Executive Dean among Nobel Prize scientists

Achievement

The University of Adelaide's Professor Nick Harvey is one of the global team of scientists recognised in the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

This year's Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and former US Vice-President, climate change campaigner Al Gore for "their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change".

Professor Harvey is one of the lead authors on this year's IPCC Working Group II report.

At the University of Adelaide, he is Professor in Geography and Environmental Studies and in July this year became Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

In the IPCC Working Group II report Impacts, Adapations and Vulnerability, Professor Harvey warned that more cyclones, rising sea levels and increased flooding would be the pattern for Australia's coastal communities by 2050.

"It is good to see recognition of the important work done by the IPCC and an honour to be involved in a project of this stature," Professor Harvey said.

He was contacted on announcement day by both IPCC Chairman Dr Rajendra Pauchuri and the Chair of Working Group II, Dr Martin Parry, who had sent congratulations to all contributing authors. They stressed that the scientific authors should take a large measure of the credit for the award and were all recipients of the prize.

The IPCC has involved thousands of leading scientists and officials from more than 100 countries collaborating to assess the scientific evidence for global warming.

Professor Harvey is on a number of international scientific committees dealing with global change. He is currently Chair of the international START-Oceania committee, based in Fiji, dealing with global change research and training.

He has written more than 100 publications, including books, book chapters and scientific papers, on coastal management and environmental impact assessment.

Professor Harvey is a member of the Australian Government Advisory Group on Coastal Vulnerability Assessment and a member of the Executive Steering Committee for South Australia's State of the Environment Report.

Story by Robyn Mills