The Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre, and its predecessor have been at the forefront of natural hazards research in Australia since 2003. In that time, the CRC has developed a knowledge network that actively engages researchers, fire and emergency services leaders and practitioners, government representatives from all tiers of government, the NGO sector and the community. The CRC’s research in the political, social and physical sciences of natural hazards is already demonstrating the effectiveness of this model, and the value that a national research centre can play as an independent facilitator and coordinator of major national initiatives.

The CRC’s award-winning research in communications and warnings, fire weather and disaster resilience education for young people are just some of the examples of the effectiveness of the knowledge networks that the CRC has developed. The seminar will look at what has changed in natural hazards research in the last decade, and how through the CRC’s established networks, the public funds that have been invested in research are now returning dividends that are protecting life and reducing impacts on communities and the economy.

This seminar is part of the Susan L Cutter seminar series, by the ANU Disaster Risk Science Institute. 

Dr John Bates is the Research Director of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre. Dr Bates joined the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC as Research Director in 2017, where he is responsible for managing the CRC's research and utilisation program. Prior to joining the CRC, he was the founding Director of the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience.

Dr Bates has formal qualifications in health and life sciences from the University of Melbourne and has worked extensively in the development, translation and commercialisation of research in industry, and in the research sector. He has significant experience in the development and delivery of undergraduate and graduate education in Australia and overseas and has taught at universities in Australia and Asia. John has worked in complex environments in areas including defence, public health, animal health, transport, higher education and food. John is an active volunteer in the Victorian State Emergency Service and Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Journal of Emergency Management.