Email: swroe@une.edu.au

Associate Professor Stephen Wroe

Director of the Function, Evolution and Ecology Research Group
a: Room LG116, Earth Sciences Building (C02), University of New England, Armidale
p: 6773 3261
m: +61 4 3234 9049
e: swroe@une.edu.au
w: thefearlab.com
t: twitter.com/StephenWroe

Click here for CV

 

Research interests:

  • Form-function relationships, feeding ecology and systematics in living and fossil taxa.
  • The use of Finite Element Analysis in biology to examine cranial mechanics and predict feeding behaviour.
  • The application of Finite Element Analysis to biomedical questions.
  • Extinction of the Australian megafauna.
  • Marsupial carnivore phylogeny and biogeography.
  • Vertebrate palaeontology/paleontology.
  • Bite forces.
  • My background and initial training were in zoology, phylogenetics, ecology and biogeography of Australasian kangaroos and marsupial carnivores. I have published many significant contributions in these areas in major international journals, as well as influential contributions to our understanding of historic and prehistoric vertebrate extinctions and biogeography over deep time. I am currently Director of the Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research lab - a multidisciplinary team operating across the School of Environmental and Rural Sciences (UNE), the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences at UNSW and the School of Engineering at the University of Newcastle. I am a founding member of both the Evolution and Ecology Research Centre and Earth & Life Systems Research Group at UNSW.

    Understanding relationships between form and function is key to answering fundamental questions in fields ranging from evolutionary biology, palaeoecology and physical anthropology to biomedicine. Using and developing the very latest technologies to expanding the knowledge base and range of tools with which to study these relationships is my passion. Groups currently studied by myself and members of my team include reptiles, mammal-like reptiles, Mesozoic and Cainozoic mammals (including humans and their fossil relatives, as well marsupial and placental carnivores), birds, sharks, and a range of invertebrates. I have increasingly applied novel and innovative new approaches that we have developed to the field of biomedicine.

    My research is by its very nature deeply interdisciplinary and based on ongoing collaborations with ecologists, phylogeneticists evolutionary biologists, palaeontologists, mechanical engineers, archaeologists, physical anthropologists, bioengineers, and surgeons. I use computed tomography (CT) based 3D biomechanical modelling, virtual reconstruction and shape analysis to predict and analyse behaviour in skulls, teeth and other biological structures. I maintain a very active interest in the study of phylogenetics, species and palaeo-environments as means to better understand extinction.
  • REVIEWED BOOK CHAPTERS

    1. Fry, B.G., Scheib, H., Messenger, K., Hocknull, S., Wroe, S. , Sunagar, K., Goldstein, E.J.C., Tyrrell, K.L., Citron, D.M., Jackson, T.N.W. In Press. “Poisons and bacteria” in Venomous reptiles and their toxins: evolution, pathophysiology and biodiscovery. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
    2. Wroe, S. 2010. Cranial mechanics of mammalian carnivores: Recent advances using a Finite Element approach In Carnivoran Evolution: New Views on Phylogeny, Form, and Function (A. Goswami and A. Friscia, eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pages 466-485.
    3. Wroe, S. , and Archer, M. (2006). Origins and early radiations of marsupials. Pp. 517-540 in Merrick, J. Archer, M., Hickey, G. M., and Lee, M. S. Y. (eds). Evolution and Biogeography of Australasian Vertebrates, Auscipub Pty Ltd: Sydney.
    4. Wroe, S. (2003). Australian marsupial carnivores: Advances in palaeontology, palaeoecology and phylogeny. Pp. 71-94 in M. Jones, C. Dickman and M. Archer (eds), Predators with Pouches: the Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials, CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.

