Dr Peter Hairsine: Deputy Chief, Science Development

Dr Peter Hairsine’s research areas include sediment transport in agricultural and forested landscapes and mitigation strategies for improving water quality.

• 21 April 2010 | Updated 14 October 2011

• Current activities
• Background
• Academic qualifications
• Achievements

Current activities

Dr Peter Hairsine is one of three deputy chiefs of CSIRO Land and Water.

His focus is on science development including the quality of research and the career development of early and mid career researchers. 

Dr Hairsine also leads a series of research skills workshops for CSIRO including the journal paper writing workshops.

Dr Hairsine continues to have a small involvement in research projects and regularly reviews papers for CSIRO and for a range of specialty journals.

Background

Dr Hairsine studied agricultural engineering and worked on a wide range of farms on the Darling Downs to support his studies. His commitment to agricultural sustainability formed in this time.

His introduction to research was though measuring stream flows and calibrating runoff models with geomorphologist Mr Cyril Ciesiolka. 

That was followed with five years of experiments and soil erosion model building at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia, with Professor Calvin Rose.

He also had short stays at Massey University and the National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory in the USA, where he was influenced by Dr Mark Nearing.

During 20 years with CSIRO, Dr Hairsine has measured and modelled sediment, nutrient and runoff from plot to catchment scales. He has tried to balance lines of evidence and struggled with the complexity of models.

In recent years he has added a focus of passing on research. Dr Hairsine has also developed a role in research management through the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Catchment Hydrology and CSIRO.

Academic qualifications

Dr Hairsine has been awarded a:

• Bachelor of Engineering (Distinction) Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education (now the University of Southern Queensland), Australia, in 1983
• Doctor of Philosophy from the Griffith University, Queensland, Australia, in 1988.

Achievements

Dr Hairsine is the author of:

• 60 journal articles
• 43 reports
• 9 book chapters
• 75 conference papers.

Find out more about CSIRO Land and Water.