Duncan Cook

I am a geoscientist who conducts research on environmental histories of the Common Era. My work ranges from reconstructing environmental histories of the tropics in mainland southeast Asia and Central America, through to Australian and UK paleoenvironment reconstructions. I apply techniques from sedimentology, geochemistry, geomagnetism and geochronology to understand how ecosystems have responded to climate shifts and human actions over historic timescales. In doing so, my work seeks to better understanding the complex interactions between human, climate, and earth surface systems.

In 2013 I joined the National School of Arts at Australian Catholic University (ACU). I am based at the Brisbane campus of ACU, where I hold the positions of Associate Professor in Geography and Head of Discipline (Geography). I am also an adjunct research fellow of the Beach-Butzer Geoarchaeology Lab in the School of Geography and The Environment, University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining ACU, I held research positions at the Smithsonian Institution, Georgetown University, the University of Glasgow, and The University of Sydney. I have also spent some time working outside of academia, as an Environmental Research Scientist with the Defence Technology Agency of the New Zealand Defence Force.