Scott Hocknull

Scott Hocknull is a vertebrate palaeontologist and assistant curator in Geology at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane. He is the 2002 recipient of the Young Australian of the Year Award. He is the youngest Australian to hold a museum curatorship and has described and named 10 new species and four new genera [http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2002/jan/studentYoungAust.html] .

Education

Section: Palaeontology & Geology Qualifications: BSc (Hons) PhD candidate Biographical Info: Curator, Palaeontology & Geology GeosciencesVertebrate PalaeontologistYoung Australian of the Year 2002

Scott’s story is one of boyhood passions and dreams of studying dinosaurs and palaeontology coming true when he was appointed as Assistant Curator of Palaeontology and Geology at the Queensland Museum at the age of 22 years, making him the youngest curator of any Australian museum. Scott began his professional career in palaeontology in 1994, at the age of 16, when he published his first scientific paper, making him the youngest scientific author in Australia. Scott volunteered at the Queensland Museum for ten years during school and university, collecting numerous new localities for the museum, some of which are hailed as the most significant of their type in the last 30 years. Scott graduated from the University of Queensland in 2000 with First Class Honours. In 2006 Scott rose to Curator of Geosciences. In addition to his curatorial position, Scott is a part-time PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales, focussing on the evolution of Australia’s fauna, flora and climate over the last 4.5 million years in Queensland. He also researches, excavates and promotes Australia’s dinosaur fossil record. In 2002, Scott was awarded the Young Australian of the Year.

Recently, Scott has senior authored several children’s books on Australian dinosaurs and was awarded the prestigious Geological Society of Australia’s Neville Steven’s Medal for science communication in the Earth Sciences. Scott has been acknowledged for his enthusiasm for science education in Australia as the youngest member of the Queensland Government’s Science State Taskforce.

Scott’s research projects include: The evolution of Australian rainforest faunas and their responses to climate change. Megafaunal Extinction and responses of Quaternary vertebrates to climate change. Mesozoic faunas from Queensland, in particular the fossil faunas from the Winton Formation. Evolution of Australopapuan agamid lizards. Fossil record of giant varanid lizards.

Awards

*Young Australian of the Year (2002)
* [http://www.queensland.gsa.org.au/shocknull.htm 2005 Neville Stevens Medal]

External links

* [http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/organisation/staff/detail.asp?staffName=Hocknull,Scott "Scott Hocknull"] at Queensland Museum
* [http://www.australianoftheyear.gov.au/recipient.asp?pID=76 "Young Australian of the Year"]