Rate My Professor Cara Beal

Professor Cara Beal serves as Director of the Griffith Institute for Human and Environmental Resilience (GIHER) and Professor of Environmental Science in the School of Environment and Science at Griffith University, Griffith Sciences. She earned her PhD from the University of Queensland in 2007. Her career at Griffith University commenced in 2009 as a Lecturer and Senior Researcher at the Cities Research Institute, advancing to Associate Professor in roles affiliated with the School of Engineering and Built Environment and School of Medicine (Environmental Health). She is also a member of the Australian Rivers Institute. Beal's research specializations include water resources management, climate change adaptation, sustainable development, environmental health, community-based water demand management, water end use and conservation behaviors, urine diversion for nutrient recovery and circular ecosystems, water safety planning in Pacific Island countries, resource consumption in the built environment, contaminated land risks, and sustainable water and sanitation in remote and Indigenous communities.

With a Google Scholar h-index of 32, i10-index of 55, and over 4,400 citations, Professor Beal is a recognized expert in transdisciplinary sustainability and resilience research. Key publications encompass 'Revealing the determinants of shower water end use consumption and conservation' (Journal of Cleaner Production, 2013), 'How household water end uses can inform determinants of children's environmental health risks' (Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2013), 'South East Queensland Residential End Use Study' (2011), 'Pathways to circular nutrient ecosystems: Strategic roadmaps addressing sustainability drivers and barriers in Australia' (2025), and 'Strengthening rural community water safety planning in Pacific Island countries: evidence and lessons from Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji' (2024). She supervises several PhD students and leads initiatives like the iKnow weKnow project co-designing resilient water and energy toolboxes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. In 2016, she received the Women in Technology Rural and Remote Life Sciences Award for her digital water network management contributions. Her work influences policy and practice in environmental resilience through institute leadership uniting environmental, social sciences, economics, public health, and climate expertise.