Rate My Professor Stuart Parsons

Professor Stuart Parsons is a renowned zoologist and academic administrator who served as Dean of the School of Science, Technology and Engineering at the University of the Sunshine Coast from January 2022 until March 2025. He holds a BSc (Hons) and PhD in Zoology from the University of Otago. Prior to joining USC, he was Head of the School of Earth, Environmental and Biological Sciences at Queensland University of Technology from 2014 to 2021. Earlier positions include senior leadership roles at the University of Auckland from 2001 to 2014 and the University of Bristol. At USC, he also chaired the Academic Board, served on the University Council, and contributed to research clusters such as Geospatial Analytics for Conservation and Marine and Terrestrial Megafauna.

Parsons specializes in sensory ecology and animal behaviour, with a focus on bioacoustics across taxa including bats, birds, insects, frogs, and whales. His research develops detection and classification systems for vocalizing animals, employing automated sound recorders and artificial intelligence for biodiversity monitoring, particularly in the cotton industry and infrastructure projects like dams, roads, and wind farms. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, garnering more than 6,690 citations and an h-index of 39. Key publications include the edited volume Ecological and behavioral methods for the study of bats (2009), A continental-scale tool for acoustic identification of European bats (Journal of Applied Ecology, 2012, 305 citations), and Bat Detective—Deep learning tools for bat acoustic signal detection (2018, 325 citations). His work supports conservation organizations, government agencies, and multinational companies through international collaborations in Australia, Europe, the USA, Central America, South Africa, Taiwan, China, and Thailand. Parsons has held leadership positions such as President of the Australasian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors, national assessor for the SAGE Athena SWAN gender equity program, member of the IUCN Chiroptera Specialist Group, and Scientific Advisory Board member for Bat Conservation International.