William Laurance is a Distinguished Research Professor at James Cook University in Cairns, Queensland, Australia, and a former Australian Laureate, one of Australia’s highest academic honours. An environmental scientist whose work spans the world’s tropical forest regions, Laurance has written eight books and more than 800 scientific and popular articles. He is among Australia’s top-ranked researchers in the fields of ecology, evolution and environment. He is also a four-time winner of Australia’s Outstanding Science Writing Prize.
Laurance is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, and former President of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. He has received dozens of professional honors, including the Heineken Environment Prize, the BBVA Frontiers in Ecology and Conservation Biology Award, the Society for Conservation Biology’s Distinguished Service Award, and the Zoological Society of London’s Outstanding Conservation Achievement Prize, among others.
In addition, Laurance is director of the Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science at James Cook University and founded and directs ALERT—the Alliance of Leading Environmental Researchers & Thinkers—an international scientific organization that promotes environmental sustainability in the tropics and beyond.
Professional position
- Distinguished Research Professor and Director, Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, James Cook University
