People

Our people

Our researchers are examining the use of adaptation pathways, a new conceptual and analytical framework for enabling adaptation planning and decision making. This approach identifies adaptation challenges, and examines the differing adaptation outcomes based on what interventions are applied and when. Understanding the types of decisions that need to be made, the lifetimes and flexibility of these decisions, and the need to address near-term issues while strategically creating options for the future is at the heart of this approach.  Please feel free to contact us.

Tim Capon is an Experimental and Institutional Economist. Tim’s research draws on economic theories of decision-making under risk and uncertainty to understand the factors that shape decisions and market outcomes.   Learn more about Tim.

 

 

Mike Dunlop is an integration scientist with CSIRO Land and Water in Canberra, Australia. His research is on climate adaptation. Mike’s research has a particular focus on understanding the implications of climate change for biodiversity conservation and helping natural resource managers and policymakers make planning decisions that effectively incorporate consideration of future climate change.  Learn more about Mike.

 

Russell Gorddard is an agricultural and natural resource economist by training with research interests in sustainability, adaptation to global change and the relationship between knowledge, values and rules in framing the decision context for adaptation planning and action. Russell has a strong research interest in emerging systems of transactions and exchange in social-economic systems and their implications for adaptation to change. Learn more about Russell.

 

 

Nicky Grigg brings experience in mathematical modelling and analysis of social-ecological systems to a diverse range of projects concerned with global change and social-ecological systems. Learn more about Nicky.

 

 

Alistair Hobday is marine scientist with a background in Biological Oceanography. Much of his current research focuses on investigating the impacts of climate change on marine biodiversity and fishery resources, and developing, prioritising and testing adaptation options to underpin sustainable use and conservation into the future.   Learn more about Alistair.

 

Yiheyis Maru is is a senior systems scientist undertaking systems and modelling research to understand chronic indigenous development challenges and new vulnerabilities in remote and regional Australia so as to inform pathways adaptation for sustainable livelihood improvement. Learn more about Yiheyis.

 

 

Seona Meharg is an interdisciplinary integration scientist specialising in how individuals and organisations learn and change. Her research focuses on enabling informed decision-making in complex domains such as climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and health. She investigates how individuals and organisations learn and adapt, enabling them to take ownership of knowledge, tools, and processes for more informed decisions. Her efforts include developing capacity-building activities and products to equip individuals, groups and communities to adapt to climate change impacts. Learn more about Seona.

 

 

Minh Nguyen is a Senior Research Scientist of the CSIRO. His expertise is on climate adaptation and sustainability design and management of engineering infrastructure systems. Recently Minh has been focusing on building pathways to impacts for scientific research outputs. Minh is currently leading projects on natural disaster risk management and climate adaptation, in particular on adaptation to extreme events in the Lancang-Mekong Basin region.  Learn more about Minh.

 

 

Mark Stafford Smith coordinates climate adaptation research in CSIRO.  Mark has an interest in interdisciplinary research on many aspects of adapting to climate change and regularly engages on national and international policy issues. Learn more about Mark.

 

 

 

Russ Wise a sustainability economist passionate about working with people to help understand the challenges caused by rapid technological and environmental change and economic development.  Learn more about Russ.

 

 

Our people: CSIRO alumni

Nick Abel is an interdisciplinary scientist who uses participative research and resilience thinking while working with stakeholders and policy makers on the governance and management of natural resources. Nick’s recent work is on adaptive pathways and transformation for social-ecological systems impacted by globalisation and climate change on Australia’s coast and in the Murray Darling Basin. Learn more about Nick.

 

 

James Butler is a Cawthron’s Transdisciplinary Science Group Manager, with a multi-disciplinary background in agricultural economics, development studies and terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecology gained in Africa, Scotland, Australia and the Indo-Pacific region. Learn more about James.

 

 

Matt Colloff is an ecologist and taxonomist by training, and a founding member of TARA. His current research is in integrative science to underpin natural resource management and adaptation to global change. Matt is passionate about exploring the influence that people have on landscapes and place and how, in turn, place influences people. Learn more about Matt.

 

 

Deborah O’Connell currently leads global research in the areas of resilience, adaptation pathways and transformation of social-ecological systems. Deb has a strong interest in designing and applying contemporary scientific approaches to complex, real world problems. Learn more about Deb.

 

 

 

Brian Walker was Chief of CSIRO’s Division of Wildlife and Ecology for 15 years and has also been a Fellow in CSIRO Land and Water. Brian has a long list of scientific publications, edited/ co-edited 10 books and has co-authored two semi-popular books about resilience.  Learn more about Brian.

 

 

 

Rachel Williams is a social scientist with interests in how communities and organisations respond to external change and how scientists and communities can learn to work together to enable effective adaptation to change. Rachel has worked with rural communities seeking sustainable futures, communities experiencing coal seam gas development, urban sustainability planning and climate change adaptation. Learn more about Rachel.