I am currently a lecturer in conservation science and sustainability. Before joining Deakin University, I held serval teaching positions in various universities including Osaka University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Adelaide. I am an environmental and development anthropologist. My research interests are the social dimension of natural resources conflicts (protected areas management), climate change adaptation planning, resilience, sustainable livelihood, displacement and resettlement as well as post-disaster recovery. My research interests also include the values and concepts of land to the traditional landowners, especially for the tangible and intangible values of land.

 Arani Ranawalage Dona

PhD student

I am a Ph.D. research scholar from Sri Lanka with a background in agricultural systems and natural resource management. My research interests include sustainable agriculture, common resource management, local adaptation and resilience, and community-based conservation. My research focuses on developing a participatory systems dynamics model to explore the causes and effects of resilience in small-scale, rural farming systems facing diverse agricultural challenges. Additionally, I aim to quantify the relationships between farmers' resilience capacities and various farm and farmer characteristics. This research seeks to identify key drivers that strengthen the resilience of small-scale farming communities, contributing to more sustainable and adaptive agricultural systems.

  Ben Pederick

he/him

Australia - English

PhD Researcher, School of Communication and Creative Arts, Faculty of Science Engineering and the Built Environment, Centre for Integrative Ecology

Deakin University, Burwood

Transmedia Producer

Email: bpederick@deakin.edu.au

Twitter: @BenPederick

As a transmedia producer and senior factual documentary producer Ben’s work includes films, videos, interactive media, articles, and websites. This practice spans more than 20 years, working internationally and in Australia, across cultures, languages, and borders. His research is prototyping transmedia for community-led climate resilience.

 Salvadi Chetan Kumar

PhD student

Climate change and human intervention have altered the characteristics of hydroclimatic extremes. Precipitation serves as the primary driver of flood mechanisms. Humans adopt structural and non-structural measures to mitigate flood impacts. However, mismanagement can further exacerbate flooding. These interactions between hydrological system and human actions co-evolve over time, making it to model and understand these feedback loops for better resource management. My research focuses on understanding and modeling the impact of human interventions and their co-evolution with the hydrological system.

 Luca Peters

He/Him

English, Dutch, French, German

PhD student

I am a food systems researcher pursuing my PhD at Deakin University in collaboration with the Land Use Futures program at the Climateworks Centre, focusing on sustainable land use and the transition to alternative proteins.

With a Master’s in International Land and Water Management from Wageningen University, I have a strong foundation in analyzing land and water challenges through a holistic lens, integrating physical, technical, socio-economic, and political dimensions.

Over the past seven years, I have worked on diverse projects in water management, sustainable agriculture, and climate change mitigation. As a research consultant for Farm Transitions Australia, I analyzed the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the Australian dairy sector and the role of alternative proteins in reshaping its future. My work with the World Preservation Foundation provided insights into soil carbon sequestration and livestock methane emissions, while my role at the SQNNSW Drought Innovation Hub involved stakeholder engagement and research on drought resilience in livestock farming. My experience at PRACTICA Foundation further strengthened my expertise in irrigation and water management in low-income settings. I have collaborated with ministries, multilateral organizations, NGOs, research institutions, and the private sector across 15 countries.

During the past two years, I have deepened my understanding of the central role of food systems in the interconnected climate change, biodiversity loss and public health crises. One of the most critical things I learned is that land use plays a crucial role in climate change mitigation, with the potential to act as either a carbon source or a sink. Through my PhD, I am eager to further develop my quantitative skills by learning land use modeling and conducting life cycle assessments (LCA) of alternative protein sources. I am committed to making significant contributions to the fields of alternative proteins, land use, and sustainable food systems.

 Peiyue Tu

She/Her

Mandarin, English

Visiting PhD student

Peiyue Tu is a visiting PhD student from Wuhan University in China and is studying environmental science.  Her research focuses on climate change, air pollution, and their combined health impacts. She is particularly interested in developing assessment frameworks to evaluate climate-related health risks on a global scale. Her work integrates environmental geography and epidemiological analysis to enhance the understanding of climate change's effects on public health.