    SCHOLARLY REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES

    1. Attard, M.R.G., Wilson L.A.B., Worthy T.H., Scofield P., Johnston P., Parr, W.C.H. and Wroe, S. (Accepted 04/12/2015, ID RSPB-2015-2043) Moa diet fits the bill: virtual reconstruction incorporating mummified remains and prediction of biomechanical performance in avian giants. Proceedings of Royal Lond. Society B.
    2. Ramírez-Chaves, H., Wroe, S. , Selwood, L., Hinds, L., Leigh, C., Koyabu, D., Kardjilov, N., and Weisbecker, V. (In Press) Mammalian development does not recapitulate suspected key transformations in the evolution of the mammalian middle ear. Proceedings of Royal Society Lond. B.
    3. Harmer, A. M.T., Clausen, P.D., Wroe, S. and Madin. J.S. (In Press). Large orb-webs adapted to maximise total biomass not rare, large prey. Scientific Report s.
    4. McCurry, M., Mahony, M., Clausen, P.D., Quayle, M.R., Walmsley, C.W., Jessop, T.S., Wroe, S. , Richards, H., and McHenry, C.R. (2015). The relationship between cranial structure, biomechanical performance and ecological diversity in varanoid lizards. PLoS ONE DOI 10137/journal.pone 0130625.
    5. Fry, B.G., Scheib, H., Messenger, K., Hocknull, S., Wroe, S. , Sunagar, K., Goldstein, E.J.C., Tyrrell, K.L., Citron, D.M., Jackson, T.N.W. (2015). “Poisons and bacteria” in Venomous reptiles and their toxins: evolution, pathophysiology and biodiscovery. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
    6. Fiorenza, L., Benazzi, S., Henry, A.G., Salazar-García, D.C., Blasco, R., Picin, A., Wroe, S. and Kullmer, O. (2015). New perspectives on Neanderthal ecology. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 156, 43-71 .
    7. Aquilina P, Wroe, S. , Clausen, P., Chamoli. U, Parr, W.C.H. (2015). Finite Element Analysis of Patient-Specific Condyle Fracture Plates. Cranial Maxillofacial Trauma Reconstruction. 8, 111-116.
    8. Attard, M. R. G., Parr, W. C. H. , Wilson, L. A. B., Archer, M., Hand, S., Rogers, T.L., Wroe, S. 2014. Virtual reconstruction, biomechanical modeling and prey size preference of the Australian mid Cenozoic thylacinid, Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia). PLOS ONE, 9 (4), e93088
    9. Wroe, S. , Field, J., Archer, M., Grayson, D. K., Price, G.J., Louys, J., Faith, J.T., Webb, G.E., Davidson, I., and Mooney, S. (2013). Climate change frames debate over the extinction of megafauna in Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA , 110: 8777-8781.
    10. Wroe, S. , Field, J., Archer, M., Grayson, D. K., Price, G.J., Louys, J., Faith, J.T., Webb, G.E., Davidson, I., and Mooney, S. No empirical evidence for human overkill of megafauna in Sahul. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, published ahead of print July 25, 2013, doi:10.1073/pnas.1310440110.
    11. Parr, W., Chamoli, U., Walsh, W., Jones, A., and Wroe, S. (2013) Finite element micro-modelling of a human ankle bone reveals the importance of the trabecular network to mechanical performance: and new methods for the generation and comparison of 3D models. Journal of Biomechanics, 46: 200-205.
    12. Wroe, S. , Chamoli, U., Parr, W., Clausen, P., Ridgely, R. and Witmer, L. (2013) Comparative Biomechanical Modeling of Metatherian and Placental Saber-Tooths: A Different Kind of Bite for an Extreme Pouched Predator. PLoS ONE 8, e66888.
    13. Walmsley, C. W., Smits, P. D., Quayle, M. R., McCurry, M. R., Richards, H. S., Oldfield, C. C., Wroe, S. , Clausen, P. D., and McHenry, C. R. (2013) Why the Long Face? The Mechanics of Mandibular Symphysis Proportions in Crocodiles: PLoS ONE , 8, e53873.
    14. Field, J., Wroe, S., Trueman, C., Garvey, J., and Wyatt-Spratt, S. (2013) Looking for the Archaeological Signature in Australian Megafaunal Extinctions. Quaternary International, 285, 76-88
    15. Aquilina, P., Wroe, S., Clausen, P., Chamoli, U., and Parr, W. (2013) Finite element analysis of 3 patterns of internal fixation of mandibular condyle fractures. The British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery , 51: 326-331.
    16. Ferrara T., Boughton P., Slavich E., and Wroe S. (2013) A novel method for single sample multi-axial nanoindentation of hydrated heterogeneous tissues based on testing great white shark jaws. PLoS ONE Volume 8 | Issue 12 | e82261.
    17. Lawn, B., Bush, M., Barani, A., Constantino, P., and Wroe, S. (2013) Inferring Biological Evolution from Fracture Patterns in Teeth. Journal of Theoretical Biology , 338, 59-65.
