Professor Kerrie Wilson
Faculty of Science,
School of Biology & Environmental Science
Biography
Professor Kerrie Wilson is Queensland Chief Scientist and a Professor in the Faculty of Science at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Her previous roles at QUT include Pro Vice-Chancellor (Sustainability and Research Integrity) and Executive Director of the Institute for Future Environments. Before joining QUT in January 2019, Kerrie was the Director of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions and an ARC Future Fellow at The University of Queensland. She is also an Affiliated Professor in Conservation Science at The University of Copenhagen, a member of the Australian Heritage Council and member of the Reef 2050 Plan Independent Expert Panel. Kerrie has previously held leadership positions including Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy Australia and the Australian Natural Sciences Commissioner for UNESCO. Kerrie has two decades of experience leading and conducting research into the science, strategy and policy of conservation. She is particularly interested in applied resource allocation problems, such as how to invest limited resources to protect or restore biodiversity and what sociopolitical and institutional factors influence investment success in conservation. Kerrie’s research has been published in high impact journals such as Nature and Science and involves collaborations with government agencies and NGOs at local, national and global levels. Kerrie has received numerous national awards, including the Prime Minister's Prize for Life Scientist of the Year, the Australian Academy of Science Nancy Millis Medal for Women in Science, two ARC Research Fellowships and an Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Outstanding Young Researcher. Kerrie holds a Bachelor in Environmental Science (First Class Honours, awarded in 1999) from UQ and a PhD from The University of Melbourne (2004), undertaken in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre, based in Cambridge. Key research areas: - Restoration prioritisation - Ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation - Conservation in production landscapes - Conservation decision making in socio-ecological systems For further information see https://wilsonconservationecology.com/our-research/PAST EMPLOYMENT
January 2019 – January 2021 | Executive Director of Institute for Future Environments and Professor, Queensland University of Technology April 2018-October 2018 | Deputy Associate Dean Research (Impact and Engagement) Faculty of Science, The University of Queensland January 2017-December 2018 | Professor School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland November 2016-December 2018 | Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland July 2008-December 2016 | Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland July 2007-July 2008 | Director of Conservation The Nature Conservancy Australia January 2007-July 2007 | Post-doctoral Research Fellow School of Integrative Biology, The University of Queensland January 2004-January 2007 | Post-doctoral Research Fellow School of Integrative Biology, The University of Queensland March 2003-July 2003 | Lecturer South Bank Institute of TAFE July 2001-July 2002 | Scientific consultant United Nations Environment Programme -World Conservation Monitoring Centre July 2000-July 2001 | Assistant Lecturer and Tutor School of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne December 1999-July 2000 | Environmental Scientist Gutterige, Haskins and Davey December 1999-July 2000 | Research Assistant Queensland Department of Primary Industries Forestry January 1999-December 1999 | Environmental Consultant Chenoweth Environmental Planning December 1997-February 1998 | Environmental Consultant Dames & Moore Pty Ltd
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Personal details
Positions
- Professor
Faculty of Science,
School of Biology & Environmental Science
Research field
Environmental Science and Management
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy - Institute of Land and Food Resources (University of Melbourne)
Professional memberships and associations
- Member, Australian Heritage Council, Natural Heritage expert
- Member, International Advisory Committee for BIOTA Synthesis
- Past Member, Australian Man and the Biosphere (MAB) National Committee
- Past Member, Natural Sciences Commissioner, Australian National Commission for UNESCO
- Past Member, Reef 2050 Plan Independent Expert Panel
- Past Member, SEQwater - QUT Digital Innovation Program Management Committee
- Past Member, Australian Academy of Science Nancy Millis Medal Awards Committee
- Past Member, Australian Academy of Science Fenner conferences on the environment Awards committee
- Past Member, Judging panel for the L'Oreal For Women in Science Awards
- Past Member, ARC College of Experts
- Past Member, Scientific Committee, Healthy Land and Water
Experience
FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS
2021 | Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Monitoring collective capacity and effectiveness of implementation, $389,611 2021 | Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future, $36 million ($9 million to QUT) 2018 | ARC Linkage Unlocking the secrets of mangrove conservation success, $207,812 2017 | NSW Environment Trust Promoting stewardship: identifying pathways to greater participation, $146,000 2014 | Dept. Environment National Environmental Science Programme Threatened Species Research hub (lead researcher for project 6.4 – approx. $120,000), $32.4 million 2017 | University of Queensland UQ Faculty of Science Impact grant, $20,000 2017 | University of Queensland DVC Engagement funds for Singapore, $15,000 2017 | University of Queensland DVC Engagement funds for Indonesia, $15,000 2016 | Woodspring Trust Enhancing the effectiveness of protected areas, $41,878 2016 | UK DEFRA Darwin Initiative Marrying community land rights with stakeholder aspirations in Indonesian Borneo, $490,000 2014 | ARC Linkage Smart Allocation of Restoration Funds, $375,000 2014 | ARC Discovery Enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services in production landscapes, $395,500 2013 | University of Queensland Foundation Research Excellence Award Incorporating hydrologic