Richard Thornton

Dr Richard Thornton is the CEO of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, where he manages the $47M investment by the Commonwealth government which is matched by cash and in-kind contributions from States, Territories, research organisations and not-for-profit organisations. The research agenda is comprised of around 40 separate but interconnected research projects as well as support for up to 50 PhD scholarships.

Previously, he was Deputy CEO and Research Director of the Bushfire CRC, a role he held from 2004 until mid-2013. His responsibilities included leadership and oversight of the research program.

Richard is a highly experienced Research Management Executive with over 15 years in the field, both with the Bushfire CRC and Telstra previously. Richard has a physics background and has worked in science fields including nuclear and semiconductor physics, computational fluid mechanics, IT and telecommunications engineering, and online services, primarily in the private sector.

Richard is a member of the Board of the International Association of Wildland Fire and the Chair of the Editorial Advisory Committee of the International Journal of Wildland Fire.