Science, Technology and the Environment

Professor Ian Lowe AO, plays a leading role in the innovation and promotion of science and technology, and for the protection and sustainability of the environment. He holds senior positions at several of Australia’s universities, and is the President of the Australian Conservation Foundation. Prof Lowe today consults to all levels of government and private organisations, and is an integral member of several local and international groups targeting science, climate change and sustainability. Prof Lowe has, and continues to make, an immense contribution to science, environment and the Australian way of life.

About Professor Lowe

Professor Ian Lowe AO is emeritus professor of science, technology and society at Griffith University in Brisbane, an adjunct professor at Sunshine Coast University and an honorary research fellow at the University of Adelaide. He is also the President of the Australian Conservation Foundation.

Professor Lowe was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2001 for services to science and technology, especially in the area of environmental studies. In 2002 he was awarded a Centenary Medal for contributions to environmental science and won the Eureka Prize for promotion of science. His contributions have also been recognised by the Prime Minister's Environment Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement, the Queensland Premier's Millennium Award for Excellence in Science and the University of NSW Alumni Award for achievement in science. Professor Lowe was named Humanist of the Year in 1988.

Engineering and Science

Professor Lowe studied engineering and science at the University of NSW and earned his doctorate in physics from the University of York. He is the author or co-author of 10 Open University books, 6 other books, 50 book chapters and over 500 other publications or conference papers.

From 1983 to 1989 Professor Lowe was a member of the National Energy Research, Development and Demonstration Council, chairing its standing committee on social, economic and environmental issues.

He was Director of the Commission for the Future in 1988, and chaired the advisory council that produced the first independent national report on the state of the environment in 1996. He is a member of the Environmental Health Council and the Radiation Health and Safety Advisory Council He chairs the Queensland Government task force implementing the reform of science education and a task force advising Brisbane City Council on Climate Change and Energy. He is deputy chair of the Queensland Sustainable Energy Innovation Group, which advises the State government on energy innovations.

Professor Lowe has conducted consultancies for all three levels of government as well as companies and peak organisations in the private sector.

Professor Lowe has been a referee for the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, attended the Geneva and Kyoto conferences of the parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change and was a member of the Australian delegation to the 1999 UNESCO World Conference on Science. He was on the steering group for the UNEP project Global Environmental Outlook, an invited participant in the 2000 workshop on Sustainability Science and a referee for both the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program's 2004 book on planetary science and the UN’s Millennium Assessment Report.

Professor Lowe has made countless contributions to newspapers, radio, television and periodicals since 1991. He gave the ABC's Boyer Lectures in 1991 and has been a member of the advisory group for Brisbane's Ideas Festival since its inception. He is a member of the board of Major Brisbane Festivals Ltd and is Vice-President of Queensland Academy of the Arts and Sciences.

Presentation Topics Include

• Science and technology
• Environmental issues
• Innovation
• Climate change