Contact details:
ALEXANDRIA NSW 1435 AUSTRALIA
Biography
I have been a researcher at CSIRO for more than 15 years, investigating scenarios of population growth, resource use, material and energy flows, and environmental impacts from the regional to the international scale. My research on sustainable consumption and production takes a multi-disciplinary, integrative approach that intersects with analysis at the city level: urban metabolism, urban resilience, industrial ecology, climate adaptation, low-carbon cities, and assessing urban strategy. Most recently, I co-authored the UN International Resource Panel's report on The Weight of Cities: Resource Requirements of Future Urbanization. I have also taken a lead role in the Cities and Infrastructure work of the Australian National Outlook (ANO) series of projects: the 2015 version was published in Nature (November 5th 2015), featuring on the front cover and the 2019 version was launched last year in partnership with National Australia Bank. Other work on climate impacts and adaptation was cited in the Human Settlements, and Australasian chapters of the IPCC 5th Assessment, I was a contributing author to the Urban Chapter of the Global Energy Assessment and in other projects I have advised to the United Nations Environment Program on resource efficiency in the Asia-Pacific region. Earlier research with the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales, focused on applied physics, and led to highly cited international journal articles on magnetics and biophysics. I have broad academic and research experience that I like to think brings some creative thinking on open ended problems of sustainability and economic development.
Other Interests
Systems dynamics of the physical capital stocks and material and energy flows across international, regional and urban economies.
Integrating forecasts, government policy and material and energy flow analysis in long-term scenarios for sustainability assessment
Applying complex systems science and industrial ecology concepts in health care and urban systems.
Professional Areas
- Honorary Associate Professor at Australian National University's Fenner School of Environment and Society (since 2013).
- Member of the International Society for Industrial Ecology (since 2005)
- Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (since 2016)
- Secretary on the Board of Directors for the International Society for Industrial Ecology
- Co-founder and Member of Steering Committee of the Industrial Ecology Virtual Laboratory (since 2011).
Fields of Research
Current Roles
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Leader and Senior Research Scientist
Sustainable Consumption and Production Team -
Leader of Cities and Infrastructure
Australian National Outlook Project -
Secretary on the Board of Directors
International Society for Industrial Ecology -
Honorary Associate Professor at the Fenner School, Australian National University
Supervision of students, guest lectures, collaboration on urban research
Academic Qualifications
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1995
BSc Medical Physics
UNSW -
2002
PhD Applied Physics
UNSW
Achievements and Awards
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2016-
Impact from Science Medal
CSIRO -
2019-
Collaboration Medal
CSIRO