Science Advisory Council

Dr Jim Ross AM - Chairman

Jim Ross is a leader in geoscience education in Western Australia. He chairs the John de Laeter Centre for Mass Spectrometry at Curtin University, a joint venture with UWA, and has a long standing interest in hominid evolution. In the last five years he has commenced a research program following his appointment as an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Earth and Geographical Sciences at The University of Western Australia (UWA).

 Professor Andrew Gleadow - Deputy Chair

Andrew Gleadow was Professor of Earth Sciences at La Trobe University from 1988-98 and from early 1999 has been Professor and Head of the School of Earth Sciences at The University of Melbourne. Andy is the past President of the Geological Society of Australia. He has researched and published extensively on all aspects of the development and application of fission track dating in geology, and has worked extensively on the geology of Antarctica, Africa, and America, as well as Australia. More information

Adjunct Professor Kim Akerman

Kim Akerman, Adjunct Professor of Archaeology at The Unversity of Western Australia (UWA).  He is an anthropologist with wide experience in the Kimberley, an honorary curator in indigenous studies at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and has consulted to indigenous and other organisations. Kim has served on the research advisory committee of AIATSIS from 1996 to 2007, and has performed many curatorial and advisory roles.   He is also a prolific author.

Associate Professor Jane Balme

Jane Balme, Associate Professor in Archaeology at The University of Western Australia (UWA), obtained her Ph.D. at Australian National University.  Jane has lectured, researched and consulted widely, with a primary focus on indigenous hunter-gatherer societies and Aboriginal subsistence economies.  She has undertaken extensive fieldwork in northern Australia. Jane is currently Acting Director, Centre for Rock Art Studies at UWA. More information

Professor John Dodson

John Dodson heads the Institute for Environmental Research at The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), and has a distinguished record in palaeoecological research.  He has a PhD from Australian National University, and has researched and taught at universities and institutes in Australia and overseas.  John has led numerous projects investigating climate change and its effects on flora, fauna and landscape.  He has published widely.

Associate Professor Hamish McGowan

Associate Professor Hamish McGowan is Reader in Climatology at The University of Queensland, studied at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand (BSc, MSc  Hons, PhD). Hamish’s research interests are in Earth surface – atmosphere interactions, palaeoclimate and climate variability. He has developed palaeoclimate records for southeast Australia that use novel geochemical fingerprinting of dusts to construct past weather patterns which he’s now applying to research in the Kimberley.

Associate Professor June Ross

June Ross, lecturer in Archaeology at University New England (UNE), entered rock art archaeology from a background in art and teaching, and completed her Ph.D. at UNE under Professor Mike Morwood and Professor Iain Davidson.  June has researched, taught and published extensively on Aboriginal art works, and has undertaken fieldwork throughout central and northern Australia. More information

A/Professor Peter Veth

A/Professor Peter Veth, at the Research School of Humanities and the Arts, ANU is also an Adjunct Professor at UWA and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. Peter has carried out groundbreaking work in the deserts of Australia (including those of the Kimberley region) having returned dates with colleagues greater than 45,000 years. Peter has carried out archaeological research throughout most of Australia – much of it focusing on collaborative projects placing rock art in archaeological context. He also leads research projects in maritime archaeology. Peter has just finished a Global Rock Art Volume for Wiley-Blackwell with Future Fellow A/Professor Jo McDonald.

Dr Karl-Heinz Wyrwoll

Karl-Heinz Wyrwoll is a geomorphologist and palaeoclimatologist based at the University of Western Australia. He has a Ph.D. from London University.  Karl-Heinz has researched extensively in northern Australia, focusing on quaternary monsoon patterns, hydrology and aeolian processes.  He has also collaborated regularly on research in China and North America, and publishes widely, including on aspects of climate change in the Kimberley.  More information