Euan Ritchie

2017 College Recipient, College of Science and Engineering

Dr Euan Ritchie is a senior lecturer in ecology at Deakin University’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences. His research interests span a number of areas including animal behaviour, population and conservation, with particular focus on predators and their ecological roles in maintaining ecosystems; identifying the importance of factors which limit the distribution and abundance of organisms, and the ecology and conservation and management of Australian mammals.

Considered by those in his field to be one of Australia’s most prolific and effective science communicators, Dr Ritchie provides authoritative and informative commentary and analysis on the importance of science to help tackle some of society’s greatest challenges. His skills in science communication, and his innovative teaching methods to train the next generation of scientists and science communicators, provide a benefit not only to the science community, but the Australian community as a whole.

As a science communicator, Dr Ritchie has been interviewed for TV, radio and print media where his success is attributed to not only his knowledge of science but also his enthusiasm and ability to present information clearly and effectively. He is considered to be an engaging writer and speaker, conveying his knowledge using stories, analogies and good humour, tailoring his approach to maximise the impact and uptake of his message depending on the audience.

Dr Ritchie has published in international, top-tier journals including Science, Nature Climate Change, Nature Communications and PNAS and has a rapidly accelerating citation rate with over 3000 citations. He also works to bring researchers together to forge new thinking and has shown leadership in this area by organising several symposia and publishing multi-authored, high-impact papers.

A common theme in Dr Ritchie’s research is that we need to think at large scales and consider multiple, interacting processes if conservation objectives are to be achieved. His findings are helping to shift the emphasis in many conservation and management programs away from a focus on single species and towards how multi-species management interventions may affect whole communities.

He is the recipient of a Eureka Award for Environmental Research from the Australian Museum, a Deakin University Vice Chancellor’s Award, and two awards for excellence in Research and Teaching.

Dr Euan Ritchie graduated from James Cook University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science (Biological Science) with Honours and in 2007 with a PhD in Zoology.