Person

Vickers-Rich, Patricia (1944 - )

Born
11 July 1944
Exeter, California, United States of America
Occupation
Palaeontologist and Ornithologist
Alternative Names
  • Rich, Patricia (Also known as)
  • Vickers, Patricia (maiden name)

Summary

Patricia Vickers-Rich is Director of the Monash Science Centre, Monash University and a world renowned palaeontologist and geologist. Vickers-Rich researches the origin and evolution of Australasian vertebrates and their environments over the past 400 million years. She has special interest in Australian avian fossil non-passerines.

Details

Patricia Vickers-Rich was born and educated in the USA and migrated to Australia in 1976. Prior to arriving in Australia, she held a number of research positions including one at the American Museum of Natural History in New York (1972). There she studied the bird fossils collected from the Northern Territory and South Australia by joint Australian and American expeditions. One of her first appointments in Australia was as Lecturer in the Department of Earth Sciences at Monash University. Over the next 20 years, Patricia Vickers-Rich held numerous positions within the University and is now Director of the Monash Science Centre and Personal Chair in Palaeontology. She is also a Research Associate at Tasmania's Queen Victoria Museum, the Museum of Victoria and Moscow's Paleontological Institute.

Vickers-Rich is a prolific writer and has co-authored at least 10 books, three of which have won major science publishing awards. Her refereed journal articles and published exhibition catalogues number well over 150. Patricia Vickers-Rich has also been awarded several prizes for excellence in science communication and elected to many prominent scientific organizations. She was Vice-President, President Elect then President of the Australian Association of Palaeontologists from 1992 to 1998.

Chronology

1963 - 1965
Career position - Research Assistant in Paleontology at the University of California
1963 - 1965
Career position - Zooarchaeologist at the Nevada State Museum in Reno, USA
1966
Education - Bachelor of Arts (AB) in Palentology completed at the University of Berkeley, USA
1968 - 1969
Career position - Teaching Assistant in Geology at Columbia University, New York
1969
Education - Master of Arts (MA) in Geology completed at Columbia University, USA
1970
Career position - Field Ecologist with the Organization of Tropical Studies in Costa Rica
1970
Career position - Member of the Sigma Xi (National Science Honorary Organization)
1972
Career position - Palaeontologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York
1973
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) completed at Columbia University, USA
September 1973 - May 1976
Career position - Assistant Professor and Associate Curator at the Texas Tech University & Museum
c. 1976
Life event - Migrated to Australia (Melbourne)
June 1976 - December 1983
Career position - Lecturer in Earth Sciences at Monash University
1977 - 1983
Career position - Research Associate in Ornithology at the National Museum of Victoria
1984 - 1989
Career position - Senior Lecturer in Earth Sciences and Zoology at Monash University
1989 - 1995
Career position - Reader in Departments of Earth Sciences and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Monash University
1990 -
Career position - Member of the Society of Women Geographers in Washington, USA
1992 - 1993
Career position - Deputy Head of Earth Sciences at Monash University
1992 - 1994
Career position - Vice-President of the Australian Association of Palaeontologists
1993 -
Career position - Foundation Director of the Monash Science Centre at Monash University
1993
Award - Michael Daley Award for Excellence in Science Technology & Engineering Journalism received
1993
Award - Wildlife of Gondwana awarded the Eureka Prize
1994
Award - Wildlife of Gondwana awarded the Whitley Medal for best book on the natural history of Australian animals
1994 - 1995
Career position - President Elect of the Australian Association of Palaeontologists
1995 -
Career position - Research Associate at the Queen Victoria Museum in Launceston
1995 -
Career position - Professor and Personal Chair in Palaeontology at Monash University
1996 -
Career position - Member of the International Academy of Sciences of Nature & Society in Moscow
1997 - 1998
Career position - President of the Australian Association of Palaeontologists
1998 -
Career position - Research Associate in Vertebrate Palaeontology and Ornithology at the Museum of Victoria
2000
Award - Dinosaurs of Darkness by T. H. Rich & Vickers-Rich received the Eureka Prize
2004 -
Career position - Research Associate in the Laboratory of Precambrian Organisms at the Paleontological Institute in Moscow
2004
Award - Magnificient Mihirungs by Vickers-Rich & Peter Murray received the Whitley Medal for best book on the natural history of Australian animals
2007
Award - Selwyn Medal (jointly with Tom Rich), Victorian Branch, Geological Society of Australia
2014
Award - Honorary Bragg Member, Royal Institution of Australia
2016
Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to the earth sciences, particularly palaeontology, as an academic, to education curriculum development, and to international scientific organisations

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

  • McCarthy, Gavan; Morgan, Helen; Smith, Ailie; van den Bosch, Alan, Where are the Women in Australian Science?, Exhibition of the Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, First published 2003 with lists updated regulary edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, 2003, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/wisa/wisa.html. Details

Book Sections

  • Archbold, Neil; Vickers-Rich, Pat, 'Squatters, Priests and Professors: a Brief History of Vertebrate Palaeontology in Terra Australis' in Vertebrate Palaeontology of Australasia, Pat Vickers-Rich; J.M. Monaghan and R.F. Baird and T.H. Rich, eds (Melbourne: Pioneer Design Studios and Monash University Publications Committee, 1991), pp. 1-44. Details
  • Turner, S.; and Vickers-rich, Pat, 'Sprigg, Glaessner and Wade and the Discovery and International Recognition of the Ediacaran Fauna' in Four Centuries of Geological Travel: the Search for Knowledge on Foot, Bicycle, Sledge and Camel, Wyse-Jackson, P. N., ed. (London: Geological Society, 2007), pp. 443-5. Details

Conference Papers

  • Turner, S.; and Vickers-Rich, P, 'Reg Sprigg, Martin F. Glaessner, Mary Wade and the Ediacaran Fauna', in IGCP 493 Conference, Prato Workshop, Monash University Centre. August 30-31, 2004 (2004), p. 1.. Details

Edited Books

  • Rich, P. V.; and Tets, G. F. Van eds, Kadimakara: Extinct Vertebrates of Australia (Lilydale: Pioneer Design Studios, 1985), 284 pp. Details

Resources

See also

  • Robin, Libby, The Flight of the Emu: a Hundred Years of Australian Ornithology 1901-2001 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2001), 492 pp. Details

Rosanne Walker & Annette Alafaci

EOAS ID: biogs/P003192b.htm

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"... the rengitj, as a visible mark or imprint on the land, is characterised as a place of origin, the repository of all names, as well as a kind of mapped visual expression of the connection between people and places which is to be carried out in the temporal sequence of the journey." Fanca Tamisari (1998) 'Body, Vision and Movement: In the footprints of the ancestors'. Oceania 68(4) p260