Carpark Convo with Prof. Rob Brander

Professor Rob Brander, aka ‘Dr Rip’, is a coastal scientist, beach safety researcher and science communicator in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at UNSW. Originally from the cold climes of Canada, he has studied beaches for over 35 years. It was the cold Canadian water temperatures that convinced him to move to Australia in 1993 and do his PhD on rip currents at the University of Sydney. Since then, he has published over 100 book chapters and scientific articles on related topics, and he’s a member of the International Drowning Researchers Alliance and has contributed. Today, Dr Rob leads the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group where he began his popular community beach safety education program ‘The Science of the Surf’ in 2001 and gained the nickname ‘Dr Rip’ for his habit of releasing harmless purple dye into rip currents to educate people about this important hazard. He is a past recipient of an Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Australian Science Research and enjoys bodysurfing very much. He is also a Life Member of the Tamarama Surf Life Saving Club and was appointed in January 2023 as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his service towards beach safety education and research. We hope you enjoy this Carpark Convo with Dr Rip! Science of the Surf profile: www.scienceofthesurf.com/about UNSW profile: www.research.unsw.edu.au/people/professor-robert-brander Twitter / X: @Dr_Rip_SOS Carpark Convos is proudly sponsored by the legends at ECOlectrical. Residential/Commercial Solar & Electrical services that deliver the most powerful return on investment only by in-house staff, along with genuine, long-term aftercare service. Mention Surfers for Climate and they'll throw in your first year's inspection and clean for FREE! Learn more on their website: www.ecolectrical.com.au