Steven L. Chown is Professor of Biological Sciences at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, and Director of Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future, an Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative.

His research mainly concerns biodiversity variation through space and time, and the conservation implications of environmental change, including the means to mitigate it. He co-developed the field of macrophysiology – the investigation of large-scale patterns in and processes underlying physiological variation and their ecological implications. He has worked in Australia, Africa, the Pacific, the UK, and in the broader Antarctic region, where he has over 30 years of field experience.

Owing to his interest in the science-policy interface he has for many years represented the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, providing scientific advice on a broad range of environmental and science policy matters.

Steven is a Past President of SCAR, an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa.