Rate My Professor Bonnie McBain

Associate Professor Bonnie McBain is a sessional academic and Conjoint Fellow in the University of Newcastle’s School of Environmental and Life Sciences. She stands at the international forefront of the emerging field of Sustainability Science, with her work focused on developing solutions that bolster the resilience of communities and the natural environments essential to their well-being. Her multidisciplinary environmental science expertise spans Ecological Footprints, climate change, surface water quality, catchment management, sustainable forest management, air quality, groundwater, and fisheries management. McBain emphasizes transdisciplinary approaches, arguing that the interconnected nature of complex societal challenges demands perspectives beyond single disciplines. She earned her PhD from the University of Tasmania and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Environmental Science (Honours) from Charles Sturt University. Her professional trajectory at the University of Newcastle commenced in 2007 as a Research Fellow in the School of Environmental and Life Sciences, progressed to an ARC Postdoctoral Industry Fellowship from 2007 to 2011 and Catchment Action Plan Development Officer from 2011 to 2013, leading to her current appointment as Associate Professor.

Awarded educator, McBain coordinates and delivers four online courses annually, including the non-disciplinary program Unraveling Complexity that she created. Her research interests include complexity, environmental indicators, management, policy, futures analysis, learning for sustainability, modelling, participatory decision making, resilience thinking, sustainability science, systems thinking, and uncertainty analysis. She conducted pioneering modeling of future global ecological footprints to guide Australian policy through 2070, examining areas like transport, renewable energy, architecture, and urban design under uncertainty. Recent research explores the feasibility of a 100 percent renewable energy sector in Australia. Key publications feature the chapter "Future Transitions to a Renewable Stationary Energy Sector: Implications of the Future Ecological Footprint and Land Use" (2021), "Understanding and Articulating Your Employability as a Science Graduate" (2023), and the journal article "A population plunge could help to mitigate the global biodiversity crisis" in Nature (2025). Her accolades include the 2025 Australian Award for University Teaching for Programs that Enhance Learning - The Transdisciplinary Bachelor of Science, 2022 Australian Award for University Teaching Award for Teaching Excellence, 2022 Staff Excellence Award for Values from the College of Engineering, Science & Environment, 2016 Australian Award for University Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, 2015 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Sessional Staff Teaching Excellence, and multiple faculty and university teaching excellence awards.