Hoa Vu

She/Her

English,Vietnamese

PhD Candidate

Master of Environment, University of Melbourne

LinkedIn

Pankti Shah

She/Her

English, Gujarati, Hindi

PhD Candidate

Bachelor of Engineering (2014), L.D. College of Engineering, India | Masters of Data Science (2021),La Trobe University, Melbourne.

LinkedIn

Email: p.shah@research.deakin.edu.au

 Tao Hu

He/Him

Chinese, English

Visiting PhD student

I’m a PhD student from Peking University in China. My research focuses on the vegetation dynamics from a social-ecological system perspective and its impact on biodiversity. I am currently leading an 18-month visiting project at Deakin University, aiming to explore the historical and future pressure of land use/cover change on biodiversity in Australia.

 Jingyi Liu

She/Her

Chinese, English

Visiting PhD student

PhD Student, Central China Normal University, China

Email: s224016798@deakin.edu.au

Nicki Kalahroudi

PhD student

Niki studied natural resources engineering- Environmental science at bachelor program and completed her master degree in environmental science- land evaluation and land use planning. She is interested in modelling climate change and land use change on carbon sequestration, soil erosion and water yield for her Ph.D. thesis, however, she is also passionate to gain knowledge about remote sensing and restoration ecology. She mapped land use and agricultural land in Iran using GIS and satellite images such as Quick bird and landsat in Iran.

Xinhao Pan

He/Him

Chinese, English

PhD Student

Exchange student of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, Netherlands | Master of Natural Resources, Beijing Normal University, China | Bachelor of Geographic Information Science, Bachelor of Computer Science, Yanbian University, China

Linkedin

Google Scholar

Email: x.pan@deakin.edu.au

Xinhao is a PhD student at Deakin University, focusing his research on achieving Net Zero in Australia's land sector. He can use deep learning and data analysis by python. Xinhao has also a keen interest in land system science, sustainable development, and landscape ecology. He likes applying techniques to tackle issues in geography and environmental.

 Navoda Liyana Pathirana

Research Fellow

PhD

My research is focused on interdisciplinary approaches for data-driven policy solutions for healthy and sustainable food systems. At Deakin, I am the project manager on an interdisciplinary research project in collaboration with George Institute, Sydney to develop a comprehensive food environmental impact database and on a project in collaboration with the Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation (IISRI) at Deakin University aimed at developing an automated system to detect unhealthy digital marketing. Before Deakin, I did my PhD on a nutrient-level analysis of the sustainability of food systems.  

Email: navoda.l@deakin.edu.au

 Bhavendu Joshi

PhD student

I am a conservation researcher from India currently enrolled as a PhD student at Deakin University, Melbourne. My PhD is a joint collaboration between Deakin University and Conservation Initiatives — a local NGO from Northeast India, where I also work as a Program Manager.

My research interests broadly encompass a range of fields, including Human-wildlife interactions, Social sciences, Ecology, Species distribution, GIS, and Community-based conservation. For my PhD, I am looking to assess and map key benefits that people derive from the community-managed forests of Northeast India. Specifically, I utilise the ecosystem service concept to untangle the complexities associated with people-nature relationships in the region and aim to explore the synergies and tradeoffs involved in integrating these benefits into regional and national-level conservation planning frameworks.

Email: bjoshi@deakin.edu.au

Dr Fei Guo

PhD student

Works on the project “the optional upgrade pathways of China’s water quality improvement”. His research is trying to develop a high solution model of China’s wastewater treatment upgrade pathways, for the government to make more scientific policies to improve the aquatic environment. He had established a model with accuracy of technique units and 30 m land availability to analyze the life circle economic and environmental costs of various wastewater treatment upgrade pathways. And he is still working on simulation of more water quality improvement patterns.

 Alys Rhiannon Young

PhD student

New approaches to mobilise knowledge and data are needed to tackle the current biodiversity crisis. I am a PhD Candidate in conservation ecology investigating biodiversity modelling, particularly using remote sensing and quantitative tools. My research demonstrates the potential for drawing inference about biodiversity trends in space and time from limited and diverse data with ecological models. I have investigated knowledge collaborations to classify and describe ecosystems, drawing on research and industry data for ecosystem mapping, and elucidating animal population trends in central Australia. My research is underpinned by an aim and passion to support Indigenous-led land management in Australia. More broadly, I am interested in quantitative approaches to ecological modelling, coding, data visualisation, and supporting students in learning of statistical and quantitative methods.