    18. Aquilina, P., Wroe, S ., Clausen, P., Chamoli, U., Parr, W. (Accepted 16/10/13). A biomechanical comparison of three 1.5mm plate and screw configurations and a single 2.0mm plate for internal fixation of a mandibular condylar fracture. Craniomaxillofacial Trauma and Reconstruction.
    19. Parr, W., Wroe, S. , Chamoli, U., Richards, H. S., McCurry, M., Clause, P. D., and McHenry, C. R. (2012) Toward integration of geometric morphometrics and computational biomechanics: New methods for 3D virtual reconstruction and quantitative analysis of Finite Element Models: Journal of Theoretical Biology , 301: 1-14
    20. Evans, S, Parr, W., Clausen, P., Jones, A., and Wroe, S . (2012). Finite Element Analysis of a micromechanical model of bone and a new 3D approach to validation. Journal of Biomechanics , 45: 2702-2705 .
    21. Field, J., and Wroe, S . (2012) Aridity, Faunal Adaptations and Australian Late Pleistocene Extinctions. World Archaeology , 44: 46-74.
    22. Oldfield, C.C., McHenry, C.R., Clausen, P.D., Chamoli, U., Parr, W.C.H., Stynder, D.D., Wroe, S . (2012) Finite Element Analysis of ursid cranial mechanics and the prediction of feeding behaviour in the extinct giant Agriotherium africanum. Journal of Zoology , 286: 163-170.
    23. Curnoe, D., J., X., Herries, A., Kanning, B., Tacon, P., Zhende, B., Fink, D., Yunsheng, Z., Hellstrom, J., Yun, L., Cassis, G., Bing, S., Wroe, S . (2012). Human remains from the Pleistocene-Holocene transition of southwest China suggest a complex evolutionary history for East Asians. PLoS ONE 7(3): e31918. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031918
    24. Chamoli, U., and Wroe, S. (2011) Allometry in the distribution of material properties and geometry of the felid skull: why larger species may need to change and how they may achieve it. Journal of Theoretical Biology , 283: 217-226.
    25. Goswami, A., Milne, N., and Wroe, S. (2011) Biting through constraints: Cranial morphology, disparity and convergence across living and fossil carnivorous mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B , 278: 1831-1839.
    26. D’Amore, C. D., Moreno, K., McHenry, C. R., and Wroe, S. (2011) The effects of biting and pulling on the forces generated during feeding in the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). PLoS ONE, 6(10): e26226.
    27. Attard, M., Chamoli, U., Ferrara, T., Rogers, T., Wroe, S. (2011) Skull mechanics and implications for feeding behaviour in a large marsupial carnivore guild: the thylacine, Tasmanian devil and spotted-tailed quoll. Journal of Zoology, 285: 292-300.
    28. Ferrara, T. L., Clausen, P., Huber, D. R., McHenry, C. R., Peddemours, V., Wroe, S. (2011) Mechanics of biting in great white and sandtiger sharks. Journal of Biomechanics, 44: 430-435.
    29. Tsafnat, N., and Wroe, S. (2011) An Experimentally Validated Micromechanical Model of a Rat Vertebra Under Compressive Loading. Journal of Anatomy, 218: 40-46.
    30. Wroe, S., Ferrara, T., McHenry, C., Curnoe, D., Chamoli, U. (2010). The craniomandibular mechanics of being human. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B , 277: 3579-3586.
    31. Degrange, F. J., Tambussi, C. P., Moreno, K., Witmer, L. M. and Wroe, S. (2010 ) Mechanical Analysis of Feeding Behavior in the Extinct Terror Bird Andalgalornis steulleti (Gruiformes: Phorusrhacidae). PLoS ONE 5, e11856.
    32. Cosgrove, R., Field, J., Garvey, J., Brenner-Coltrain, J., Goede, J., Charles, B., Wroe, S., Pike-Tay, A., Grün, R., Aubert, M., and W., O’Connell, J. (2010) Overdone overkill - the archaeological perspective on Tasmanian megafaunal extinctions. Journal of Archaeological Science, 37: 2486-2503.
    33. Fry, B. G., Wroe, S. , Teeuwisse, W., Matthias J., Osch, P., >Moreno, K., et al. 2009. A central role for venom in predation by Varanus komodoensis (Komodo Dragon) and the extinct giant Varanus (Megalania) priscus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106, 8969-8974.
    34. Wroe, S. 2008. High-resolution 3-D computer simulation of feeding behaviour in marsupial and placental lions. Journal of Zoology , 274:332-339.
    35. Wroe, S., Huber, D.R., Lowry, M.B., McHenry, C.R., Moreno, K, Clausen, P.D. and Ferrara. T.L. 2008. 3D computer analysis of white shark jaw mechanics: how hard can a great white bite? Journal of Zoology 276: 336–342.