ecosystem services (supply, flows and beneficiaries) into land use planning, $90,000 2013 | University of Queensland Collaboration and Industry Engagement Fund Prioritising transportation networks to benefit industry and the environment, $68,173 2011 | ARCUS and UNEP Borneo Futures, $74,517 2010 | TERN ACEAS workshop, $30,000 2010 | CDSEWPC National Environmental Research Program Hub in Environmental Decisions, $13,744,500 2010 | ARC Centre of Excellence Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, $13,113,986 2010 | ARC Future Fellowship Prioritising habitat restoration for biodiversity and ecosystem service outcomes, $705,291 2009 | CSIRO SEQ Climate Adaptation Research Initiative, $207,000 2008 | ARC Linkage Spatial prioritisation in the context of climate change and unforeseen opportunities: maximising conservation outcomes in Gondwana Link, $543,967 2007 | ARC Discovery Maximising the conservation of biodiversity and the delivery of ecosystem services: What to do, where and when. A+ ranking, $430,000 2003 | ARC Linkage Conservation Planning in a Dynamic and Uncertain World, $250,000
INVITED PRESENTATIONS
2020 | Invited discussion MC at the United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2020 event hosted by The Office of the Queensland Chief Scientist in collaboration with the Science & Technology Australia and the Queensland Department of Education. 11th February 2020 | Invited guest speaker at the International Water Centre ‘Leadership for Executive Women in Water’ dinner. 20th February 2019 | Invited participant of panel discussion at the World Science Festival Brisbane. 20th March. 2019 | Invited guest speaker at the National Youth Science Forum. 17th January. 2018: Invited plenary at the Society for Ecological Restoration Australia conference. 27th September. 2018 | Invited presentation at The Australian National University Fenner School Special Seminar Series. Smart Decisions for the Environment. 10th August. 2018 | Invited presentation at the 55th Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation conference. Taking a multi-dimensional approach to human-wellbeing - impacts of community forest management in Indonesian Borneo. 5th July. 2018 | Invited presentation at UQ Centre for Policy Futures training workshop on Public Policy Engagement for Researchers workshops - Working with policymakers. 14th June. 2018 | Invited participant at the Wall International Round-table Discussion titled "Promise and Peril: Design and Application of Conservation Finance Models to Biodiversity Conservation, Human Well-being and Sustainability", supported by the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of British Columbia. 22-25 March 2018. 2018 | National University of Singapore. Applying decision science to ecological planning and management. 8th February. 2017 | Invited presentation at TropAg2017 “Landscape trade-offs in the intensification of agriculture: an ecologist's perspective”. 20th November. 2017 | Invited presentation at the Network for Environmental Social Scientist Annual Forum “Impact pathways for evidence in a post-truth world”. 9th November. 2017 | Invited presentation at ARC Centres of Excellence Research Showcase at Parliament House. 7th September. 2017 | Invited presentation at the International Congress for Conservation Biology, Colombia. Symposium theme Conservation challenges and opportunities in areas of armed conflict. 24th July. 2017 | Global Conversation. Australian Museum. 29th May (invitation of Exeter University). 2017 | Australian Academy of Science Awardee Address. 24th May. 2017 | Australian Academy of Science “Life on the Loose” Symposium. 25th May. 2017 | ARC Centre Director’s Forum. 27th April. 2017 | Earth Optimism. Keynote speaker. 21st April. 2017 | Oceania Ecosystem Services Forum. Plenary Speaker. 30th March. 2017 | Plenary speaker. World Science Festival Brisbane. Under the microscope: Pioneering Women in Science. 26th March. 2016 | Humboldt-University of Berlin, Berlin, Department of Geography Seminar. 25th November. 2016 | University of Copenhagen (Denmark), inaugural lecture for the appointment as Affiliated Professor in Conservation Science. 24th October 2016 | Stockholm Resilience Centre (Sweden), Invited Seminar. 17th October. 2016 | Cambridge Conservation Initiative, Invited Seminar. 5th October. 2016 | National University of Singapore, Biology Colloquium. 23rd September. 2016 | Plenary lecture at the Society for Conservation Biology Oceania Conference. 8th July. 2016 | Princeton University, Remote presentation on gender equity. 31st May. 2016 | Monash University, Faculty of Science Seminar, 7th April. 2016 | Deakin University, Faculty of Science Seminar, 8th April. 2016 | Invited speaker. Ecological and Socio-economic Impacts of Marine and Terrestrial Conservation Policy. Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University. 21st-23rd March. 2016: Invited Panel Speaker. World Science Festival “A letter to my teenage self”. 13th March. 2015 | Partner Up Queensland event hosted by the Queensland Chief Scientist. 9th December. 2015: Ecological Society of Australia. Conference presentation on Policy and Practice symposium. 1st December. 2015 | Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decision Biannual Conference. UQ Node overview presentation. December 12th. 2015 | University of Melbourne Faculty of Science Seminar. 11th May. 2014: Royal Society of South Australia. Invited Lecture 2014 | Royal Geographical Society of Queensland. Invited lecture. 2014 | Portugal Conservation Planning Symposium. Lisbon. Invited participant and speaker. 2013 | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane. Invited speaker for the discussion panel on the Cai Guo-Qiang exhibition (broadcasted on ABC Radio National). 2013 | Faculty of Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane. Invited speaker to deliver guest graduation speech. 2013 | Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Kirribilli House, Sydney. Invited guest at a reception for Prince Harry for outstanding young Australians. 2011 | Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. Invited speaker. Socio-economic aspects of conservation. 2011 | University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Invited speaker as visiting professor. Conserving biodiversity in a changing world.
