Professor Nicole Webster (born 1973) is an Australian marine scientist who is the Executive Director for the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania.

Early life

Nicole Webster gained an undergraduate degree and PhD in marine biology at James Cook University. Professor Webster's research discovered that sponge-microbial associations are fairly uniform throughout large geographic zones and highlighted the specificity of this partnership. She also discovered that the breakdown of this symbiosis may be a good indicator of environmental stress. Science.org website, ''Oakley, C. (6 May 2010). Dr Nicole Webster, marine scientist.'', Retrieved 21 March 2018
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Career

Webster conducted postdoctoral research in Antarctica through the University of Canterbury and Gateway Antarctica. Her research analyzed how microbe symbiosis can be biologically indicative of environmental strain in Antarctic marine ecosystems and also examined how microorganisms trigger the settlement and metamorphosis of coral reef invertebrates. Ecodim website, ''Nicole Webster. (n.d.).'', Retrieved 22 March 2018
/ref> Webster became a research scientist at the Australian Institute for Marine Science (AIMS) and Principal Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Ecogenomics located at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

. In 2024, she is an Honorary Professor at UQ in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences. In 2021, Webster was appointed Chief Scientist for the Australian Antarctic Division, succeeding Gwen Fenton. As such, she took part in the 2022 Australian Antarctic Division Science Symposium in Canberra, speaking on climate science, the Southern Ocean and new technology, as well as the 2023 New Zealand/ Australia Antarctic Science Conference in Christchurch, where she spoke on joint research. She also oversaw two drilling operations in the Antarctic plateau. In 2024, she was ranked as the number one Australian Antarctic Division scientist. In January 2024, she was appointed as Executive Director for the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

.University of Tasmania website, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Science section, ''Senior Management Team'', retrieved 2024-06-06
/ref> She is also part of the committee for the Centre for Marine Socioecology in Hobart.

Awards

* 2010

Dorothy Hill Medal The Dorothy Hill Medal is awarded annually and honours the contributions of Dorothy Hill to Australian Earth science and her work in opening up tertiary science education to women. The award supports research in the Earth sciences by female rese ...

* 2025 Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Nicole 1973 births Living people Australian marine biologists Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Australian people of English descent British emigrants to Australia People from Ormskirk Australian expatriates in England