Dale has a Bachelor of Science with a Physics major from Wollongong University and an Electronics Engineering Certificate from NSW TAFE. Dale started work in atmospheric science as a member of the 1994 Australian Antarctic Expedition to Davis station where he worked with various optical and radar instruments to measure aspects of the upper atmosphere. Following his return to Australia he started work with CSIRO as an experimental scientist working in the Land-Air Interaction research group and this work covered experiments in the CSIRO boundary layer wind tunnel and various CSIRO field sites, most notably the Tumbarumba field site in southern New South Wales. Since 2016 Dale has worked with the ANU Fenner School Water and Landscape Dynamics group developing specialised optical and thermal remote sensing equipment for studying forest eco-dynamics.

Main Research Interests
• Development of research instrumentation for optical and thermal remote sensing systems.
• Creation of software for instrument control and data analysis.