September 15, 2017

Geographers elected Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences

Professor Chris Gibson honoured for his contribution to geography and society

The University of Wollongong’s (UOW) Professor Chris Gibson has been elected as a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA), in recognition of his distinguished contribution to society and to the discipline of geography.

The Fellowship is one of the highest honours an Australian social scientist can receive, with 46 Fellows elected to the Academy this year. Professor Gibson’s election makes it two in a row for UOW’s School of Geography and Sustainable Communities, after fellow geographer Professor Pauline McGuirk was elected a Fellow last year.

“I’m delighted and honoured to be elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. It’s a great feeling to have one’s research recognised by our peers,” Professor Gibson said.

“But I’m especially happy to see recognition of the contributions made to social sciences from a regional university setting.

“I strongly believe and act on the assertion that world-class, distinctive contributions to the social sciences and humanities emanate from non-metropolitan universities.

“That two geographers from the University of Wollongong have been elected as Academy Fellows in two successive years suggests this is so.”

Professor Gibson is a Professor of Human Geography in the Faculty of Social Sciences where he was instrumental in establishing the Australian Centre for Cultural Environmental Research (AUSCCER).

He is also is the inaugural Director of the UOW Global Challenges Program which was launched in 2013. Professor Gibson leads the Transforming Lives and Regions Global Challenge which recognises the interconnected nature of regional transformation impacting the way we live and how we interact with the world around us.

His research addresses questions of regional social, economic and environmental change, vulnerability and resilience.

He has published more than 100 academic papers and 10 books on diverse topics, from the social and economic contributions of festivals to regional communities, to the history and geography of niche industries including music, surfboard-making and guitar manufacturing.

From 2010-2013 he was an inaugural ARC Future Fellow, and in 2013 was an international expert contributor to the UN Creative Economy Report. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of the academic journal, Australian Geographer.

Professor Pauline McGuirk from the School of Geography and Sustainable Communities is a Fellow of the prestigious Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

Professor McGuirk is a Professor of Urban Geography. Her international reputation is based on her critical studies of urban governance, its changing geographies, practices and politics, and the differential implications for urban places, communities and power.

She has explored the changing governance of cities across multiple domains including urban regeneration, carbon reduction, energy transition and smart cities. A key focus in her research is the way governance opens out or constrains possibilities for shaping just and sustainable cities.

She has worked with colleagues across economic, cultural and social geography as well as in sociology, planning, political science and international relations, and with practitioners and policy makers in state and local governments.

Prior to joining UOW in 2016, Professor McGuirk was Head of Discipline, Geography and Environmental Studies and Director of the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Newcastle.

Professor McGuirk has been a visiting fellow at National University of Ireland (Maynooth), University of British Columbia (Vancouver), Trinity College (Dublin) and at the universities of Glasgow, Durham and Bristol. She is an editor of the leading international journal Progress in Human Geography.