    36. Weisbecker, V., Goswami, A . Wroe, S. , Sánchez-Villagra, M. 2008. Ossification heterochrony in the mammalian skeleton and the marsupial-placental dichotomy. Evolution. 62: 2027–2041.
    37. Moreno, K . , Wroe, S ., Clausen, P. D., McHenry, C. R., D'Amore, D. C.; Rayfield, E. J., and Cunningham, E. 2008. Cranial performance in the Komodo dragon as revealed by high-resolution 3-D finite element analysis. Journal of Anatomy , 212:736-746.
    38. Bourke, J., Wroe, S. , >Moreno, K., McHenry, C., Clausen, P. 2008. Effects of Gape and Tooth Position on Bite Force in the Dingo. PLoS ONE 3(5):e2200.
    39. Field, J., Fillios, M., and Wroe, S. 2008. Contextualizing Chronologies for the Human Megafauna Overlap in Australia. Earth Science Reviews, 89: 97-115.
    40. Wroe, S. , Lowry, M. B., and Anton, M. 2008. How to build a mammalian super-predator? Zoology, 111:196-203.
    41. Clausen, P. D., Wroe, S., McHenry, C. R., Moreno, K, Bourke, J. 2008. The vector of jaw muscle force as determined by computer generated 3D simulation. Journal of Biomechanics , 41: 3184-3188.
    42. Wroe, S., Clausen, P., McHenry, C., Moreno, K., and Cunningham, E. 2007. Computer simulation of feeding behaviour in the thylacine and dingo: a novel test for convergence and niche overlap. Proceedings of the Royal Society (London), Series B, 274 : 2819-2828.
    43. Wroe, S. , and Milne., N. 2007. Convergence and remarkably consistent constraint in the evolution of carnivore skull shape. Evolution, 61: 1251-1260.
    44. McHenry, C., Wroe, S., Clausen, P., >Moreno, K., and Cunningham, E.2007. Super-modeled sabercat, predatory behaviour in Smilodon fatalis revealed by high-resolution 3-D computer simulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), 104 : 16010-16015 .
    45. Christiansen, P., and Wroe, S. 2007. Bite forces and evolutionary adaptations to feeding ecology in carnivores. Ecology, 88: 347-358.
    46. Wroe, S. , Moreno, K., Clausen, P., McHenry, C., and Curnoe, D. 2007. High-resolution computer simulation of hominid cranial mechanics. The Anatomical Record, 290: 1248-1255.
    47. Wroe, S. 2007. High-resolution 3-D computer simulation of feeding behaviour in marsupial and placental lions. Journal of Zoology , 274:332-339.
    48. Wroe, S. , Field, J., and Grayson, D. K. (2006). Megafaunal extinction: climate, humans and assumptions. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 21 : 61-62.
    49. Wroe, S. , and Field, J. (2006). A review of the evidence for a human role in the extinction of Australian megafauna and an alternative interpretation. Quaternary Science Reviews , 25 : 2692-2703.
    50. Wroe, S. , McHenry, C., and Thomason, J. (2005). Bite club: Comparative bite force in big biting mammals and the prediction of predatory behaviour in fossil taxa. Proceedings of the Royal Society (London), Series B , 272 : 619-625.
    51. McHenry, C., Cook, A., and Wroe, S. (2005). Bottom feeding plesiosaurs. Science, 310: 75.
    52. Trueman, C. N., Field, J. H, Dortch, J., Charles, B., and Wroe, S. (2005). Prolonged co-existence of humans and megafauna in Pleistocene Australia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA ), 182 : 8381-8385.
    53. Wroe , S. , Argot, C., Crowther, M., and Dickman, C. (2004). On the rarity of big fierce carnivores. Proceedings of the Royal Society (London), Series B , 271 : 1203-1211.
    54. Wroe, S. , Field, J., Fullagar, R., and Jermiin, L. (2004). Megafaunal extinction in the Late Quaternary and the global overkill hypothesis. Alcheringa , 28 : 291-331.
    55. Wroe, S. , Crowther, M., Dortch, J., and Chong, J. (2004). The size of the largest marsupial and why it matters. Proceedings of the Royal Society (London) Series B (Suppl.) , 271 : S34-S36.
    56. Wroe, S. , Myers, T., Seebacher, F., Kear, B., Gillespie, A., Crowther, M., and Salisbury, S. (2003). An alternative method for predicting body-mass: The case of the marsupial lion. Paleobiology , 29 : 404-412.
    57. Johnson, C., and Wroe, S. (2003). Causes of extinctions of vertebrates during the Holocene of mainland Australia: arrival of the dingo or human impact? The Holocene , 13 : 109-116.
    58. Wroe, S. (2002). A review of terrestrial mammalian and reptilian carnivore ecology in Australian fossil faunas and factors influencing their diversity. Australian Journal of Zoology , 50 : 1-24.
    59. Wroe, S. (2001). Maximucinus muirheadae, gen. et sp. nov. (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia), from the Miocene of Riversleigh, northwestern Queensland, with estimates of body weights for fossil thylacinids. Australian Journal of Zoology , 49 : 603-614.
