May 4, 2026
Spend five minutes talking with James Cook University’s wind engineer Dr Geoff Boughton and you quickly realise two things. First, he knows wind; how it moves, how it damages buildings, and how we can design better for it. Second, he genuinely believes that climate research should change how decisions are made in the real world.
Geoff works with JCU’s Cyclone Testing Station, based in Townsville, though he lives and works in Perth. “It’s a big commute,” he laughs, “but bad weather happens everywhere.” Wind risk, Geoff reminds us, is a national issue.
That practical mindset is exactly why Geoff’s engagement with the NESP Climate Systems Hub has been so powerful.
Geoff first connected with the Hub through one of its climate change workshops, where researchers and decision-makers came together to explore how new science could be applied to building codes and standards. For Geoff, the standout was a presentation by CSIRO climate scientist Dr Hamish Ramsay, whose recent research focuses on whether tropical cyclones may shift further south as the climate warms.
“For us, that work is critical,” Geoff explains. Buildings are designed to last 50 years or more, so building design needs to account for the climate of the future. Even a small southward shift in cyclone behaviour could expose far more buildings (and people) to damaging winds.
Geoff recalls what made the workshop exceptional, though, was not just the science. It was the conversation. At the table were people directly involved in codes and standards committees, those responsible for translating evidence into the rules that shape Australia’s built environment. Thanks to the Hub’s knowledge brokers, those discussions happened early, while the science was still evolving.
“That’s the dream,” Geoff says. “We could say: this is fascinating, but what we actually need is the data framed this way.” And Hamish could respond: “Yes, we can do that.”
This is the quiet power of knowledge brokering. By working in the space between researchers and decision-makers, the Hub ensured the science was fit-for-purpose. Hamish’s co-designed research is expressed in a language that decision-makers can act on and is currently going through peer review with an academic journal to ensure it is scientifically robust.
“Peer review is gold for us,” Geoff explains. “It gives the work credibility when we put it on the table at the standards meeting and say: this is what climate science is telling us.”
That translation challenge is no small thing. Engineers don’t design for averages, they design for extremes. Understanding not just how the mean climate is shifting, but how rare, high-impact wind events may change, is essential for resilient design. It’s also notoriously difficult to extract this type of information from general purpose climate reports. The Hub helped bridge that gap.
Since that first workshop, Geoff’s relationship with the Hub has grown. Whether it’s encouraging Geoff to develop a conference paper on Tropical Cyclone Alfred, connecting him with peers across disciplines, or everyone contributing to future research questions, like what climate change means for extreme thunderstorm winds affecting 95% of Australia’s population, the Hub has become a trusted partner.
Geoff is clear that the Hub’s knowledge brokers played a central role in bringing researchers and decision‑makers together.
His story is a reminder that research doesn’t make an impact by sitting on a shelf. It makes a difference when the right people are in the room, early enough, asking the right questions. And when science and decision-making meet, Australia is better prepared, one standard, one building, and one conversation at a time.
To register for our upcoming Tropical Cyclone webinar on 20 May 2026 > COMING SOON!
