ABSTRACT
Neil A. Coles is a professor and the director of the Centre for Excellence in Ecohydrology at the University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, and a guest professor at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. Neil spent his formative years in a coastal country town in the Spencer Gulf of South Australia, where he grew to become enthralled with the coastal and dryland landscapes of this region. He later moved to North Queensland in 1980 to undertake studies at James Cook University in geology and rainforest hydrology. On graduating, he accepted a position in the mining industry, exploring tenements in western and central Queensland, studying not only the geology of these regions, but gaining an understanding of the fragility and extremes experienced in these semiarid regions. In 1988, he moved to Perth, where he now resides, to undertake postgraduate studies in catchment hydrology and soil physics and was awarded a PhD in 1995. Neil joined the Western Australia (WA) Department of Agriculture in 1998 as a senior research scientist, conducting, directing, and extending research on land and water resource management in the dryland agricultural areas in the southwestern Australia. He continued in this post until 2009, when was appointed as the director for the Centre for Ecohydrology. Under his leadership and direction, this center has become an internationally recognized leader in ecohydrology research with industry applications. Neil has continued to foster the interdisciplinary approach to improving agricultural production and protecting and understanding ecosystems and remains committed to achieving better outcomes for the myriad of environments on this unique and singular planet.
