Team
FRRC brings together a multidisciplinary research team comprising expertise from within Federation University and beyond to address a variety of environmental challenges.
Centre leadership
FRRC has three centre directors as well as leadership teams for each of its research streams.
Professor Thomas Baumgartl
Professor Thomas Baumgartl is an internationally renowned environmental scientist specialising in soil physics and soil mechanics, with a degree in geo-ecology from the University of Bayreuth, Germany.
Professor Baumgartl is the Director of the Geotechnical and Hydrogeological Engineering and Research Group (GHERG). The group of local and international experts works closely with the Victorian Government and mining partners to guide the safe rehabilitation of open-cut brown coal mines in the Latrobe Valley.
Thomas has many years of experience working nationally and internationally on industry and government funded projects and has worked previously at the Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation at the University of Queensland. His research interests focus on mine closure and solutions for construction of stable landforms. Of specific interest are water balance parameters (such as evaporation, run-off, infiltration, vegetation, deep drainage) and understanding the evolution of constructed landforms and risks of failure. He is associate editor and editorial board member of several international journals and has organised and presented at international conferences on mine rehabilitation and land restoration.
Professor Singarayer Florentine (‘Florry’)
s.florentine@federation.edu.au
Professor Singarayer Florentine (‘Florry’) is a restoration and invasive species ecologist with more than 25 years of experience in research and higher education teaching. Dr Florentine specialises in ecologically diverse habitats, with experience in three different countries.
Florry established a powerful invasive species and restoration research group based upon understandings of complex and urgent ecological restoration issues. He has led the development of strong collaborative research partnerships with over 20 natural-resource management groups across Australia and with high profile researchers from Spain and Sweden. Florry has attracted significant competitive research grant funding including ARC Linkage and ARC LIEF grants, bringing over $10 million to the University.
Florry was winner of a highly prestigious and competitive 2017 Australian Federal Government award for University Teaching. He was also awarded the 2016 Vice-Chancellor's Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, 2010 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Leadership, and 2020 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research.
Florry has published over 100 research papers, and supervised several PhD, MSc and honours students. He established the Biodiversity Across the Borders Conference, which significantly enhanced the research culture within his discipline.
Florry has been appointed as a Deputy Chair of the Biodiversity Advisory Committee at the Glenelg-Hopkins Catchment Management Authority.
Professor Keir Reeves
Professor Keir Reeves is Co-Director of the Future Regions Research Centre at Federation University Australia. Keir’s current research works at the intersection heritage, cultural tourism, regional studies and history. Prior to joining Federation University his previous teaching and research positions were at the University of Melbourne and Monash University. He has also held visiting research fellowships/professorships at King’s College London, Clare Hall Cambridge, Ghent University, Utrecht University, University of Highlands and Islands and Wakayama University.
Keir has been a past chair of the University Professoriate, and he is particularly interested in enhancing the postgraduate research experience, and also mentoring early career researchers. Keenly interested in themes of regionalism and rurality, he works closely with the FRRC Horsham Research Hub based at the Wimmera Campus and the Ararat Jobs and Technology Precinct initiative.
Keir is currently an editorial board member of the Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development and the Journal of Heritage Tourism. Keir has been a APDI or Chief Investigator on seven Australian Research Council (ARC) funded projects. He was also an ARC funded PhD student on the Mount Alexander Diggings project.
Research streams
FRRC's research team is made up of the leadership and members of its five research streams.
- Resilience of Landscapes and Aquatic Systems
- Stable Landforms and Mine Rehabilitation
- Soil Health, Food and Fibre
- Circular Economy
- Society and Heritage
Contact us
For queries about FRRC’s research, or to discuss collaborating or researching with us, get in touch with the Centre Directors via the Contact page .