Distinguished Professor Craig Simmons, FAA

Distinguished Professor Craig T. Simmons FAA FTSE is a leading groundwater scientist, recognised for major contributions to groundwater science, science leadership, education and policy reform.

Craig is Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor of Hydrogeology, Schultz Chair in the Environment at Flinders University and Foundation Director of the ARC National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. From July 2020 he is seconded to the Australian Research Council in the role of Executive Director for Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences. Prior to this appointment he was Pro Vice-Chancellor (Strategic Research Projects) at Flinders University.

Within Australia Craig is an Honorary Professor at The Australian National University (ANU), a member of the Australian Government’s Statutory Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development (IESC) and chairs the Alligator Rivers Region Technical Committee (ARRTC). Internationally he is a member of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Roundtable on Unconventional Hydrocarbon Development.

Craig is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS), the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) and the American Geophysical Union (AGU). His work has been recognised by numerous national and international research and teaching awards including the Anton Hales Medal for outstanding contributions to research in the Earth Sciences awarded by the Australian Academy of Science, and an Australian Award for University Teaching.

In 2015 Craig was named South Australian Scientist of the Year, and in 2017 he was awarded Australian Water Professional of the Year. He is a 2017 Convocation Medallist of Flinders University and 2017 Biennial Medallist of the Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand.

He has served and/or continues to serve as an Editor and Associate Editor for numerous major international journals including Water Resources Research, Journal of Hydrology, Hydrogeology Journal and Groundwater.

Simmons has diverse and interdisciplinary research interests and expertise in essential areas of groundwater hydrology, hydrological science, environmental science, earth science, geoscience and applied physical and engineering sciences. These include: variable density groundwater flow phenomena; salt lake hydrology, saline disposal basins; salinization and salinity phenomena, salt interception, groundwater discharge to River Murray, floodplain hydrology; surface water - groundwater interaction; wetland hydrology; groundwater-dependent ecosystems; hydrometeorology; submarine groundwater discharge, seawater intrusion, coastal hydrogeology; aquifer storage and recovery; fractured rock hydrogeology, regolith hydrology; contaminant hydrology; urban hydrology; unconventional gas, energy and mining; stochastic subsurface hydrology; porous media flow phenomena; groundwater flow and solute transport modelling; benchmarking and testing groundwater models; laboratory scale flow tank and column experimentation of groundwater processes; and history and philosophy of science.

• Groundwater hydrology (14)

• Groundwater hydrology (13)