His academic background is at the interface between meteorology, mathematics and physics, and he obtained a PhD in Earth Science (Meteorology) at University of Melbourne. His thesis examined the atmospheric circulation that controls the records of past climate in Antarctic ice cores, which became an influential basis for interpreting isotope records in terms of meteorological controls rather than treating them only as a simpler singular proxy for past climate Subsequently his research as Postdoc at CalTech explored linkages between stratospheric ozone and the polar vortex, and the links between snow cover and vegetation.