Congratulations to Professor Alan Andersen, who has been awarded the 2024 Ecological Society of Australia Gold Medal. 

Professor Andersen is a globally recognised expert on ant communities. Since he completed his PhD in the 1980s, he has championed ants as bio-indicators of ecological conditions, as well as made enormous contributions to conservation science through his work on fire ecology, species diversity and the use of invertebrates in environmental assessment and monitoring.

“I am really thrilled to receive such a prestigious award,” Professor Andersen said. 

“It is a great honour to be recognised by my scientific peers, not just for my scientific achievements but also for helping mentor the next generation of Australian ecologists.”

Professor Andersen was nominated for this award by long-term colleague Dr John Morgan.

“Alan’s research achievements and commitment to novel, science-based management make him a remarkable Australian ecologist,” said Dr Morgan. 

“Alan has been a champion of using science to inform management and has been prepared to go out and advocate for the importance of such ideas.”

“Alan has also supervised dozens of postgraduate research students over the course of his career. He is an excellent supervisor and mentor who goes above and beyond to support the next generation of Australian ecologists.”

Alan has been a long-time Associate Editor of Austral Ecology and was the Chair of the Local Organising Committee for the 2021 ESA Conference (held online) and the 2023 ESA Conference in Darwin. 

He is Professor, Research Excellence and Impact in Charles Darwin University’s Office of Research and Innovation, and Professor of Terrestrial Invertebrates in CDU’s Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods. Professor Andersen was an inaugural member of Australia’s Ecosystem Science Council (including Deputy Chair, 2018-2020), Science Director of the Australian Transect Network within the Terrestrial Ecological Research Network (TERN), and a Commonwealth Science Council Fellow.  He received the 2000 Far East Economic Review Asian Innovation Award for his work on using ants as bio-indicators in land management, and the inaugural (2007) Charles Darwin Medal for Research and Innovation in the NT for his contributions to science and science leadership. In 2018 he was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. He is currently Chair of the Academy’s National Committee for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, and is a member of the Academy’s governing Council. He was recently named as the 2024 NT nominee for Australian of the Year.

From 1995 to 2016, Professor Andersen was a Chief Research Scientist with CSIRO Land & Water, and Officer-in-Charge of CSIRO’s Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre in Darwin, leading a team of up to 30 ecologists, socio-ecologists, economists, students and support staff with a mission to deliver environmental, social and economic benefits to people who influence, use and manage Australia’s tropical savannas. The team’s research focused on fire ecology and management, invertebrate biodiversity, and Indigenous natural resource management. Along with its partners, the team won a Eureka Prize, a Gold Banksia Award, a Banksia Indigenous Caring for Country Award, the inaugural NAIDOC Caring for Country Award, two United Nations Association of Australia World Environment Day Biodiversity Awards, and two KABC NT Culture and Heritage Awards.

Professor Andersen will present a plenary lecture at ESA 2024 in Melbourne this December

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Grace Heathcote –