land Data Assimilation Schemes project.

During this period I conducted research towards my PhD at the Department of Civil, Surveying and Environmental Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Australia. Details of my doctoral research have been provided above.

During university vacations I was employed by Marshall Scott, Surveying and Land Development Consultants, Cessnock, as an undergraduate Surveyor. Responsibilities included cadastral, topographic, and engineering surveys and design work. Engineering designs included plans of road widening and subdivision layouts. I was also responsible for the preparation of an entire drainage design for a 40 lot subdivision.

During university vacations I was employed by Monteath and Powys, Consulting Surveyors and Planners, Newcastle, as a Surveyors Assistant. Responsibilities included assisting with cadastral, topographic, hydrographic and engineering surveys. Field work duties included instrument use and general assistance. Office duties included general plan preparation and calculations.

During university vacations I was employed by Collins Walshe and Fitzsimmons, Consulting Surveyors and Engineers, Taree, as a Surveyors Assistant. Responsibilities included assisting with cadastral, topographic, and engineering surveys. Field work duties included instrument use and general assistance. Office duties included general plan preparation and calculations.

• English: excellent written and oral skills.
• Flemish/Dutch: basic oral and written skills.

• Proficient with UNIX/LINUX workstations, Macintosh and Windows/DOS.
• Proficient with GRADS, IDL and MPI.
• Excellent FORTRAN and HTML programming skills.
• Excellent numerical modeling skills.
• Proficient with programming and maintenance of data logging systems (Campbell, DataTaker, Starlogger).
• Excellent data management skills.
• Excellent word processing and spreadsheet skills.

Details of referees provided upon request

Publication List

• Rock Climbing
• Snow Skiing
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• Wind Surfing
• Motorcycle Riding
• Leather Craft
• Woodwork
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