Paul M. A. Willis is a paleontologist, science communicator and director of the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus).
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Career
Willis studied zoology and geology at University of Sydney and went on to complete a PhD in paleontology. He has been a resident paleontologist on eight Antarctic expeditions and has written or co-authored eight books on dinosaurs, rocks and fossils.
In 1997, Willis commenced a traineeship with the ABC. During his career in public broadcasting, Willis went on to report and present stories for Quantum and Catalyst on ABC and the series Monster Bug Wars on SBS. Willis produced over 230 stories for Catalyst during a ten-year stint with the program. He left his employment at the ABC to take up directorship of the Royal Institution of Australia in 2011. He also worked for ABC radio, contributing to The Correx Files for Triple J, a regular talkback segment with Angela Catterns, The Science Show, Earthbeat and The Health Report.
Honours
In 2000 Willis was a joint recipient of the Eureka Prize for Science Communication and was voted Australian Skeptic of the Year in 2002 for working to counter pseudoscience.