Rate My Professor Lachlan Hart

Dr. Lachlan Hart is a lecturer in the School of Education, Arts, Design & Architecture at the University of New South Wales, with over 20 years of experience in primary and tertiary education. He serves as Unit Coordinator for several primary education courses at the University of New England, including Primary Mathematics 1: Numeracy (EDME145), Humanities and Social Sciences in the Primary School 1 (EDSS223), and others. Hart earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Palaeontology from the University of New South Wales in 2024, Master of Science (Research) from the University of New England in 2019, Graduate Diploma in Science from the University of New England in 2015, Graduate Certificate in Science from the University of New England in 2013, and Bachelor of Education (Primary) from the University of Western Sydney in 2008. As a Research Associate in the Palaeontology Collection Branch at the Australian Museum Research Institute, his research focuses on the evolution, systematics, and palaeobiology of Mesozoic tetrapods and insects, particularly Australian temnospondyl amphibians, fossil crocodyliforms, dinosaurs, and Miocene fauna of McGraths Flat. He explores body mass estimation in extinct amphibians and integrates palaeontology with educational practices to enhance student outcomes.

Hart has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including 'On the estimation of body mass in temnospondyls: a case study using the large-bodied Eryops and Paracyclotosaurus' (Palaeontology, 2022), 'Isisfordia molnari sp. nov., a new basal eusuchian from the mid-Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge, Australia' (Scientific Reports, 2019), 'A new chigutisaurid (Brachyopoidea, Temnospondyli) with soft tissue preservation from the Triassic Sydney Basin' (Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2022), 'An annotated checklist of Australian Mesozoic tetrapods' (Alcheringa, 2023), and 'Migrations, diversifications and extinctions: the evolutionary history of crocodyliforms in Australasia' (Alcheringa, 2023). His work has contributed to descriptions of new species and revisions of fossil records, advancing understanding of ancient reptile and amphibian evolution in Australia. Hart has received awards such as the UNE Keith and Dorothy Mackay Postgraduate Travelling Scholarship (2018), University of New South Wales HDR Completion Scholarship (2023-2024), Australian Museum Research Institute Postgraduate Award (2020), and won the University of New England 3 Minute Thesis competition (2017), along with semi-finalist placement in the Asia Pacific finals.