She may be qualified in agricultural science, with publications in water quality and aquatic ecology, but Dr Kath Bowmer is probably best known for her independent stance on water sharing and river management through her role as chair of the Murrumbidgee River Management Committee.

Dr Bowmer has been appointed the new Professor of Water Policy at Charles Sturt University (CSU) as part of the University’s focus on research excellence in land and water management in the Murray Darling Basin. CSIRO Land and Water and CSU will jointly fund the new position from January 2004 in a move that will also mark a much closer working relationship between the two research organisations.

Based in Wagga Wagga, Dr Bowmer is currently Business Director in CSIRO Land and Water and is responsible for 150 research staff in five Research Directorates and Units – across Australia. 

The appointment of Dr Bowmer as Professor of Water Policy is a welcome return to CSU as she was the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of the Wagga Wagga Campus for five years until January 2001.

Dr Bowmer has an impressive background in consulting for government agencies, industry and universities. She is currently reviewing the science underpinning catchment management for the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council and is managing editor of a prestigious book on Water Innovation. 

Awarded the Pol Eureka Award for Environmental Science in 1995, Dr Bowmer has served twice on the Prime Minister’s Science Engineering and Innovation Council. In an article on environmental heroes, science commentator Robyn Williams profiled ‘the planet’s 15 best friends and fiercest advocates’ listing Dr Bowmer for her work on blue-green algae. 

Dr Bowmer is also a member of the Boards of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Sustainable Rice Production, CRC for Freshwater Ecology, Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre and National Rivers Consortium of Land and Water Australia. 

Dr Bowmer‘s appointment is one of a trio of leading scientists at the University. A second chair, also part funded by CSIRO, a Professor of Environmental Science based in Wagga Wagga will focus on aquatic ecology. A third professorship in Environmental Management will examine the integration of environmental and socio-economic agendas in the Murray-Darling Basin. The position will be based at the University’s Albury-Wodonga Campus.