David Pannell

Professor, School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Western Australia, Australian Research Council Federation Fellow

One of Australia’s leading experts on groundwater-driven dryland salinity, Professor David Pannell has been a prominent advocate of policies that better reflect the needs of the scientific, economic and social communities.

His influential research activities have included work on bio-economic modelling, economic and policy aspects of natural resource management and farmer adoption of new practices.

In 2004 he became the first social scientist to win the W.E. Wood prize for his research into salinity, a national award across all research disciplines.

Professor Pannell’s research is characterised by a high degree of collaboration internationally and with other research disciplines to tackle the economics of natural resource issues.

His integrated analysis of dryland salinity has been highly influential and he was the main modeller for the early development of the MIDAS whole-farm bioeconomic models.

Professor Pannell leads a team which recently (August 2009) was awarded a prestigious Eureka Prize for Excellence in Research by an Interdisciplinary Team. The award was won for the team's INFER Project: the Investment Framework for Environmental Resources, which is a a tool for developing and prioritising projects to address environmental issues such as water quality, biodiversity, environmental pests and land degradation. It aims to achieve the the most valuable outcomes with the available resources.

Professor Pannell will play a leading role in NCGRT sub-programs relating to integrated water management and decision support.

Chief Investigator Program 5. Email David Pannell