Peter Cullen (scientist)
Encyclopedia
Professor Peter Cullen AO
FTSE, MAgrSc
, DipEd (Melb
), Hon DUniv (Canb
), (born 18 May 1943, Melbourne
, Victoria
; died 14 March 2008, Canberra) was a leading Australia
n water
scientist
.
at the University of Melbourne
and soon turned to detailed studies of irrigation
and the problems it can bring to the land it makes productive.
in the environment, notably nutrient
dynamics, freshwater
and lake
ecology
, environmental flows, and catchment
management.
Cullen retired from the University of Canberra
in 2002 and actively continued his advocacy for water in the environment, notably as a founder of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists
, and as a regular interviewee on radio and television when water ecology was discussed.
Senator
Rachel Siewert
said, "Peter Cullen was a giant in terms of his contribution to natural resource management and water management in Australia.".
Dr Paul Sinclair from the Australian Conservation Foundation said, "There are academics who like to bang in the ivory tower and there are academics who like to be down and dirty in the swamp. Peter Cullen... liked to be down and dirty in the swamp.... When he retired from his academic post, it appeared to me that there was ... no change in his work regime and he appeared to be busier than ever."
On the anniversary of Peter Cullen's death, Senator Penny Wong
(as Minister for Climate Change and Water) announced $1 million to establish a Peter Cullen Water and Environment Trust, stating
, New South Wales
, near Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
, where Vicky was the Rector
. Cullen was active in the Anglican Church of Australia
, notably the Cursillo
movement. He had two daughters, Michelle and Belinda.
Cullen collapsed at his home on 11 March and, after a time at Goulburn
hospital, was admitted to Canberra Hospital
where he died on 14 March 2008.
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"...
FTSE, MAgrSc
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
, DipEd (Melb
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...
), Hon DUniv (Canb
University of Canberra
Over the years the Stone Day program has gradually become larger and larger, taking up a whole week and now Stonefest is one of Australia's most popular music festivals. The first foundation celebrations were held in 1971. In 1973 Stone Day celebrations were held over two days, which was expanded...
), (born 18 May 1943, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
; died 14 March 2008, Canberra) was a leading 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 water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
.
Education
The son of an engineer, Cullen got his start as a water expert very early in life when his father moved to Tallangatta to oversee that town's relocation to accommodate an expanded Hume Dam. Cullen studied agricultural scienceAgricultural science
Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. -Agriculture and agricultural science:The two terms are often confused...
at 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 soon turned to detailed studies of irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
and the problems it can bring to the land it makes productive.
Work
Cullen's major professional work was related to waterWater
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
in the environment, notably nutrient
Nutrient
A nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment. They are used to build and repair tissues, regulate body processes and are converted to and used as energy...
dynamics, freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
and lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, environmental flows, and catchment
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
management.
Cullen retired from the University of Canberra
University of Canberra
Over the years the Stone Day program has gradually become larger and larger, taking up a whole week and now Stonefest is one of Australia's most popular music festivals. The first foundation celebrations were held in 1971. In 1973 Stone Day celebrations were held over two days, which was expanded...
in 2002 and actively continued his advocacy for water in the environment, notably as a founder of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists
Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists
The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists is a group of Australian scientists concerned with the environment, that in November 2002 released a statement, Blueprint for a Living Continent...
, and as a regular interviewee on radio and television when water ecology was discussed.
Honours
- Prime MinisterPrime Minister of AustraliaThe Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
's Prize for EnvironmentalistEnvironmentalistAn environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
of the Year in 2001 for his work on the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality - Dean of Applied Science, University of Canberra
- South AustraliaSouth AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n Thinker in ResidenceThinker in ResidenceThinkers in Residence is a program in Adelaide, South Australia, that brings leaders in their fields to work with the South Australian community and government in developing new ideas and approaches to problem solving, and to promote South Australia....
, 2004 - Flinders UniversityFlinders UniversityFlinders University, , is a public university in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in the early 19th century.The university has established a reputation as a leading research...
