<div>Dr Francois Chamalaun passed away in Adelaide, Australia, in April 2024. Francois was a Senior Lecturer in Geophysics at Flinders University in South Australia and foundation Chairman of its School of Earth Sciences. He was an internationally respected scientist, enthusiastic teacher, and valued mentor. His 40-year research career led to new insights into the electrical structure of the Earth and its atmosphere, particularly in Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, India, and New Zealand.</div><div><br></div><div>Much of this research was made possible through the development by Francois and Flinders University technical officer Bob Walker of a portable self-contained microprocessor-based three-component magnetometer. This is a short reflection on the use of this innovative instrument in the first-of-its-kind Australia-Wide Array of Geomagnetic Stations (AWAGS). <b>Citation:</b> Wang, L., Greenhalgh, S., Barton, C., Heinson, G., & Hitchman, A. (2024). Vale: Francois Chamalaun (1937 – 2024). <i>Preview</i>, 2024(232), 15–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/14432471.2024.2412324

A geomagnetic storm, also known as a geomagnetic disturbance (GMD), is a major disturbance of the Earth’s magnetic field caused by solar activity. A geomagnetic storm induces electric currents in the Earth that feed into power lines through substation neutral earthing, causing instabilities and even blackouts in electricity transmission systems. The intensity of geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) is closely associated with the electrical conductivity of the surrounding geology. In this paper, we analyse one of the most well-known geomagnetic storms, the 1989 “Québec storm” and 688 magnetotelluric (MT) survey sites from the Australian Lithospheric Architecture Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP) to gain insight into the space weather hazard posed for Australia's modern-day power grids. Transmission lines may exhibit local maxima at differing times depending on their spatial orientation and length with respect to the time-varying magnetic field. Localised peak voltages over 100 V can be observed on some individual lines. This assessment identifies the distribution of GICs in south-eastern Australia for the 1989 Québec storm and transmission lines that are more vulnerable to GICs. It is relevant to national strategies and risk assessment procedures to mitigate space weather hazards in the Australian high-voltage power grid and the design of a more resilient power transmission system. We also analyse the 2015 “St Patrick’s Day storm” to study under-estimation of the space weather hazard associated with the band-limited geomagnetic data and MT data sets. <b>Citation:</B> Liejun Wang, Jingming Duan, Adrian P. Hitchman, Matthew G. Gard, Richard A. Marshall, Andrew M. Lewis & William V. Jones (2023) AusLAMP shines a light on space weather hazards in the Australian high-voltage power grid, <i>Exploration Geophysics</i>, DOI: 10.1080/08123985.2023.2281617