Post-doc for QMS – Clothilde explains why she likes working and teaching in Hobart Clothilde Langlais is a smiling, feminine, sporty, French physical modeller employed at the national research agency CSIRO in Hobart for the Quantiative Marine Science program. Clothilde accepted a post-doctoral research offer and arrived from France two years ago to work for the ocean forecasting BlueLINK project. This initiative centres on ocean prediction and analysis, and forecasting of day-to-day variations in ocean currents, ocean eddies and temperatures in Australia There are two objectives to her work: • First, she tries to validate the outputs given by the Ocean General Circulation Models (OGCM) using available ocean observations and the physical knowledge of ocean dynamics. This work aims to improve the model itself. • Secondly, she uses the ocean simulation outputs as a new observational dataset (that doesn’t contain any gaps in time and in space) in order to help understand of the ocean dynamics. “I think it is really important to work in such an important project as BlueLINK. Operational oceanography is a young science (few decades), which is developed within an international framework.“ It provides ocean forecasts for coastal and marine industries, and could generate a long-term ocean-based climate monitoring system. Clothilde explained that she wanted to work in an English-speaking country, and in an internationally recognized laboratory. She chose to work at CSIRO in Hobart, the largest laboratory for physical oceanography in Australia and where there is a big marine and Antarctic research and education community. “It was not always easy when I arrived to adapt to a new culture and to work in English, but Hobart is a very nice place to live and I have forgotten all the difficulties.” “I like the freedom that offers my job!” Clothilde is very enthusiastic when discussing her job. “I had the idea of becoming an oceanographer at the age of 18. I have put all my energy in reaching this objective, and it worked!” She enjoys being able to choose her topics and research in the directions she wishes. “I think that being a scientist and doing research doesn’t mean anything without transmitting it. There are two ways to communicate our skills and knowledge: by informing the decision-makers and to teach. I prefer the second part. Teaching has more of a long-term impact; students and children are the next generation of scientists. They need to be aware of what is happening on the earth in terms of environment and global warming. “As part of QMS I teach in a Physical Oceanography unit. It provides a review of what is done in the field of physical oceanography: modelling, observations, etc. It is really good for the student to get such an overview of the subject before being very specialised in a research project. It is also a good way to meet the other PhD students and share your experiences.” Her advice “My advice to a PhD student would be to be confident with your supervisor who will have the time to advise you all the time. At high school, students should try to do as much traineeships as he or she can and try different fields to be sure that their expectations match with the reality of the job.” Anaïs van Ditzhuyzen
Dr. Clothilde Langlais sitting in the entry of CSIRO, Hobart
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Dr. Clothilde Langlais
 
Position:
Physical oceanographer, CSIRO, Hobart
 
Background:
- Engineer diploma (and Master) in physical oceanography and marine environment sciences, Toulon, France
- PhD at LSEET, Toulon, France and LEGI, Grenoble, France
- Professor assistant, Toulon, France
 
Particularities:
Works for the BlueLINK project, teaches for QMS, Comes from France