Penny Whetton

Penelope Whetton (5 January 1958 – 11 September 2019) was a climatologist and an expert in regional climate change projections due to global warming and in the impacts of those changes. Her primary scientific focus was Australia.[1]

Penny Whetton
Penny Whetton in 2017
Born(1958-01-05)5 January 1958
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died11 September 2019(2019-09-11) (aged 61)
Sisters Beach, Tasmania, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
OccupationClimatologist
Spouse
​
(m. 1986)​
ChildrenJohn Rice-Whetton
Leon Rice-Whetton

Early life

Whetton was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 5 January 1958. She held a Bachelor of Science (Honours), majoring in physics, and an honours year in meteorology, from the University of Melbourne. She received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the same university in 1986.[2]

Career

Whetton started her career in the late 1980s as a researcher in the Department of Geography at Monash University in Clayton, Victoria.[3]

In 1989, she joined the Atmospheric Research division of CSIRO (later becoming CMAR CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research). Whetton became a research leader in 1999 and a research program leader in 2009.[3] Whetton was a Lead Author on the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Assessment Reports of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).[4] The Fourth Assessment Report of which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.[5]

Whetton was an invited speaker at various climate change conferences such as the Aspen Global Change Institute,[6] Four Degrees Or More? Australia in a Hot World[7] at the University of Melbourne in 2011, and the Greenhouse 2011: The Science of Climate Change conference.[8]

Whetton published numerous scientific journal articles on climate change as well as a contribution to more popular publications.[9]

Personal life

Whetton lived in Footscray, Victoria, with her wife Janet Rice, a Greens Senator and former Mayor of Maribyrnong, and their two sons. In 2003, Whetton underwent gender-affirming surgery.[10][11]

Whetton died on 11 September 2019 in Sisters Beach, Tasmania.[12]

References
  1. Marsa, Linda. "The Continent Where Climate Went Haywire". Discover Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  2. Whetton, P. H. (1986), A synoptic climatological analysis of Victorian rainfall variability, retrieved 11 February 2022
  3. "Dr Penny Whetton: researching climate impact and risk". CSIRO. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  4. "Penny Whetton". Climate Energy College. University of Melbourne. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  5. "Penny Whetton, wife of Senator Janet Rice, climate scientist and transgender woman, dies". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 16 September 2019. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  6. "Future Changes in Climate Extremes: Toward an Assessment for the Australian Report". Aspen Global Change Institute. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  7. "Four Degrees or More: Australia in a Hot World". University of Melbourne. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  8. "Greenhouse 2011: The Science of Climate Change". CSIRO. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  9. "Australia's Dust Bowl and Global Warming: Earth Wind and Fire". The New York Times Company. 30 September 2009. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  10. Birnbauer, William (9 September 2007). "Gender changes, but a wife's love stays". The Age Company Ltd. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  11. I still love her, we can stay married: The Senator and her transgender wife Archived 3 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, SBS, 6 February 2015
  12. "Janet Rice". facebook.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
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