Andrew Howells

Dr Andrew Howells is a Senior Lecturer in Natural History Illustration at the University of Newcastle, affiliated with the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences. His career bridges animation, graphic design, and cross-disciplinary research, culminating in a PhD titled Elephant: Art and Science.

• Education: PhD (2014) and Bachelor of Fine Art from the University of Newcastle.

Andrew specializes in conservation science, digital and traditional illustration practice, and drawing as inquiry. His work focuses on creating visual tools for scientific assessment, such as 60 illustrations for evaluating Asian elephant health in captivity and digital reconstructions of ancient artifacts like the sarcophagus of Mer-Neith-it-es.

His recent publications emphasize illustration research, artifact recontextualization, and digital methods in heritage. Notable collaborations include Taronga Zoo and the Chau Chak Wing Museum, integrating art into conservation and cultural studies.

• 2016 Faculty Award for Collaboration Excellence
• 2016 Vice Chancellor’s Award for Collaboration Excellence
• 2017 edX Prize for Exceptional Contributions in Online Teaching

Andrew has secured $108,983 in grants, including projects on artifact recontextualization and international illustration research networks. He supervises PhD students in natural history illustration and collaborates with institutions like the University of Sydney and Taronga Zoo.