Elected 2014. Re-elected 2015, 2017, 2020 & 2022.

Day Job: Professor of Ecology & Biodiversity, Edinburgh Napier University

Rob is Professor of Ecology & Biodiversity in the School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University and a member of the NatureScot Scientific Advisory Committee Expert Panel. Rob has diverse research interests particularly focused on aquatic ecosystems from rivers and ponds to coastal areas. He undertakes work involving a combination of field- and laboratory-based research in addition to making use of biological records from the UK and beyond in association with other data as the basis for spatial analysis using geographical information systems to explore large-scale patterns in species distribution and diversity.

Prior to moving to Edinburgh in 2003, Rob was based in Aberystwyth studying dispersal of adult aquatic insects from upland streams, following on from gaining a PhD from the University of Sheffield.