| Patricia Vickers-Rich | |
| Birth Date: | 11 July 1944 |
| Birth Place: | United States |
| Fields: | Palaeontology and Palaeobiology |
| Known For: | expert in the origin and evolution of Australasian vertebrates and their environments |
| Awards: | Officer of the Order of Australia |
| Spouse: | Tom Rich |
Patricia Arlene Vickers-Rich (born 11 July 1944), also known as Patricia Rich, is an Australian Professor of Palaeontology and Palaeobiology, who researches the environmental changes that have impacted Australia (including the ancient super continent, Gondwana) and how this shaped the evolution of Australia’s fauna and flora.[1]
Vickers-Rich was born and educated in the United States. In her early career, she worked as a zooarchaeologist at the Nevada State Museum and research assistant in palaeontology while she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in paleontology at the University of Berkeley. She completed a Master of Arts in geology at Columbia University in 1969, and obtained a Doctorate of Philosophy from Columbia University in 1973.
Early in her career, Vickers-Rich worked as a field ecologist at the Organization of Tropical Studies in Costa Rica, as a palaeontologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and as assistant professor and associate curator at the Texas Tech University and Museum.
In 1976, Vickers-Rich took up a position as lecturer in earth sciences at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. During a long tenure, her significant roles at Monash University included deputy head of earth sciences and professor and personal chair of palaeontology,[2] and currently as emeritus professor in palaeontology.[3]
She was the founding director of the Monash Science Centre (now PrimeSCI! at Swinburne University of Technology), where she continues as a director. She is also a professor of palaeobiology at the Swinburne University of Technology, and associate professor in palaeontology at Deakin University.[4]
In addition to her roles at Monash, between 1976 and 2021, Vickers-Rich has held positions as vice president and president of the Australian Association of Palaeonologists, research associate at the Queen Victoria Museum in Launceston, research associate in vertebrate palaeontology and ornithology at the Museums Victoria and research associate in the Laboratory of Precambrian Organisms at the Paleontological Institute in Moscow.
Vickers-Rich has curated scientific exhibitions of Australian and Gondwanan biota, including at Singapore Science Centre, ArtScience Museum and the Cape Otway Lightstation.[5]
Vickers-Rich is an expert in the origin and evolution of Australasian vertebrates and their environments over the past 400 million years. She has special interest in Australian avian fossils, and has led research teams to investigate the origin and development of terrestrial vertebrates and birds around the world, including in Africa, Southeast Asia, South Pacific Islands, Antarctica, Russia, South America, and Saudi Arabia.[6]
She, along with husband Tom Rich, has led a major effort since the 1970s to locate new fossil localities in her home state of Victoria, Australia.[7] Together the couple described the dinosaur genera Leaellynasaura and Timimus, naming them after their daughter and son, Leaellyn and Tim Rich, respectively.[8] [9] Their field work in Victoria informs their research on interpreting changing climate and biogeographic affinity of the biota of Gondwana during the past 120 million years.
In 2016, Vickers-Rich was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the Earth Sciences, particularly palaeontology, as an academic, to education curriculum development, and to international scientific organisations.
Vickers-Rich's scientific literary works have attracted the Victorian Premier's Award for Science Writing (2007-2009) and Queensland Premier's Award for Science Writing (2007-2008) for The Rise of Animals; the Eureka Prize (1993 and 2000) for Wildlife of Gondwana and Dinosaurs of Darkness; Michael Daley Award for Excellence in Science Technology and Engineering Journalism (1993); and the Whitley Medal (1994 and 2004) for best book on the natural history of Australian animals for Wildlife of Gondwana and Magnificent Mihirungs. Additionally, Vickers-Rich is the recipient of the Roy Wheeler Medallion for Excellence in Field Ornithology (2005), the National Geographic/Toyota Field Vehicle Award (2002), Chairman's Award from the National Geographic Society (2000), the Crosbie Morrison Medal (1998), and she received the Key to the City of Mesa, Arizona, for the Great Russian Dinosaurs Exhibition (1995).[10]
Vickers-Rich's work has gained her election to numerous prestigious organisations. In 2015 she was elected as a Bragg member of the Royal Institute of Australia,[11] she was made a member of the Explorers Club, New York, in 1998, and elected a member of the International Academy of Sciences of Nature and Society Moscow Branch in 1996.