Professor Michael Raupach was a world-renowned atmospheric scientist whose visionary leadership profoundly shaped climate research both in Australia and internationally. Born on October 30, 1950, he graduated with First Class Honours in Science from the University of Adelaide in 1971 before completing his PhD at Flinders University in 1976 with a thesis on atmospheric flux measurements by eddy correlation. He developed his distinguished career at CSIRO where he became the highest-ranking research scientist, achieving the organization's most prestigious scientific position by 2010. His exceptional expertise in biogeochemical cycles led to his appointment as leader of the Continental Biogeochemical Cycles Team in 2005 and subsequently as Director of the Australian National University Climate Change Institute in early 2014, a position he held until his untimely passing.
Raupach is internationally credited with developing the foundational concept of a carbon budget, which revolutionized scientific understanding of global carbon emissions and absorption dynamics. As inaugural co-chair of the Global Carbon Project from 2000 to 2008, he spearheaded international efforts to integrate human and natural influences on the global carbon cycle, establishing critical frameworks for climate policy. His transformative research, comprising over 150 scientific papers and 50 reports, fundamentally advanced modern micrometeorology through his pioneering work on plant-atmosphere interactions and energy exchanges across multiple scales. His significant contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report provided essential scientific underpinnings for global climate policy development and international negotiations.
His intellectual leadership extended through his service as chair of the steering committee for the Australian Academy of Science's 'Australia 2050' project and as chair of the Expert Working Group on Challenges at the Intersection of Carbon, Energy and Water. Just before his death, he co-chaired the working group that drafted the influential AAS booklet 'The Science of Climate Change: Questions and Answers,' demonstrating his unwavering commitment to science communication and public understanding. As a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and the American Geophysical Union, his scholarly impact was widely recognized, culminating in his appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia in January 2015. Professor Raupach's conceptual frameworks and scientific rigor continue to shape climate research and policy worldwide, cementing his legacy as one of Australia's most influential climate scientists whose work remains critically relevant in addressing contemporary environmental challenges.
