Ravi Naidu

Biography

"Professor Ravi Naidu is the Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director and Chief Scientist of the Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC CARE). Professor Naidu was also the Founding Director of the Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR). He has researched environmental contaminants, bioavailability, and remediation for over 25 years and has gained advanced leadership and management experience in environmental sustainability throughout this period. Professor Naidu has co-authored 440 refereed journal articles and seven patents, and co-edited 11 books and 66 book chapters in the field of soil and environmental sciences. He has also supervised over 35 PhD completions. Of the seven patents that he has joint recognition for, two are now fully commercialized with remediation plants operating in Townsville, Perth and Adelaide treating contaminated waste water. Remediation technology for the management and cleanup of soils contaminated with firefighting foam and chlorinated hydrocarbon contaminated ground water are used as proprietary technology and used for remediation at a number of sites. Professor Naidu's publications have been cited more than 14,800 times (Google Scholar and Google h index 57) and i10 index of 265. Professor Naidu was instrumental in developing a network of scientists working on contamination – Soil Contamination Research Australasia Pacific (SCRAP), now titled the Australian Remediation Industry Cluster (ARIC). As part of this network he has independently raised funds for research and training in the Asia region. Over the last 10 years he has run more than 20 workshops, 5 international conferences and raised more than $170M cash (includes CRC CARE funding) for research in this region. The network has led to the establishment of similar groupings of people within the regional countries and now has over 4000 members across the region. In recognition of his contribution to environmental research he was awarded a Gold Medal in environmental science in 1998 by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). He is an elected Fellow of the Soil Science Societies of America (2000), New Zealand (2004) and Agronomy Society of America (2006). In 2012 he was chosen as a winner of the Soil Science Society of America's International Soil Science Award, and in 2013 was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is Chair of the International Committee on Bioavailability and Risk Assessment and was Chair of the Standards Australia Technical Committee on Sampling and Analyses of Contaminated Soils (1999-2007), Chair of the International Union of Soil Sciences Commission for Soil Degradation Control, Remediation and Reclamation (2002-10), President of the International Society on Trace Element Biogeochemistry (2005-07) and sitting member of the Victorian EPA Contaminated Sites Auditor panel. In recognition of his contributions to agricultural and allied sciences, he was awarded honorary DSc by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in December 2013 and inaugural Banksia CEO award in the same year for his outstanding contribution to environmental sustainability research."

Research Interest

Environmental Science and Management