About Matthew Harrison
Associate Professor Matthew Harrison is an award-winning scientist based at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture in Launceston, Australia. Matt is internationally renowned for his work in improving the sustainability of agricultural and land-use systems through economic, environmental and social innovations for demand-driven problems. His team uses systems thinking and participatory work with end-users to develop skills, technologies and practices aimed at improving food production, enterprise profitability, social licence and agri-food sustainability. The impact of his work on carbon storage and removals, greenhouse gas emissions, the climate crisis and food security will have enduring benefits for decades to come.
Matt is the Director of the Carbon Storage Partnership, a multi-million-dollar transdisciplinary initiative that is developing environmentally-contextualised and socially-acceptable pathways aimed at progressing the entire Australia livestock sector to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. As improvement of economic growth and farm business profitability is a critical part of this endeavour, his team often examine multi-disciplinary outcomes of changes to agricultural systems.
Matt has long engendered a culture of research excellence in his work environment, as shown by his mentoring and supervision of colleagues, his training of the next generation of scientists, and his inclusive approach to leadership. Matt has supervised numerous Honours, Masters and PhD scholars to successful completion, and he welcomes enquiries relating to research supervision or collaboration. As an egalitarian, he advocates for social justice of and for the people he works with.
The knowledge, skills and technologies developed by Matt and co-workers have contributed significantly to the University of Tasmania’s ‘well-above world standard’ Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) rankings in ‘Agriculture, Land and Farm Management’ and ‘Crop and Pasture Production’.