About Austin

Dr. Austin Gallagher is a marine scientist working at the intersection of threatened species conservation and protected areas. He is a world-authority on sharks. He is the Chief Executive and Lead Scientist of the NGO Beneath the Waves, and a National Geographic Explorer, and holds academic positions at universities in North America and the United Kingdom.

Current Professional Appointments

• Chief Executive & Lead Scientist, Beneath the Waves (USA)

• Adjunct Professor, Northeastern University (USA)

• Honorary Professor, University of Exeter (UK)

Approach

His research is focused on studying the behavior, health, and survival of marine species such as sharks, and leveraging these findings to catalyze conservation efforts in the ocean. His research approach is defined by creativity and outside the box thinking. He is especially passionate about using cutting edge tools and organizing large collaborative teams to create the conservation evidence to solve emerging conservation challenges.

He has published 80 peer-reviewed scientific articles, and his work on shark vulnerability to fisheries has been applied to ocean management and policy globally. He has also assisted with the creation of global protective measures (marine protected areas, CITES listings) for numerous species of sharks and regions worldwide. Dr. Gallagher’s work also demonstrated that sharks can be worth more alive than dead, which remains a highly referenced argument for contemporary marine conservation, particulary in island nations. 

Global Activation

Dr. Gallagher has spoken at TED, the Royal Geographical Society (Hong Kong), MIT, Smithsonian, Summit, WeWork, and in front of audiences at universities and businesses around the world. His work has received global media coverage from The New York Times, Forbes, Virgin, Yahoo, Cheddar, and Vice. He has appeared on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week and National Geographic Wild, and regularly consults for natural history film and TV productions. He is currently sponsored by brands such as Southern Tide, GoPro, and Discovery Channel, and has won awards for his nature photography.

Scientific Training and Entrepreneurship

He received his PhD from the University of Miami, completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Carleton University, and he received his MSc from Northeastern University.  He is a National Geographic Explorer, Fulbright Scholar, a Fellow of the Explorer’s Club, and is a former Forbes 30 Under 30 Honoree. Dr. Gallagher serves on the Editorial Board of the scientific journal Endangered Species Research, is the Chief Science Officer at Hidden Worlds Entertainment, and in 2017 he co-founded Tempo, a functional beverage company which was sold into Whole Foods.