ANU mourns Professor Michael Raupach

Publication date
Wednesday, 11 Feb 2015
Body

The ANU community is deeply saddened by the death of distinguished scientist, Professor Michael Raupach.

Professor Raupach was a world-class researcher who was appointed Director of the ANU Climate Change Institute in early 2014, after a long and productive career at CSIRO.

He died after a brief illness. He was 64.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Young AO said Professor Raupach was an eminent climate scientist who made a tremendous contribution to climate research, and to the ANU during his time at the University.

“Mike was a dedicated scientist and wonderful science communicator. He will be deeply missed by his many friends and colleagues both at the ANU and throughout Australia’s science community,” he said.

Professor Raupach was a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and the American Geophysical Union.

Throughout his career he published more than 150 scientific papers and 50 reports, and edited two books.

Before joining the ANU Professor Raupach was a CSIRO Fellow and leader of the Continental Biogeochemical Cycles research team in the Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research.

From 2000 to 2008 he was an inaugural co-chair of the Global Carbon Project, an international project studying the natural and human influences on the global carbon cycle, and the interaction of the carbon cycle with climate.

He was a contributing author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report.

Former Climate Change Institute Director Professor Will Steffen led the tributes to Professor Raupach.

"Mike was an outstanding scientist, always rigorous and insightful,” Professor Steffen said.

“He was brilliant at connecting his science with the policy community and with society generally, always with respect, dignity and thoughtfulness. He was a wonderful human being. We are all going to miss him very much."

Professor Michael Roderick, from the Research School of Biology and Research School of Earth Sciences, said Professor Raupach was a man with great knowledge across a range of scientific fields.

“Mike Raupach was a Renaissance man. It is rare for someone to have skills that range from the fundamentals of turbulence, all the way to carbon uptake by vegetation, and more recently, to changes in the global carbon cycle,” Dr Roderick said.

“He was using that great intellect in his most recent role as Director of the Climate Change Institute, and he will be sadly missed.”

Professor Graham Farquhar, from the Research School of Biology, also paid tribute.

“It’s very sad that someone so productive, and such a good scientific communicator should be lost at the height of his powers,” Professor Farquhar said.