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Professor Richard Barker serves as the Establishment Director of the University of Otago Queenstown/Lakes District Project. Previously, he was Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Division of Sciences at the University of Otago from 2017 until the end of 2025. He earned a BSc (Hons) in Zoology and a PhD in Statistics from Massey University. Early in his career, Barker spent two and a half years at the US Fish and Wildlife Service Research Center in Maryland before working as a programme leader at Landcare Research in New Zealand. In 1998, he joined the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Otago, where he was appointed Professor of Statistics in 2007. He headed the department from 2008 to 2016 and assumed the Pro-Vice-Chancellor role in September 2016, with his appointment extended in 2018.
Barker's research focuses on Bayesian hierarchical modelling, statistical ecology, mark-recapture models, Bayesian inference, and applications to wildlife populations and fisheries. His scholarly contributions have garnered over 6,600 citations according to Google Scholar. Notable publications include 'Joint analysis of live and dead encounters' (with G.C. White, 2004), which advances mark-recapture methodologies; 'Citizen scientists contribute to monitoring endangered New Zealand sea lions' (with M.A. McCarthy, Biological Conservation, 2020); and work on optimizing capture-mark-recapture experiments (2024). His developments in capture-recapture theory, particularly hierarchical modeling, have influenced ecological statistics and wildlife management. Barker has also contributed to multi-disciplinary initiatives, including the Te Whai Ao – Dodd-Walls Centre, and maintains expertise in statistical modelling recognized by the University of Otago's media database.
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