Eighty-four year old weatherman gets PhD
France Lajoie, of Bundoora Victoria is an 84-year-old meteorologist who has had a lifelong mission to improve the forecasting of tropical cyclones.
He has just received a PhD in Earth Sciences from the University of Melbourne.
Dr Lajoie was first employed as a meteorological observer by the Royal Air Force in his home country of Mauritius during World War II.
After rising to Acting Assistant Director in Meteorology in Mauritius, he moved to Australia in 1969 ,was a part- time lecturer at the University of Melbourne and later a researcher at the Bureau of Meteorology.
Dr Lajoie officially retired from the Bureau in 1988 but for many years kept thinking back to unfinished research he had been carrying out, and embarked on a PhD to test his theory.
His research has made an important contribution to the field of tropical cyclone research. It enables the estimation of the radius of maximum wind of a cyclone by using satellite pictures and to predict the radial profile of the surface winds around the cyclone as well as its central surface pressure.
This will be a useful aid in predicting wave heights and coastal storm surges, which are the most damaging aspect of tropical cyclones in coastal regions.
