Awards:

2012: Mackerras Medal. Award for Excellence in Entomology presented by the Australian Entomological Society. The Medal is the Society’s highest award and is given every two years to a member of the Society under 50 years of age who has demonstrated excellence in entomology based on their scientific contribution to the field.

2011: Hayashi Award. Certificate award presented by The Butterfly Society of Japan in recognition of outstanding contribution to the study of Lepidoptera through the publication of numerous books and research papers for both specialist and amateur lepidopterists.

2007: Best Paper Award of the Year 2006. Awarded for the paper “Evolution of larval food plant associations in Delias Hübner butterflies (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)” published in Entomological Science, Volume 9 (4): 383-398 and voted by the councillors of the Entomological Society of Japan as the best paper published in Entomological Science vol. 9.

2005: Whitley Award. Certificate of Commendation presented by the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales for the best book in the category of Field Guide (The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia)

2001: The Whitley Medal. Whitley Award presented by the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales for the best book on the natural history of Australian animals (Butterflies of Australia: Their Identification, Biology and Distribution)

2000: Fulbright Award. Certificate awarded by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State in recognition of participation in the Fulbright Program at Harvard University, USA.

PhD, BSc (Hons)

My current research interests revolve around the biosystematics (taxonomy and systematics) and conservation biology (inventory and management of threatened species) of diurnal Lepidoptera (butterflies, day-flying moths, sun moths etc). I am particularly interested in the taxonomic inventory, biogeography and origin and evolution of the unique Australian fauna. I also use Australian butterflies as a research tool to better understand broad patterns of biodiversity in terms of geographic distribution and endemism and the underlying historical processes shaping their assembly on the Australian continent, as well as actions needed for practical conservation management.