Chris Dickman - A celebratory forum and festschrift (26 June 2026)

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 22:00:00 GMT

New Venue!

The event will now be held at:

The Sydney Nanoscience Hub (A31), Physics Road, University of Sydney, Camperdown.

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We invite you to join us for a one-day forum honouring the extraordinary scientific career of Professor Chris Dickman, Emeritus Professor in Terrestrial Ecology at the University of Sydney and one of Australia's most beloved and influential ecologists.

Chris has spent more than four decades asking fundamental questions about life in some of Australia's most challenging environments — who lives where, why populations boom and crash, and what happens when predators, prey, and people collide. His answers have reshaped how we think about arid ecosystems, mammal conservation, and the cascading effects of invasive species, and have influenced wildlife management policy at a national scale. Along the way, he has supervised more than 180 postgraduate and Honours students, authored over 800 scientific papers and book chapters, and helped build a generation of Australian ecologists.

This forum brings together many of the researchers, collaborators, and former students whose own careers have been shaped by Chris' mentorship, curiosity, and generosity. The program features a series of scholarly talks spanning the breadth of themes that have defined Chris' work — arid zone ecology, predator–prey dynamics, threatened species conservation, and Australian biodiversity (with a focus on mammals) — followed by a tribute session in which colleagues and friends will share memories and reflections from across Chris’ remarkable career.

The forum is held in conjunction with a festschrift to be published in Australian Zoologist, the journal of the Royal Zoological Society of NSW, and it forms part of a wider celebration of Chris' contribution to Australian ecology.

Whether you are a long-time collaborator, a former student, or simply someone whose thinking has been shaped by Chris' work, we warmly welcome you to join us in for what promises to be an inspiring and celebratory day.

We hope to see you there!

The organising committee

Glenda Wardle, Dan Lunney, Thomas Newsome, Aaron Greenville, Martin Predavec, Brad Law, Peter Banks, Dieter Hochuli, Dedee Woodside, Gayle McNaught and Bobby Tamayo

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Draft Forum Program

Draft Program (V9 - 4 June 2026-PDF 348 kb)

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Registration

Registration is now closed.

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Want to contribute?

While the spoken presentations in the scientific program for the forum have been set, there are still opportunities to contribute and participate in the celebration of Chris Dickman.

1. Contribute to the festschrift

There is no limit to the number of written papers in the festschrift. Details of the intent of the festschrift and how to contribute are included in the following document.

Chris Dickman Festschrift - Publication Information (V2-PDF 1.4MB)

Last date for contribution: 17 August 2026.

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Information for presenters (including posters)

Presentation guidelines (PDF 74kb)

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The forum and festschrift are being organised through a collaboration of the University of Sydney, the Royal Zoological Society of NSW and Australian Zoologist.

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Chris Dickman - A celebratory forum and festschrift (Live Stream) (26 June 2026)

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 22:45:00 GMT

This webpage is for registering your interest in viewing the live stream coverage of the Chris Dickman Celebratory Forum and Festschrift. While there is no fee for viewing the event online, registrations are required to keep you informed of the evolving programme and streaming details.

The streamed event will be 'view only', with no online interaction.

Full details of the event can be viewed at:

https://rzsnsw.org.au/event-6685390

Royal Zoological Society of NSW upcoming events

Chris Dickman - A celebratory forum and festschrift (26 June 2026)

1. Contribute to the festschrift

Chris Dickman - A celebratory forum and festschrift (Live Stream) (26 June 2026)