Monica Viviene Oliphant (; born 4 August 1940 in Ilford) is a British–Australian research scientist, specialising in solar energy.

Career

Oliphant began her scientific career with a master's degree in physics from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

and worked for almost 20 years as an energy research scientist for the Electricity Trust of South Australia, but since 2000 has been an independent consultant specialising in residential energy efficiency and

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

. Oliphant attributes her interest in solar energy from hearing

Sir Macfarlane Burnet Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, (3 September 1899 – 31 August 1985), usually known as Macfarlane or Mac Burnet, was an Australian virologist known for his contributions to immunology. He won a Nobel Prize in 1960 for predicting acquired immune ...

in the 1970s claiming that "if we used solar energy we would not need to fight over oil" – this sparked a career of over 40 years in the renewable energy industry. Key to her work was the belief that sustainable energy should be available to everyone and she claimed to be most proud of her work monitoring the effect of energy efficient devices on low income households in Australia, as well as being part of the Australian Federal Government’s first Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) which enabled Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), helping make small scale renewable energy more affordable. Oliphant was President of the

International Solar Energy Society ' The International Solar Energy Society (ISES) is a global organization for promoting the development and utilisation of renewable energy. ISES is a UN-accredited NGO headquartered in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Dr David S. Renné is the cu ...

from 2008 to 2009 and is an adjunct associate professor at the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

Honors and awards

2002 – South Australia Great Environmental Award
2012 – World Renewable Energy Network Pioneer Award
2011 – Most Outstanding Contribution to the Clean Energy Industry, Ecogen
2015 – Officer of the Order of Australia – presented for services to the renewable energy research in solar photovoltaics.
2016 – Senior South Australian of the Year

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliphant, Monica 1940 births Living people Australian physicists People associated with solar power Alumni of the University of London University of Adelaide alumni University of South Australia faculty Officers of the Order of Australia People from Ilford