Elizabeth Tynan

Elizabeth Tynan is professor and head of the professional development program at the JCU Graduate Research School. She teaches academic writing and critical thinking skills to postgraduates. She also has an adjunct professor appointment at the JCU College of Arts, Society and Education.

Her PhD in science communication from the Australian National University examined aspects of the British nuclear tests in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s. Her book Atomic Thunder: The Maralinga Story was published by NewSouth Publishing in 2016 and won the Council for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Australia Prize for a Book and the Prime Minister's Literary Award (Australian History) in 2017.

Her 2022 book, The Secret of Emu Field: Britain's Forgotten Atomic Tests in Australia, was the first book-length examination on the pre-Maralinga atomic tests held at the South Australian test site, Emu Field. Her latest book is a history of the British nuclear tests at Monte Bello Islands off the coast of Western Australia, titled Nuclear Archipelago: Secrets, power and the biggest atomic blast in Australia.

She is a former journalism academic with a background in both print and electronic media, specialising in science. She worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as a reporter and subeditor, and was later Sydney correspondent for New Scientist.

She is co-author of the Oxford University Press textbook Media and Journalism: New Approaches to Theory and Practice, now in its third edition. She is also co-author and co-ordinating editor of the OUP text, Communication for Business, released in October 2013. This textbook won best Tertiary (Wholly Australian): Teaching and Learning Resource in the Australian Publishing Association Educational Awards in September 2014.