Professors Tom Oliver and Rowan Sutton job-share in the role of Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Research (Environment) at the University of Reading. The environment theme brings together 200 academics, and hundreds of postdoctoral researchers and PhD students to explore, understand, and address the challenges of environmental changes, both natural and those shaped by humans.
Tom is a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the School of Biological Sciences. He has published widely on environmental risk, biodiversity, and ecosystem resilience, and is the author of the critically acclaimed popular science book The Self Delusion, which looks at how humans are connected with nature and each other. His research has been regularly cited in international newspapers and magazines, and he is a frequent contributor to broadcast media and the mainstream press.
Tom has held a number of leadership positions since joining the University. He was Division Leader for the Ecology and Evolution Division from 2017-2020, and is currently leader of the Social and Applied Ecology Research Group.
He has been seconded to DEFRA and has been advising the UK Government and European Environment Agency on environmental topics. Alongside his role as Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Research (Environment), Tom is currently seconded to the UK Government Office for Science as a specialist methodology advisor.
