Rate My Professor Leesa Sidhu

Associate Professor Leesa Sidhu serves as Senior Lecturer in Statistics, Deputy Head of School (Education), and Postgraduate Coursework Coordinator in the School of Science at UNSW Canberra, University of New South Wales. She holds a PhD from the University of New South Wales (2007), Master of Educational Studies from the University of Queensland (1998), Diploma of Education from the University of Queensland (1990), and BSc with First Class Honours in Mathematics from the University of Queensland (1989). Her career began as a high school mathematics teacher at Bremer State High School in Queensland (1991–1997), followed by appointment as Associate Lecturer at UNSW Canberra (1997–2000) and Lecturer from 2007 onward, advancing to her current senior roles.

Leesa Sidhu's research focuses on statistical ecology, mathematical biology, applied statistics, and education, with projects investigating climatic effects on little penguin survival, banding impacts on penguins, Bayesian tagging analysis for southern bluefin tuna, food- and water-borne disease outbreak modeling, and first-year engineering student performance at UNSW Canberra. Notable publications include 'Mark-Recapture-Recovery Modeling and Age-Related Survival in Little Penguins (Eudyptula Minor)' (The Auk, 2007), 'Seasonal ocean temperature and the survival of first-year little penguins Eudyptula minor in south-eastern Australia' (Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2012), 'Evidence of separate subgroups of juvenile southern bluefin tuna' (Ecology and Evolution, 2017), 'Flexible von Bertalanffy growth models incorporating Bayesian splines' (Ecological Modelling, 2017), and 'A Statistical Approach to Understanding Canopy Winds over Complex Terrain' (Environmental Modeling and Assessment, 2020). She has earned significant recognition for teaching excellence as a UNSW Scientia Education Academy Fellow, recipient of the Australian Mathematical Society Award for Teaching Excellence (2018), UNSW Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence (2017), UNSW Canberra Rector’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2015), Rector’s Commendation (2009), and inaugural UNSW Students' Choice Teaching Award (2021), contributing to student wellbeing initiatives including the UNSW Healthy Universities Initiative and Education Focussed Student Wellbeing Community of Practice.