Wayne Hocking

Position

Emeritus Professor, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario.

Office

Room 301 Physics and Astronomy Building

Department of Physics

University of Western Ontario

London, Ontario N6A 3K7

Canada

==================

Biography

Emeritus Professor Hocking is an atmospheric physicist with over 200 publications, and more than 300 conference presentations. His research work concentrates on atmospheric and space studies, with particular focus on radar studies of these regions.  Specific areas of research include radar scattering theory, turbulence measurement and theory, wind & wave motions using wind-profiler radar, meteorology, ozone transport, meteor physics, radar-tracking of aircraft and ships, and tornado studies. As leader of the Atmospheric Dynamics group in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy from 1992 to 2023, he has also consulted for and worked with NOAA, NASA, The US Airforce, and The Canadian Dept of Defence. He won the Pawsey medal in Australia, won the Canadian Association of Physics award for Industrial Excellence in 2011, and has an asteroid named after him for his work in meteor physics.  He was responsible for development of many specialized instruments, including development of the SKiYMET all-sky meteor radar.  Appointment as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada was conferred in 2014.

In regard to teaching, he has taught over 40 separate courses (many multiple times), in the areas of Meteorology,  Environment Physics, Fluid flow, Radar theory, Electromagnetism, Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics, Thermodynamics,  Optics,  Statistics, Plasma Physics, Fourier theory and higher-level data analysis, Medical Physics, Laboratory Physics, Engineering Physics, and Special & General Relativity, among others. He has also taught at several international schools, and was lead author on a book titled " Atmospheric Radar:  Application and Science of MST Radars in the Earth's Mesosphere, Stratosphere, Troposphere, and weakly ionized regions" published by Cambridge University Press.

He has been on many international committees and has contributed to organization of  multiple conferences, including the MST (Mesosphere-Stratoshere-Troposphere) series of workshops which have been held every 2 years since the 1980's. For the period 2006 to 2010 he was chair of the International Steering Committee for this series of workshops.

Emeritus Professor Hocking retired on January 1, 2023, but remains active in research. In particular he is working on development of new radar designs with his wife in their joint company Mardoc inc. New designs include advanced multi-static meteor radars, aircraft- and ship-tracking radars, and improved wind-profiler designs.