Dr Himali Ratnayake

I wear two hats as a researcher - an ecophysiologist and ecological modeller. In my current role I use my skills and expertise to provide pragmatic digital solutions to solve 'real world' issues faced by different stakeholders in AgTech. I also believe science communication is critical for the advancement of science and value every opportunity I get to communicate my work.

My background is in Zoology and for my PhD I looked at how extreme heatwaves affect Australian flying-foxes, specifically looking into their physiology, behaviour and morphology. I created a Flying-fox Heat Stress Forecaster tool, which gives insights of flying-fox colonies that may be affected by a heatwave using forecast air temperature data provided by the Bureau of Meteorology. I also co-created a biophysical mechanistic model in R (NicheMapR) for flying foxes to understand and predict how they get heat stressed under different environmental conditions.

I joined CSIRO under the "Impossible Without You" campaign (as a part of the 'Trusted Agrifood Exports Mission') as a CERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow and I plan to make the impossible possible. :) Currently, I lead the development of a ‘Biosecurity Risk Calculator’, which will provide data-driven analytics to calculate and update insect pest infestation risk in fresh produce consignments as they pass along the supply chain.

You can read more about the work I do (and the rest of the team) here: https://research.csiro.au/prs/team/