Bulletin

Issue: June 2004

People

Royal Society Medal for Peter Dyson

La Trobe University Head of Physics, Professor Peter Dyson, has been awarded the Royal Society of Victoria Research Medal for research in physical sciences.

The medal was awarded for research work published in refereed international journals during the six years to the end of 2002.

During this period Professor Dyson has made major contributions to radio propagation studies of the ionosphere, optical studies of the thermosphere and mesosphere, and the evaluation of ionospheric propagation studies.

He has led the development of the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER) to study the energy input into the aurora and high latitude space weather systems.

TIGER consists of two over-the horizon radars, one in Tasmania that has been operational since 1999, and the second under construction near Invercargill, New Zealand.

His research relates to emissions from the atmosphere, measured to determine temperatures and winds at heights of 90 to 250km. Techniques developed for predic-ting over-the-horizon propagation have been incorporated into JORN, the Jindalee Operational Radar Network that surveys much of Australia's coastal regions. •

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