Chair in Applied Regional Economics, Hunter Research Foundation Centre, University of Newcastle
Will Rifkin, PhD, is an engineer-turned-sociologist with degrees from MIT, the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University. His research focus is communication between technical and nontechnical people, and he has lectured in science, management, science communication, and natural resource development. He joined the Hunter Research Foundation at the University of Newcastle, Australia, in May 2017 as Chair in Applied Regional Economics to work to improve decision making in regional development. This position follows five years as Chair in Social Performance at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining and Centre for Coal Seam Gas in the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland. He has also been an Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney .
Experience
2012–2017
Chair in Social Performance, Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining and Centre for Coal Seam Gas, Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland
2017–2017
Chair in Applied Regional Economics and Director, Hunter Research Foundation Centre, University of Newcastle, Australia
2011–2017
Honorary Associate Professor, School of Physics, University of Sydney
2000–2010
Director, Science Communication Program, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales
Education
1990
Stanford University, PhD Sociotechnical Studies (Graduate Special Program)
1982
University of California, Berkeley , MSc Energy & Resources
1978
M.I.T. , BSc Physics
Publications
2017
Over 100 academic publications, Journal articles, book chapter, websites, etc.
Grants and Contracts
2017
Many grants in fields of management, improving university teaching, and investigating the effects of natural resource development
Role:
Chief or principal investigator for $3+ million in grants
Funding Source:
Office for Learning and Teaching, ARC, UQ Centre for Coal Seam Gas, Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences