Michele Barnes

Michele Barnes is an Associate Professor at the School of Project Management, University of Sydney. She leads the Social Dynamics and Environmental Change Lab and contributes to the Sydney Environment Institute's Climate Disaster and Adaptation Cluster. Her interdisciplinary research integrates sociology and complex systems science to advance understanding of social-ecological interactions in climate resilience and sustainability projects.

• International Collaborations: Stockholm Resilience Centre, Wildlife Conservation Society, University of Cincinnati
• Professional Roles: Editor of Ecology and Society, Editorial Advisory Board of Cell Reports Sustainability

Research Themes focus on:

• Social network science and climate adaptation
• Disaster resilience in marine contexts
• Power dynamics in sustainability governance
• Knowledge diffusion in environmental systems
• Social-ecological network modeling
• Cross-scale resilience analysis

Her recent work examines 15 publications (2025–2023) spanning topics like:

• Post-COVID community recovery in fisheries
• Adaptation metrics for coral reefs
• Co-management equity in marine systems
• Behavioral economics in conservation
• Network theory applications
• Policy lock-in and transformation

Scientific Recognition:

• 2023 Freeman Award (INSNA)
• 2021 Paul Bourke Award (Australia's top early-career social science prize)
• 2020 Eureka Prize for Interdisciplinary Research
• 2018 ARC DECRA Fellowship
• 2015 NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship

Advising includes 6 current PhD students and 7 former supervisees with projects spanning climate-conflict intersections, shark ecotourism, and healthcare system resilience.