John Zillman
Encyclopedia
John W. Zillman AO
(born 28 July 1939) is an Australia
n meteorologist, and former President of the World Meteorological Organization
and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
(ATSE). He was born and was educated in Brisbane, Queensland. Through his leadership in professional organizations and advisory groups, Zilman has contributed to shaping science and innovation policy in Australia. More widely, he has contributed to raising awareness to the consequences of global climate change through involvement in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC).
; a Master of Science (Meteorology) from the University of Melbourne
; and a Doctorate of Philosophy (Meteorology and Oceanography) from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
.
He was Director of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
from 1978 to 2003 and Chairman of the Commonwealth Heads of Marine Agencies from 1994 to 2003. From 1978 to 2004 he was Permanent Representative of Australia with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Zillman served as a member of the WMO Executive Council from 1979 to 2004, as First Vice President from 1987 to 1995 and then as President from 1995 to 2003.
He was elected as a Fellow of ATSE in 1980 and served as Honorary Secretary from 1990 to 1994, Vice President from 1995 to 1998, and President from 2003 to 2006. He was President of the National Academies Forum 2005-06 and President of the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences
(CAETS) in 2005.
Zillman was also a member of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC
), as part of the Office of the Chief Scientist
(OCS).
, unlike others on the IPCC, he has made public comments that indicate his respect for the IPCC process and has defended it from attack:
Of current climate change he goes on to say:
He has said of the IPCC Second Assessment Report
:
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 28 July 1939) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n meteorologist, and former President of the World Meteorological Organization
World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering is an independent non-government organization dedicated to the promotion in Australia of scientific and engineering knowledge to practical purposes. Professor Robin Batterham is the current President of ATSE....
(ATSE). He was born and was educated in Brisbane, Queensland. Through his leadership in professional organizations and advisory groups, Zilman has contributed to shaping science and innovation policy in Australia. More widely, he has contributed to raising awareness to the consequences of global climate change through involvement in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body which provides comprehensive assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and...
(IPCC).
Career
Zillman holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Physics and a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science and Public Administration) from the University of QueenslandUniversity of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
; a Master of Science (Meteorology) from the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
; and a Doctorate of Philosophy (Meteorology and Oceanography) from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
.
He was Director of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
Bureau of Meteorology
The Bureau of Meteorology is an Executive Agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together the state meteorological services that existed before then...
from 1978 to 2003 and Chairman of the Commonwealth Heads of Marine Agencies from 1994 to 2003. From 1978 to 2004 he was Permanent Representative of Australia with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Zillman served as a member of the WMO Executive Council from 1979 to 2004, as First Vice President from 1987 to 1995 and then as President from 1995 to 2003.
He was elected as a Fellow of ATSE in 1980 and served as Honorary Secretary from 1990 to 1994, Vice President from 1995 to 1998, and President from 2003 to 2006. He was President of the National Academies Forum 2005-06 and President of the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences
International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences
The International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences, Inc. is an organization of national engineering and technological sciences academies...
(CAETS) in 2005.
Zillman was also a member of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC
PMSEIC
The Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council is the Australian government's principal source of advice on science, engineering, and innovation issues, as well as relevant aspects of education and training...
), as part of the Office of the Chief Scientist
Office of the Chief Scientist (Australia)
The Office of the Chief Scientist is part of Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research . Its primary responsibilities are to support the Chief Scientist and the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council .-Chief Scientist:The Chief Scientist is responsible for...
(OCS).
Climate Change
While Zillman has contributed to the IPCCIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body which provides comprehensive assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and...
, unlike others on the IPCC, he has made public comments that indicate his respect for the IPCC process and has defended it from attack:
- The IPCC is not, as... many appear to have been led to believe, some ideologically committed group of scientists with a particular position or perspective on the science which they seek to promote. Rather it is a highly transparent process, supervised by governments, which enables the contemporary state of knowledge of climate change as it emerges from the peer-reviewed published literature to be summarised and assessed by a representative group of the internationally acknowledged experts in the field with their summary assessment subject to one of the most exhaustive processes of peer review and revision that I believe has ever occurred in the international scientific community. The IPCC doesn't have a construct, a model, an ideology or a pre-determined position. It is simply an inter-governmentally coordinated scientific assessment mechanism for producing in summary form, for use by policymakers, a synthesis of the state of the science as it appears in the literature with particular attention to the identification of points on which there is a high level of scientific agreement in the literature and those on which there is little agreement or little confidence in what is agreed.
Of current climate change he goes on to say:
- I believe the models are now remarkably good at simulating most of the essential climate forming processes in the atmosphere and the ocean and even the behaviour of the total climate system at the global scale. And, though I would not have said so a decade ago, I now believe, as does the IPCC, that there is no more than a one in three chance that the observed global warming over the past century is entirely natural in origin.
He has said of the IPCC Second Assessment Report
IPCC Second Assessment Report
The Second Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , published in 1996, is an assessment of the then available scientific and socio-economic information on climate change...
:
- In order to avoid the risk of having the IPCC reports made vulnerable to charged of political influence, the IPCC Chairman and the WG Co-chairmen were meticulous in insisting that the final decision on whether to accept particular review comments should reside with chapter Lead Authors. This was at variance with the normal role of journal editorial boards and led to suggestions that some Lead Authors ignored valid critical comments or failed to adequately reflect dissenting views when revising their text http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:LqsOvjZuT0IJ:www.apec.org.au/docs/zillman.pdf+zillman+meticulous+in+insisting+that+the+final+decision+on+whether+to+accept+particular+review+comments+should+reside+with&hl=en.
External links
- Dr John Zillman Federation and Meteorology, Weather News (Retrieved 22 September 2007)
- Zillman, John William Bright Sparcs biography