- Schultz Oration, 16 November 2007, the Flinders Research Centre for Coastal and Catchment Environments (FRCCCE), exploring water scarcity and futures for South Australia oration mp3
Memberships
- Founding Member, Wentworth Group of Concerned ScientistsWentworth Group of Concerned ScientistsThe Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists is a group of Australian scientists concerned with the environment, that in November 2002 released a statement, Blueprint for a Living Continent...
- Commissioner, National Water Commission
- Member, Natural Heritage Trust Advisory Committee
- Chair, Scientific Advisory Panel, Lake EyreLake EyreLake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia, at approximately below sea level, and, on the rare occasions that it fills, it is the largest lake in Australia and 18th largest in the world...
Basin Ministerial Forum - Chair, Victorian Water Trust Advisory Council
- Former Director, Cooperative Research CentreCooperative Research CentreCooperative Research Centres are key bodies for Australian scientific research. The Cooperative Research Centres Program was established in 1990 to enhance Australia's industrial, commercial and economic growth through the development of sustained, user-driven, cooperative public-private research...
for Freshwater Ecology (1993–2002), University of Canberra - Former President, Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological SocietiesFederation of Australian Scientific and Technological SocietiesThe Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies represent the interests of about 68,000 Australian scientists and technologists, and promotes their views on a wide range of policy issues to Government, industry and the community....
- Member, International Water Academy
- Visiting Fellow, CSIRO Land and Water
- Director, Land and Water Australia
- Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
Tributes
Australian GreensAustralian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
Senator
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
Rachel Siewert
Rachel Siewert
Rachel Mary Siewert is an Australian Greens politician who was elected to represent Western Australia in the Australian Senate at the 2004 federal election....
said, "Peter Cullen was a giant in terms of his contribution to natural resource management and water management in Australia.".
Dr Paul Sinclair from the Australian Conservation Foundation said, "There are academics who like to bang in the ivory tower and there are academics who like to be down and dirty in the swamp. Peter Cullen... liked to be down and dirty in the swamp.... When he retired from his academic post, it appeared to me that there was ... no change in his work regime and he appeared to be busier than ever."
On the anniversary of Peter Cullen's death, Senator Penny Wong
Penny Wong
Penelope "Penny" Ying-yen Wong , is an Australian Labor Party senator for South Australia and the Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation. Wong was the first Australian Minister for Climate Change and Water. Her appointment was amended on 26 February 2010, by the Prime Minister, to the...
(as Minister for Climate Change and Water) announced $1 million to establish a Peter Cullen Water and Environment Trust, stating
"The creation of a perpetual legacy in name of Peter Cullen is a fitting tribute to this great Australian on the anniversary of his death a year ago today .. Professor Cullen made an enormous contribution to the management of natural resources in Australia, most of all around rivers and freshwater ecology .. As a founding National Water Commissioner, a leading member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, and in his many other roles, Professor Cullen was an inspiring and influential leader in the important debate about water in this country"
Family
Cullen lived with his wife, Rev. Vicky Cullen, at their home at GunningGunning, New South Wales
Gunning is a town on the Old Hume Highway, between Goulburn and Yass in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, about 260 km south-west of Sydney and 75 km north of the national capital, Canberra. On Census night 2006, Gunning had a population of 487 people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, near Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
, where Vicky was the Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
. Cullen was active in the Anglican Church of Australia
Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
, notably the Cursillo
Cursillo
Cursillos in Christianity is a ministry of the Roman Catholic Church...
movement. He had two daughters, Michelle and Belinda.
Cullen collapsed at his home on 11 March and, after a time at Goulburn
Goulburn, New South Wales
Goulburn is a provincial city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Goulburn Mulwaree Council Local Government Area. It is located south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway and above sea-level. On Census night 2006, Goulburn had a population of 20,127 people...
hospital, was admitted to Canberra Hospital
Canberra Hospital
The Canberra Hospital is a public hospital located in Garran, Canberra. It is a tertiary level centre with 500 beds and caters to a population of about 520,000...
where he died on 14 March 2008.