Prof Terry Hughes
Professor Terry Hughes
SENIOR ASSOCIATE
Emeritus Professor Hughes was the Executive Director of two highly successful ARC Centres of Excellence, with a combined research budget of >$100 million (2005-2022). In addition, he was awarded three ARC Federation/Laureate Fellowships, along with many ARC Discovery and Linkage grants. He has been awarded addition international funding from the Chinese Academy of Science, the Prince Albert Foundation in Monaco, the Spanish BBVA Foundation, the US National Science Foundation, industry partners, and philanthropic doners. He has extensive experience in mentoring, publishing, grant writing, strategic research planning, setting and achieving KPIs, recruitment and team-building, and media outreach. He served a 3-year term on the advisory board of ARC, and has been a member of the ARC College of Experts from 2022-2026.
Terry plays a key role in international efforts toward sustainability of marine ecosystems, and he is acknowledged as a global leader in coral reef research, climate science, understanding changes in linked social-ecological systems, and in environmental policies, management and governance. He is a frequent advisor to IUCN, UNESCO, national governments, research institutions, and major nature conservation NGOs.
Terry is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Beijer Institute for Ecological Economics at the Swedish Royal Academy. He has been awarded many international prizes, awards, and Honorary Doctorates from Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, Malaysia, Monaco, Spain, Sweden, UK, and USA. Terry has co-authored journal articles, including 25 in Science and Nature, with over 200 colleagues in 29 countries. He is a 2025 Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher with more than 100,000 citations.