    60. Wroe, S. , and Musser, A. (2001). The skull of Nimbacinus dicksoni (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia). Australian Journal of Zoology , 49 : 487-514.
    61. Mackness, B. S., Wroe, S. , Muirhead, J., Wilkinson, C., and Wilkinson, D. (2000). First fossil bandicoot from the Pliocene Chinchilla Local Fauna. Australian Mammalogy , 22 : 133-136.
    62. Wroe, S. , and Mackness, B. S. (2000). A new genus and species of dasyurine dasyurid (Marsupialia) from the Pliocene Chinchilla Local Fauna of Southeastern Queensland. Alcheringa , 24 : 319-325.
    63. Wroe, S. , Ebach, M., Ahyong, S., Muizon, C. de, and Muirhead, J. (2000). Phylogeny of Australian marsupicarnivores: a parsimony-based analysis using cranial and dental data. Journal of Mammalogy , 88 : 1008-1024.
    64. Krajewski, C., Wroe, S. , and Westerman, M. (2000). Molecular evidence for phylogenetic relationships and the timing of cladogenesis in dasyurid marsupials. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 130 : 375-404.
    65. Wroe, S. (1999). The geologically oldest dasyurid (Marsupialia) from the Miocene of Riversleigh, north-western Queensland. Palaeontology , 42 : 501-527.
    66. Wroe, S. , Myers, T. J., Wells, R. T., and Gillespie, A. (1999). Estimating the weight of the Pleistocene marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex, Thylacoleonidae: Marsupialia): implications for the ecomorphology of a marsupial super-predator and hypotheses for the impoverishment of marsupial carnivore faunas. Australian Journal of Zoology , 47 : 489-498.
    67. Godthelp, H., Wroe, S. , and Archer, M. (1999). A new marsupial from the early Eocene Tingamarra Local Fauna of Murgon, Southeastern Queensland: a prototypical Australian marsupial? Journal of Mammalian Evolution , 6 : 289-313.
    68. Wroe, S. (1998). A new 'bone-cracking' dasyurid (Marsupialia), from the Miocene of Riversleigh, north-western Queensland. Alcheringa, 22 : 277-284.
    69. Wroe, S. , Brammall, J., and Cooke, B. (1998). The skull of Ekaltadeta ima (Marsupialia, Hypsiprymnodontidae?): An analysis of some marsupial cranial features and a reinvestigation of propleopine phylogeny, with notes on the inference of carnivory in mammals. Journal of Paleontology , 72 : 738-751.
    70. Wroe, S. , and Mackness, B. S. (1998). Revision of the Pliocene dasyurid, Dasyurus dunmalli (Dasyuridae, Marsupialia). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum , 42 : 605-612.
    71. Muirhead, J., and Wroe, S. (1998). A new genus and species, Badjcinus turnbulli (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia), from the late Oligocene of Riversleigh, northwestern Australia, and an investigation of thylacinid phylogeny. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology , 18 : 612-626.
    72. Wroe, S. (1997). A re-examination of proposed morphology-based synapomorphies for the families of Dasyuromorphia (Marsupialia): Part I, Dasyuridae. Journal of Mammalian Evolution , 4 : 19-52.
    73. Wroe, S. (1997). Mayigriphus orbus, a new species of dasyuromorphian (Marsupialia) from the Miocene of Riversleigh, north-western Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum , 41 : 439-448.
    74. Wroe, S. (1997). Stratigraphy and phylogeny in the giant extinct rat-kangaroo Ekaltadeta (Propleopinae, Hypsiprymnodontidae, Marsupialia). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum , 41 : 449-456.
    75. Wroe, S. (1996). An investigation of phylogeny in the giant rat kangaroo Ekaltadeta (Propleopinae, Potoroidae, Marsupialia). Journal of Paleontology , 70 : 677-686.
    76. Wroe , S. (1996). Muribacinus gadiyuli (Thylacinidae, Marsupialia), a very plesiomorphic thylacinid from the Miocene of Riversleigh, Northwestern Queensland, and the problem of paraphyly for the Dasyuridae. Journal of Paleontology , 70 : 1032-1044.
    77. Wroe , S., and Archer, M. (1995). Extraordinary diphyodonty-related change in dental function for a tooth of the extinct marsupial Ekaltadeta ima (Propleopinae, Hypsiprymndontidae). Archives of Oral Biology , 40 : 597-603.
  • In addition to postdocs and postgrad students listed below, two promising early career researchers have sought my mentorship for the next DECRA round and I will be supervising a further two PhDs and two Honours students commencing this year.

