Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
Researcher biography
Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg (BScHons., Sydney; PhD., UCLA) is the inaugural Director of the Global Change Institute (GCI) and Professor of Marine Science, at The University of Queensland (UQ), Brisbane, Australia.
Professor Hoegh-Guldberg is deeply-motivated by a desire to communicate science effectively, undertake game-changing research and to find high-impact solutions to address several of the most pressing and serious challenges facing humanity worldwide, such as climate change, food security, clean energy and population growth.
In this respect, Professor Hoegh-Guldberg has actively collaborated with organisations such as the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, the Royal Society of London and The World Bank, as well as advising government and business on the science and urgency associated with climate change.
Professor Hoegh-Guldberg has worked extensively with the media, believing that scientists need to extend the impact of their science using the full set of communication options. He has published works that include over 200 refereed publications and book chapters and is one of the most cited authors within the peer-reviewed literature on climate change and its impacts on natural ecosystems.
His interests in climate change has led to significant roles within the IPCC (coordinating lead author Chapter 30, “The Ocean”) and other international organisations in his role as Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and as Coordinator for the Australasian Centre for Excellence and Chair of the Bleaching Working Group within the World Bank-Global Environment Facility Coral Reef Targeted Research Program.
As Director of the GCI Professor Hoegh-Guldberg has a key role in engaging with the UQ community and external stakeholders to create opportunities and build strong external links and networks for the Institute. He heads a large research laboratory (over 30 researchers and students) that focuses on how global warming and ocean acidification are affecting and will affect coral reefs.
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg heads Program 4 and is Deputy Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. His research program receives considerable support from this important centre within Australian science.
Professor Hoegh-Guldberg has held academic positions at UCLA, Stanford University, The University of Sydney and The University of Queensland, and is a member of the Australian Climate Group; the Royal Society (London) Marine Advisory Network; and the Board of Editing Reviewers at Science Magazine. In 1999 he was awarded the Eureka Prize for his scientific research. He was the Queensland Premier's Fellow from 2008-2013. In 2012, he was awarded a Thomson Reuters Citation Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to research and was awarded an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship. He is also the Chief Scientist for the XL Catlin Seaview Survey.
Ove is an Australian Academy of Science Fellow for 2013. He was nominated for discovering the molecular mechanism behind coral bleaching during his PhD and early career. His discoveries have directly influenced global policy through their integration of the thermal physiology of corals with projections of future sea temperatures.
Ove is the coordinating lead author of the Oceans chapter in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fifth Assessment Report.