In 1949 he joined the first group of postwar cadet meteorologists, graduating BSc, in 1953 and passing his Met course in 1954. During this time he dropped his rugby—"to give study a fair go".

More importantly, he married Barbara, the boss's stenographer.

Kev went to Adelaide in 1956 as a duty forecaster, lectured at the Training School in Melbourne from 1959, and joined Research and Development Division in 1963. There, his major work has been in the field of clear air turbulence. His PhD thesis on "The Meteorology of Clear Air Turbulence in Australia" was largely drawn from two years spent at the University of Melbourne as senior research fellow in aeronautical turbulence.

His work revealed for the first time evidence of a previously unsuspected peak in clear air turbulence activity in the stratosphere. While not of high intensity, this turbulence frequency will concert operators of supersonic transports like the Concorde.

Dr. Spillane believes the environment of the Bureau encourages meteorologists to higher levels of study. "There are many people to contribute to your projects," he says. "Given such stimulation and support, any meteorologist can consider further postgraduate studies."

Meteorology is never far from his mind: "At home, I suppose I read too much, keeping up with things. It's a bit hard on the kids sometimes . . ."

Bureau of Meteorology