Michael Bird was trained as a geologist at the University of Sydney and
the Australian National University, obtaining a PhD in isotope geochemistry
in 1988. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Western
Ontario in Canada, he returned to Australia as a Research Fellow, ARC Queen
Elizabeth II Fellow, and Fellow at the Research School of Earth Sciences,
Australian National University. In 2000 he took up an Associate Professorship
in Singapore and in 2004 moved to the Chair in Environmental Change at the
University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He returned to Australia to take up an
ARC Federation Fellowship in the School of Earth and Environmental Science at
James Cook University (Cairns campus) in February 2009. He was awarded an ARC
Laureate Fellowship from 2014-2019 and now is a Distinguished Professor in
the College of Science and Engineering. His research interests include the
terrestrial carbon cycle, biochar, geoarchaeology, and understanding the
trajectory of past and future environmental change in the tropics.
Dr. Ben Jarihani is a Senior Lecturer in Earth and Environmental Sciences at James Cook University, Australia. He has over 25 years of combined academic, research, and industry experience in water resources management, hydrology, and environmental modeling. He received his Bachelor and Master of Engineering degrees in Irrigation, Drainage, and Water Resources Management (1996-2001), followed by eight years of professional experience as a water engineer, hydrologist, and project manager in industry. Dr. Jarihani completed his PhD in Hydrological Sciences at The University of Queensland, Australia (2011-2015), in collaboration with CSIRO. His research interests include the application of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) in water resources assessment, flood modeling, hydro-geomorphology, and the development of nature-based solutions for climate resilience. He has been recognized with several awards, including the European Geosciences Union 2011 Outstanding Student Poster Award in Hydrological Sciences, The University of Queensland Research Scholarship, and the Integrated Natural Resource Management Top-Up Scholarship from CSIRO.
