Sue Barrell

Sue Barrell AO FTSE was Chief Scientist at the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM). In 2013 she was awarded a Fellow of the Academy of Technology and Engineering (FTSE). In 2018, Barrell was elected Vice President of Science and Technology Australia. Amongst other topics, she has worked on international science policy climate monitoring, research and policy, and ocean–earth observations.

Quotes

• “As we have expanded the Earth systems concept and embraced the digital era, data-related issues have escalated in importance,”
• "“We often talk of data as being the lifeblood of WMO. However, we sometimes forget that the beating heart of WMO is its people and that without them, there would be no data, never mind systems, sharing, collaboration, services, research nor innovation,”
• “As a global WMO community, trusted to monitor, research, understand and predict the state of the Earth system and deliver much needed data, information and services, we know that people are impacted in many ways by weather, water and climate events. We know that the extent of the impact varies depending on many factors, especially their location and their circumstances, and that the people who suffer the worst impacts are, as a rule, the most vulnerable and exposed,”
  • Top WMO prize winner Sue Barrell says put people at the center. 31 May 2023, World Meteorological Association (WMO), Retrieved: 15 November, 2023
• “Connecting the dots, across the global programs, to a national level and down to the people that need to be informed, alerted, warned, mobilized and kept safe, is an exceedingly important task, and the UN Secretary General’s challenge to WMO reinforces the need to put people not at the end of the line, but at the center,”
• “We need to better appreciate the role of people within our integrated Earth system. If we do it right, not only can we build better bridges across and between the full suite of communities and peoples, but we will be better informed, smarter, more inclusive and productive and deliver better and more effective outcomes all around,”
• “The challenge starts at home, and it’s especially timely for Members to accelerate efforts to create the diverse and inclusive workforce needed now and into the future to better serve our shared mission, and to ensure that the information shared with users genuinely reflects their needs. It’s not just about being fair and equitable to everyone; it’s about making the best use of the resources and capability we share to deliver the best outcomes for all,”
• “It’s about making sure we are indeed holding up the whole sky,”
  • Top WMO prize winner Sue Barrell says put people at the center. 31 May 2023, World Meteorological Association (WMO), Retrieved: 15 November, 2023