Dan Penny

Associate Professor Dan Penny is a researcher in the School of Geosciences within the Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney. He earned his PhD from Monash University in 1998. Following postdoctoral work at the University of Edinburgh, Penny joined the University of Sydney in 2001. His research centers on Quaternary palaeoenvironments, tropical environmental change, and the Asian monsoon system. Utilizing methods such as palynology, palaeolimnology, and geoarchaeology, he reconstructs past climates and human-environment interactions in Southeast Asia and Australia. Penny's investigations reveal how climatic variations and land-use practices influenced ancient societies, particularly in the Khmer Empire at Angkor, Cambodia.

Penny's contributions to understanding the Angkor civilization are prominent through high-impact publications. Notable works include 'Geoarchaeological evidence from Angkor, Cambodia, reveals a gradual decline rather than a catastrophic 15th-century collapse' (PNAS, 2019), 'The demise of Angkor: Systemic vulnerability of urban infrastructure to climatic variations' (Science Advances, 2018), and 'Climate as a contributing factor in the demise of Angkor, Cambodia' (PNAS, 2010, 709 citations). Additional key papers are 'Late Quaternary palaeoecology, palynology and palaeolimnology of a tropical lowland swamp: Rawa Danau, West-Java, Indonesia' (2001, 192 citations), 'Pollen-based reconstructions of biome distributions for Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific (SEAPAC region) at 0, 6000 and 18,000 14C yr BP' (2004, 190 citations), and 'A 40,000 year palynological record from north-east Thailand; implications for biogeography and palaeo-environmental reconstruction' (2001, 165 citations). As co-director of the Angkor Research Program, his scholarship has advanced knowledge of historical socioecological transformations. Penny teaches units in geography and environmental science and supervises postgraduate research in palaeoenvironmental studies.

Professional Email: dan.penny@sydney.edu.au