Climate change researcher is bright spark

The University of Adelaide's Professor Barry Brook has been named by national science magazine Cosmos as one of the top 10 young scientists in Australia.

The annual Cosmos 'Bright Sparks' awards - published in its October/November issue - recognise the exceptional talent of some of Australia's top scientists under the age of 40.

Professor Barry Brook, 33, is the Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change within the University of Adelaide's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

He has an international reputation for excellence in global change biology, extinction risk, tropical ecology, conservation genetics and wildlife management.

In 2006, at just 31, he was awarded a Personal Chair (Professor) less than seven years after completing his PhD and in 2007 he took up his current position at the University of Adelaide.

His overarching goal, he said, was to find realistic strategies for preserving biodiversity and forestalling the worst human impacts on the environment, such as climate change and habitat loss.

Professor Brook has produced two authored books and more than 100 scientific publications with the world's leading international scientific journals and publishers. Since 2001, he has been awarded nine ARC Discovery and Linkage grants totalling more than $3.2 million.

As Director of the University's Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability he is bringing together researchers from across each of the University's five faculties to undertake research and develop adaptive strategies to respond to the anticipated impacts of climate change.

Professor Brook was chosen for the honour by the distinguished editorial advisory board for Cosmos, which includes Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

Story by Robyn Mills