Dr. Alistair Drake is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the School of Science at UNSW Canberra, University of New South Wales. He holds a BA in Physics and a DPhil in Physics from the University of Oxford, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education from UNSW. Prior to retirement, his teaching focused mainly on meteorology and general physics. He currently contributes to short intensive professional courses on non-ionizing radiation safety, serving as an instructor in Radio Frequency Radiation Safety Officer training for defence and civilian personnel. Although retired, Drake remains research-active in an honorary capacity and welcomes inquiries from prospective students interested in his research topics.

Drake's research centers on radar entomology, utilizing special-purpose radars to observe insect migration in progress. He has designed and built a series of entomological radar units, one of which operates at Hay, NSW, and developed software for analyzing radar signals while studying the radar-reflecting properties of insects. His biological investigations emphasize the relationship between insect migration and weather or lower atmospheric structure, orientation behavior during migratory flights at heights of several hundred meters, migrations of insect pests including radar applications for monitoring and forecasting, and migration as an example of integrative biology spanning genes to evolution. These pursuits align with aeroecology, incorporating birds and bats alongside insects, and extend to applied ecology including wildlife management for conservation and insect pest forecasting. Notable publications include the co-authored book Radar Entomology: Observing Insect Flight and Migration (CABI, 2012, with D.R. Reynolds) and Insect Migration: Tracking Resources Through Space and Time (Cambridge University Press, 2000, edited with A.G. Gatehouse). His oeuvre comprises 2 books, 31 book chapters such as The Australian plague locust—risk and response (2023), 48 journal articles, 22 conference papers, 9 conference abstracts, and 1 thesis/dissertation, advancing methodologies and understanding in aerial insect ecology.

Professional Email: a.drake@adfa.edu.au