The Australian Government's Innovation Report

• As part of the joint Careers in Science initiative run by
ANSTO, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organisation (CSIRO), AIMS, the Defence
Science and Technology Organisation, and the NSW
Government Office of Science and Medical Research,
lesson plans for high school science teachers and careers
advisers were developed and made available on the
Careers in Science website at: www.careersinscience.gov.
au/resources_lesson.html.
ANSTO’s Ross Miller and Greg Whitbourn show OPAL to visitors
from the National Science Council of Taiwan who are funding one
of the new neutron scattering instruments, Sika.
• ANSTO’s quarterly science magazine Velocity: science in
motion featured stories on the work of scientists and
science agencies across Australia. It was awarded the
Public Relations Institute of Australia’s Gold Award for
Marketing Communication in September 2005.
More information about ANSTO and its programmes
and activities can be found at: www.ansto.gov.au
Commander David Bachi from the Australian Federal Police, Dr Ian
Smith, Executive Director of ANSTO, and The Hon. Danna Vale MP
at the opening of ANSTO’s new main entrance and reception facility.
Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre
The Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre (BMRC) lies
within the Research Division of the Bureau of Meteorology,
Australia’s national meteorological service. It aims to fulfil the
bureau’s statutory responsibility to advance meteorological
science with a focus on the Southern Hemisphere and the
Australian region and enhance the bureau’s operations and
services through the development of advanced systems and
techniques. BMRC also promotes the application of meteoro
logical science for the general good of the Australian
community.
These objectives are met through the sub-programmes of
weather, climate, ocean and hydrology research, implemented
via six thematic research groups:
• Model development – research into atmospheric
modelling to support weather and climate research and
operations.
The new OPAL reactor at ANSTO is housed in a striking building
with the distinctive ‘chip basket’ top.
• Data assimilation – research on advanced data
assimilation systems to support model prediction and
validation in research and operations.
• Climate dynamics – the use of climate models to
improve understanding of climate predictability,
variability and change, and to improve the performance
of climate models.
• Weather forecasting – improving the understanding of
mesoscale processes and developing systems to enhance
weather forecasting services.
• Climate forecasting – improving the understanding of
Australian climate, including the effects of climate
change, and developing systems to predict climate.
Historic moment: the first fuel rod is loaded into OPAL.
Photo credits: ANSTO
30 Backing Australia’s Ability
• Ocean and marine forecasting – improving the understanding
of the variability of the oceans and marine
environment of the Australian region, and developing
systems for monitoring and predicting ocean
variability.