About Us

Professor Roe is a computer scientist interested in how technology can benefit environment and community, particularly for new kinds of environmental monitoring. With a deep understanding of Australia’s fragile and mega-diverse environment, Professor Roe undertakes novel interdisciplinary research. This includes ecological acoustic monitoring systems which enable new scales of environmental monitoring through big data collection and analysis, and novel computer systems supporting communication and collaboration in remote Aboriginal communities. He leads the ARDC Open Ecoacoustics platform project which is developing an open source platform for ecoacoustic data storage, analysis, visualisation and sharing. He also leads the Australian Acoustic Observatory (A2O), a continental-scale network utilising 400 continuously operating acoustic sensors across multiple Australian ecosystems collecting 2 Petabytes of sound data over the project’s 5-year duration. Professor Roe is also a member of the Open Ecoacoustics Scientific and Technical Advisory boards.

Associate Professor Susan Fuller is an internationally recognised researcher in ecology and conservation biology, with a focus on using acoustic technology to understand and conserve biodiversity. Her research group studies the bioacoustics of frogs and birds, particularly to better understand call evolution and speciation, but importantly to identify risks posed by anthropogenic activities (such as vegetation clearing and noise) on species persistence. Susan is leading research on threatened bird, frog and mammal species detection in the bushfire affected Gondwana WHA, but also in urban areas with her project developing ecoacoustic tools for detection of powerful owls and breeding success in the Greater Brisbane Region She also studies soundscapes and has pioneered research linking soundscape patterns to landscape fragmentation and ecological condition. Her research on bird assemblages in regrowth Mulga has important ramifications for vegetation clearing in this impacted bioregion and her current involvement in QUT’s National Landcare Smart Farms project developing acoustic technology for biodiversity monitoring on cotton farms will deliver tangible reporting outcomes for the industry. Susan is also co-leader with Prof Paul Roe of the ARDC Open Ecoacoustics Platform project. She has been elected as a Councillor on the Board of the International Society of Ecoacoustics since it’s inception in 2014 and she gained national media attention in 2016 through her involvement in an ABC Catalyst episode on soundscapes (http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4498780.htm).Assoc. Professor Fuller is also a member of the Open Ecoacoustics Scientific and Technical Advisory boards.

Read about Anthony's journey as a Research Software engineer on the ARDC Website (https://ardc.edu.au/article/shaping-research-software-an-interview-with-anthony-truskinger/).