Rate My Professor Peter Newman

Professor Peter Newman is the John Curtin Distinguished Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University, based in the School of Design and the Built Environment within the Faculty of Humanities and serving as the founder and key figure in the Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute. He holds a BSc (Hons) and PhD. His distinguished career spans several decades, including prior roles as Professor and Director of the Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy at Murdoch University from 1989 to 2007, local government councillor for the City of Fremantle from 1976 to 1980, Director of Sustainability Policy in the Western Australian Department of Premier and Cabinet from 2001 to 2003, and New South Wales Sustainability Commissioner from 2004 to 2005. Newman has also served on the Board of Infrastructure Australia from 2008 to 2014, acted as a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Virginia in 2006-2007, and contributed as Coordinating Lead Author for transport in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

A globally recognized authority on sustainable cities, urban design, and transport sustainability, Professor Newman has authored 25 books and over 420 academic papers. Notable publications include 'Cities and Automobile Dependence: An International Sourcebook' (1989, with Jeff Kenworthy), 'Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence' (1999, with Jeff Kenworthy), 'Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems: Principles and Practices' (2008, with Isabella Jennings), 'Resilient Cities: Overcoming Fossil Fuel Dependence' (2011, with Timothy Beatley and Heather Boyer), and 'The End of Automobile Dependence' (2015, with Jeff Kenworthy). His research has profoundly influenced urban planning practices in Australia, the United States, and worldwide, including pivotal contributions to the development of Perth's electrified commuter railway system and advising multiple governments on sustainability and transport policies. Among his major honors are the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2014 for services to sustainable transport and urban design, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE) in 2009, Western Australian Premier's Scientist of the Year in 2022, the Planning Institute of Australia Medal in 2011, and the Centenary Medal in 2001 for planning and sustainability. Newman continues to lecture internationally and mentor PhD students on sustainability challenges.