Paul Willis - Australian Skeptics National Convention 2013

Paul M. A. Willis is an Australian

palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

science communicator Science communication is the practice of informing, educating, raising awareness of science-related topics, and increasing the sense of wonder about scientific discoveries and arguments. Science communicators and audiences are ambiguously def ...

and former Director of the

Royal Institution of Australia The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation with a mission to "bring science to people and people to science". It opened in October 2009. Concept The concept of a Royal Institution of Austral ...

(RiAus).

Career

Willis studied

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and went on to complete a PhD in

palaeontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

. He has been a resident palaeontologist on ten

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

expeditions and has written or co-authored eight books on

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s, rocks and

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s. While Willis found his first fossil when he was six, the earliest part of his collection was a small echinoid collected by his parents on their honeymoon. Willis completed a BSc at Sydney University in zoology and geology before conducting a PhD at the University of New South Wales. His Doctoral thesis was on The Phylogenetic Systematics of Australasian Crocodilians. Willis's doctoral studies resulted in the erection of several new taxa including the subfamily

Mekosuchinae Mekosuchinae is an extinct clade of crocodilians from the Cenozoic of Australasia. They first appear in the fossil record in the Eocene in Australia, and survived until the arrival of humans: in the Pleistocene in Australia and within the Holocene ...

, and the genera ''

Baru ''Baru'' is an extinct genus of Australian mekosuchine crocodilian. It was semi-aquatic, around 4 m (13 ft) in length. Being semi-aquatic its habitat was around fresh pools of water in wet forests, ambushing their prey, much like moder ...

'', ''

Kambara ''Kambara'' is an extinct genus of mekosuchine crocodylian that lived during the Eocene epoch in Australia. Description At around 55 million years old, remains of ''Kambara'' are among the oldest Tertiary fossils found in Australia (although th ...

,'' ''

Australosuchus ''Australosuchus'' is an extinct monospecific genus of crocodylian belonging to the subfamily Mekosuchinae. The type and only known species ''Australosuchus clarkae'' lived during the Late Oligocene and the Early Miocene of southern Australia. ...

'', ''

Trilophosuchus ''Trilophosuchus'' ("Triple Crest Crocodile") is an extinct genus of mekosuchine crocodilian from Australia. Unlike living crocodilians, it is hypothesized to have been terrestrial. ''Trilophosuchus'' was approximately in length. It had a short ...

'' and '' Harpacoshampsa.'' He conducted extensive field work, mostly in North Queensland, as well as completing a period as a paleontological preparator at the

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

. During this time Willis prepared an opalised skeleton dubbed by him as Eric the Plesiosaur and later named

Umoonasaurus ''Umoonasaurus'' is an extinct genus of plesiosaur belonging to the family Leptocleididae. This genus lived approximately 115 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period ( Aptian-Albian stages), in shallow seas covering parts of what is ...

. In 1997, Willis commenced a traineeship with the ABC. During his career in public broadcasting, Willis went on to report and present stories for ''

Quantum In physics, a quantum (plural quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a physical property can be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantizati ...

'' and ''Catalyst'' on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and the series ''

Monster Bug Wars ''Monster Bug Wars'' is a nature documentary program, created and distributed by Beyond Television Productions, and televised on the Science Channel in the United States, and SBS in Australia. The monster movie format features two kinds of inse ...

'' on SBS. Willis produced over 350 stories for ''Catalyst'' during a ten-year stint with the program. He left his employment at the ABC to take up directorship of the Royal Institution of Australia in 2011 which ended in July 2017. He also worked for ABC radio, creating ''The Correx Files'' for

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

, presenting numerous regular science talkback segments on various radio stations across the country and contributing to ''The Science Show'', ''Earthbeat'' and ''The Health Report.''. Willis is now freelancing science communications through his company Media Engagement Services as well as conducting some paleontological studies as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Flinders University. He is also an ambassador for the

National Secular Lobby The National Secular Lobby is an Australian pro-secular organisation, founded in July 2017 and officially launched in January 2018. It aims to promote secular principles and the separation of church and state in Australia. The National Secula ...

Honours

In 2000 Willis was a joint recipient of the

Eureka Prize The Eureka Prizes are awarded annually by the Australian Museum, Sydney, to recognise individuals and organizations who have contributed to science and the understanding of science in Australia. They were founded in 1990 following a suggestion ...

for Science Communication and was voted Australian Skeptic of the Year in 2002 for working to counter

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or falsifiability, unfa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Paul University of Sydney alumni Science communicators Living people Australian paleontologists Year of birth missing (living people)