Dr Peter Laut
Inducted 2023
Peter Laut was born in Kitchener in February 1931. His parents moved to Cessnock where Peter attended primary and secondary school. He won a teachers college scholarship and attended Armidale Teachers College. After graduation he taught in small schools around NSW.
When Peter moved to Armidale in 1959, he undertook a Bachelor of Arts at the University of New England in geography and economics and graduated with honours.
In 1964 he moved to Canberra, ACT and commenced work at the Australian National University as a Reader (Senior Lecturer) and undertook his PhD in Agricultural Geography. His research was based on the Macleay Valley. He graduated in 1969 and his PhD was published and became a standard text book for high school geography in NSW.
In 1969 Dr Laut was headhunted by the University of Manitoba, Canada as an Associate Professor. He worked in ecological and agricultural research in Canada with his major piece of research being in the early use of satellite imagery. In particular, he used it to predict snow melt allowing a reduced risk of planting two crops each summer allowing many farmers to move from subsistence level agriculture to modern production.
Peter returned to Australia in 1973 to continue his research work and be closer to his parents who continued to live in Cessnock.
He was headhunted by CSIRO and he worked there as a Research Scientist. He was the first social scientist to work for CSIRO.
His research work took him all over the world where he represented Australia in his field. Peter taught scientists of other nations how to interpret LandSat imagery for geographical and agricultural research.
In acknowledgement of his work on the first ecological study of Australia, he was awarded the prestigious title of Senior Principal Research Scientist. Two other significant pieces of work he undertook were:
- Using geographical information to reduce the costs of delivering brucellosis inoculations across northern Australia, and
- Developing an expert system that allowed Defence to estimate travel capability of different vehicles and rate of movement across northern Australia thus reducing the frequency and areas Defence had to monitor.
During his career Peter published extensively nationally and internationally.
He retired in 1996 after a busy and fruitful career and died in May 2019.
Plaque location
Garden adjacent to 50-56 Vincent Street, Cessnock