Tom Aechtner

Associate Professor Tom Aechtner is a faculty member at the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry within the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at The University of Queensland. He serves as both Discipline Convenor and Discipline HDR Coordinator for Religion and Science. His academic journey includes a Bachelor (Honours) of Science (Advanced) from the University of Alberta, a Masters (Research) from the University of Calgary, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford.

Dr. Aechtner's research primarily focuses on science skepticism and science-religion discourse, with particular emphasis on:

• Vaccine hesitancy and antivaccination movements
• Antievolutionism and creationism
• Mass persuasion techniques in science communication
• Public perceptions of science
• Religion in the African diaspora
• Pentecostalism and Global Christianity

His research has significant real-world impact, including the creation of AVAXX101, the first massive open online course dedicated to responding to antivaccination claims. He has served as a technical advisor to Queensland Health's Strategic Communications Branch and designed UQ's VaccinationChoice website. His book "Media and Science-Religion Conflict: Mass Persuasion in the Evolution Wars" (2020) won the International Society for Science & Religion's 2021 prize for best academic book.

Dr. Aechtner's publication record demonstrates consistent scholarly output across multiple formats, including books, book chapters, journal articles, and creative works. His most recent publications focus on vaccine hesitancy, with several 2024 publications examining behavioral perspectives on vaccination attitudes. His research spans both theoretical analysis of science-religion conflicts and practical applications for improving science communication.

Among his notable awards and recognitions:

• International Society for Science & Religion's 2021 prize for best academic book
• Westpac Research Fellow
• UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award recipient

Dr. Aechtner is actively involved in research supervision, currently guiding three doctoral students while having successfully completed supervision of six doctoral and master's students since 2017. His supervision topics reflect his research interests, including studies on Pentecostal churches, creationism, and science-religion discourse. He has secured significant research funding, including ARC Linkage projects and Templeton Religious Trust grants.

His current major research projects include "The Queensland Atlas of Religion" (ARC Linkage Project 2019-2025), "Science and Religion Exploring the Spectrum: A Global Perspective" (Templeton Religious Trust Grant), and ongoing work related to vaccine hesitancy in Australia.