Our Guest rockstar

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ProfJohn Long has been Strategic Professor in Palaeontology at Flinders University since 2013. John graduated with PhD from Monash University (1984), and was then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the ANU, UWA and U.Tas before being appointed as Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Western Australian Museum (1989-2004). He was then Head of Sciences at Museum Victoria (2004–2009), and Vice President of Research and Collections at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, in the USA (2009–2012).

John’s research has focused on the early evolution of fishes and sharks, based on his field work throughout Australia and from 4 expeditions to Antarctica. He has published over 200 scientific papers, some 160 general science articles, and some 28 books. His work has appeared in Nature, Science, and Scientific American. His 55 articles in The Conversation have been read by over 2.6 million people. John’s awards include the Eureka Prize for the Public Promotion of Science (2001), the Australasian Science Prize (2009), and the 2019 Bettison and James Award for lifetime achievement (2019). He was the President of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (2014–2016), and of the Royal Society of South Australia (2016–2019). His latest book, “The Secret History of Sharks – The Rise of the Ocean’s Most Fearsome Predators” was released in 2024.