    POSTDOCTORAL SUPERVISION:

    2012-present: Dr L. Wilson. Swiss National Science Foundation Fellowship
    2012-present: Dr W. Parr. Craniofacial Biomechanics Award

    RESEARCH STUDENTS:

    2013-present: A. Pearson (PhD) A phylogenetic study of hominin crania using CT and GMM
    2013-present: H. Ramirez-Chaves (PhD) Evolutionary developmental biology of the mammalian middle ear
    2012-present: B. Dickson (PhD) Thylacinid endopetrosal structure and phylogenetics
    2012-present: M. Stein (PhD) Crocodylian postcranial biomechanics
    2012: S. Evans (BE Mech) High resolution modeling of mammalian bone
    2012: J. Kemp (Hons) Validation of FE models
    2011:N. Rogers: (Hons) Brain size and shape in later human evolution
    2011-2012: U. Chamoli (MPhil) Cranial mechanics of living and fossil Felidae
    2010 M. McCurry (Hons) Mechanics of living and fossil varanid crania
    2010: C. Oldfield (Hons) Feeding ecology in a giant extinct ursid
    2009-2013: M. Attard (PhD) Thylacine diet and extinction
    2009-2010: F. Degrange (PhD) ‘Terror Bird‘ palaeoecology
    2009: M. Alworth (Hons) Using Finite Element Analysis to investigate bite force
    2008-present: P. Aquilina (PhD) Human facial biomechanics
    2008-2012: T. Ferrara (PhD) 3D computer simulation of shark cranial mechanics
    2008: A. Pino Olivares (MSc) Bite mechanics of Varanus giganteus
    2006-2009: C. McHenry (PhD) Functional morphology of Kronosaurus
    2002-2005: M. Letnic (PhD) Ecology of the Dingo

    Mentoring in UNSW Talented students Programme

    2012 Stephanie McDonald
    2012 Alicia Ryan

    My graduate students have won numerous awards, including:

    2012: Marie Attard; 1st Prize in the Faculty of Science Postgraduate Research Competition (UNSW)
    2011: Uphar Chamoli; International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (UNSW)
    2011: Toni Ferrara; 1st Prize for Communication of PhD Results (E&ERC;)
    2009: Colin McHenry; Best Thesis Award (UoN)
  • In total I have been awarded over 2.7 million dollars in funding (>2.35 million since 2006). I am or have been 1st Chief Investigator on all but one of these grants.AUD 336,000 – ARC Discovery (2014)

    • AUD 606,000 – ARC Discovery (2014)
    • AUD $78,000 – UNE Strategic Major Equipment Grant (2013)
    • AUD $65,000 – Hermon-Slade Award (2012-2014)
    • AUD $10,000 – E&ERC; Significant Collaboration Award (2012)
    • AUD $143,000 –SRF (2012)
    • AUD $44,000 – APSF (2008-2011)
    • AUD $180,000 – ARC (2009-2011)
    • AUD $40,000 – Goldstar (2011)
    • AUD $180,000 – UNSW Strategic Initiatives Grant (2007-2009)
    • AUD $780,000 – ARC (2006-2010)

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