Publications
- Wilson, K., McBride, M., Bode, M. & Possingham, H. (2006). Prioritizing global conservation efforts. Nature, 440(7082), 337–340. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/200713
- Pressey, R., Cabeza, M., Watts, M., Cowling, R. & Wilson, K. (2007). Conservation planning in a changing world. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 22(11), 583–592. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/124981
- Wilson, K., Underwood, E., Morrison, S., Klausmeyer, K., Murdoch, W., Reyers, B., Wardell-Johnson, G., Marquet, P., Rundel, P., McBride, M., Pressey, R., Bode, M., Hoekstra, J., Andelman, S., Looker, M., Rondinini, C., Kareiva, P., Shaw, M. & Possingham, H. (2007). Conserving biodiversity efficiently: What to do, where, and when. PLoS Biology, 5(9), 1850–1861. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/124984
- Wilson, K., Carwardine, J. & Possingham, H. (2009). Setting conservation priorities. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1162(1), 237–264. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/124970
- Wilson, K., Westphal, M., Possingham, H. & Elith, J. (2005). Sensitivity of conservation planning to different approaches to using predicted species distribution data. Biological Conservation, 122(1), 99–112. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/124993
- Wilson, K., Lulow, M., Burger, J., Fang, Y., Andersen, C., Olson, D., O'Connell, M. & McBride, M. (2011). Optimal restoration: Accounting for space, time and uncertainty. Journal of Applied Ecology, 48(3), 715–725. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/124939
- Wilson, K., Evans, M., di Marco, M., Green, D., Boitani, L., Possingham, H., Chiozza, F. & Rondinini, C. (2011). Prioritizing conservation investments for mammal species globally. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 366(1578), 2670–2680. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/124935
- Wilson, K., Auerbach, N., Sam, K., Magini, A., Moss, A., Langhans, S., Budiharta, S., Terzano, D. & Meijaard, E. (2016). Conservation research is not happening where it is most needed. PLoS Biology, 14(3), 1–5. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/124896
- Wilson, K., Meuaard, E., Drummond, S., Grantham, H., Boitani, L., Catullo, G., Christie, L., Dennis, R., Dutton, I., Falcucci, A., Maiorano, L., Possingham, H., Rondinini, C., Turner, W., Venter, O. & Watts, M. (2010). Conserving biodiversity in production landscapes. Ecological Applications, 20(6), 1721–1732. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/124952
- Meijaard, E., Abram, N., Wells, J., Gaveau, D., Ancrenaz, M., Possingham, H., Wich, S., Ardiansyah, F., Gumal, M., Ambu, L., Wilson, K. & Runting, R. (2015). Alternative futures for Borneo show the value of integrating economic and conservation targets across borders. Nature Communications, 6, 1–10. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/124907
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Kerrie, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Awards
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- Prime Minister's Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year Award
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2017
- Details
- Australian Academy of Science Nancy Millis Medal for Women in Science
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2022
- Details
- Women in Technology Research Leader Science Award.
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2022
- Details
- Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics, Quality of Research Discovery Award 2022
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- Mahathir Science Award, Tropical Natural Resources, Academy of Sciences Malaysia
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2018
- Details
- Commendation, UQ Partners in Research Excellence Award, Social Enterprise category
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- Women in Technology Life Sciences Research Award
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2013
- Details
- Australian Museum Eureka Prize Outstanding Young Researcher
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2014
- Details
- SCOPUS Young Researcher Award, Life and Biological Sciences
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2014
- Details
- HG Andrewartha Medal, Royal Society of South Australia
Selected research projects
- Title
- Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- SR200100005
- Start year
- 2020
- Keywords
- Title
- Promoting Stewardship: Identifying Pathways to Greater Participation
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 2017/RD/0116
- Start year
- 2018
- Keywords
- Title
- Unlocking the Secrets of Mangrove Conservation Success
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- LP170101171
- Start year
- 2018
- Keywords
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Optimal Biodiversity Survey: Where to Survey Biodiversity in Terrestrial Antartica
MPhil, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Michael Bode