Addie Delgado

Master of Sustainability (Professional) Student

Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering; Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering

I am an environmental and sustainability consultant with over a decade of experience in environmental compliance, sustainability reporting, GHG accounting, and environmental advisory. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering, and I am currently undertaking a Master of Sustainability (Professional) at Deakin University, specializing in Sustainable Regional Development under the research pathway. 

My research focuses on renewable energy deployment and land-use trade-offs in Australia, particularly the interactions between onshore wind and utility solar development, biodiversity conservation and trade-offs, and agricultural demand. Using spatial and systems modelling tools, I examine how ecological constraints, transmission infrastructure, and policy targets influence siting decisions. My work aims to contribute to low carbon energy pathways that balance environmental, economic, and land-use outcomes.

Dorothy Wei

PhD Student

Research focus in sustainable food systems

Dorothy Wei is a PhD student whose research focuses on measuring and communicating the true environmental and health cost of food in Australia. Her work contributes to the broader field of sustainable food systems.

Huan Yang

PhD Student

Master’s degree, Wuhan University

Huan Yang graduated from Wuhan University with a master’s degree and has a strong research background in air pollution, urban expansion, and ecosystem services. With a strong interest in programming and data analysis, he is committed to advancing research in environmental sustainability. His doctoral research focuses on the coupled feedback mechanisms and planetary boundary constraints between future global food and hydrological systems under climate change, with the aim of supporting the sustainable transition of global food systems within water resource limits.

Research/project: For his doctoral research, Huan Yang focuses on the coupled feedback mechanisms and planetary boundary constraints between future global food and hydrological systems under climate change. His goal is to provide a scientific basis for steering the sustainable transition of global food systems within the planetary limits of water resources.

Sachini Sienna Witharanaga

Master of Sustainability (Professional) Student

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka

I am Sachini Thilakarathna, a Master of Sustainability (Professional) student undertaking the research pathway. I completed my Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Applied Sciences at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, and it was through the undergraduate research experience that I developed a genuine interest in sustainability and the systems that shape our environment.

My current research sits at the intersection of climate science, agricultural economics, and land-use modelling. I am exploring how climate interventions affect food demand, agricultural production, land use, and livelihoods in Australia. Central to this work is LUTO2, Australia's high-resolution, spatially explicit land-use optimisation model, which I am working with to improve its simulation of the economic and environmental consequences of future agricultural change. My contribution focuses on enhancing the model's economic realism to better reflect the market dynamics that drive land-use decisions across Australia. I find it genuinely exciting to bridge disciplines, bringing a scientific mindset into a field that demands both technical depth and real-world policy relevance

Professor Kelly Miller

Professor, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University

Environmental Social Scientist with over 25 years of experience in social research and higher education

Kelly Miller is a Professor and Environmental Social Scientist whose research and teaching interests include quantitative and qualitative social research in environmental science, the human dimensions of environmental management and wildlife conservation, sustainable behaviours and behaviour change, ecotourism, environmental interpretation, land use planning, and environmental impact assessment. Her work focuses on the relationship between human experience and nature, and on how values, attitudes, and behaviours can align with biodiversity conservation and sustainable development goals. Her research centres on the interface between people and nature, with a focus on environmental management, wildlife conservation, sustainability, and behaviour change in Australia and internationally.

Dr Adam Cardilini

Senior Lecturer, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University

Background in biology and ecology; PhD in ecological genetics, Deakin University

Adam Cardilini is a Senior Lecturer whose work sits at the intersection of ecology, conservation, and social science. His research focuses on how animals are considered in science and society, with interests spanning animal ethics in science, conservation and animal social science, and animal-centred perspectives on human beliefs and behaviours toward animals. He uses interdisciplinary and social science approaches to examine issues in conservation biology, animal use in research, and animal agriculture, while also contributing to teaching in environmental science and science communication.