Austin Gallagher

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Austin Gallagher is an American marine biologist and social entrepreneur, best known for his research on sharks and his role as founder and CEO of Beneath the Waves, a non-profit organization focusing on ocean conservation. He is a National Geographic Explorer, has been the lead on more than 25 research and exploration expeditions, and his research has uncovered new species and behaviors, and has had an influence on policy for threatened species. He was a "Forbes" 30 Under 30 honoree in the science category. He is a current fellow of the Explorers Club and a Fulbright scholar and distinguished professor.
Early life and education.
After graduating from Thayer Academy near his home city of Boston in 2004, Gallagher moved to Baltimore to attend Loyola University Maryland where he majored in biology and minored in journalism. He then obtained a master's in marine science from Northeastern University in Boston as part of the Three Seas Program in 2010, and went on to receive his doctorate in environmental science from the University of Miami in 2015. He still maintains close affiliations at all three universities.
Career.
Professional research.
Gallagher is a broadly-trained biologist focusing on studying survival in marine animals. He is a world authority on sharks, conducting research aimed at advancing our understanding of their behavior and physiology, and using this information to create protected areas. To date he has published over 65 peer-reviewed scientific articles, and he has presented his work at numerous institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and National Geographic. He has been credited as being one of the first scientists to demonstrate that sharks were worth more alive for tourism than dead for fishing, and has been at the forefront of tiger shark research. He completed his PhD from 2010 to 2015 at the University of Miami, where he published over 25 papers as a graduate student. Gallagher completed a post-doctoral research program at Carleton University with Dr. Steve Cooke, looking at the effects of stress on freshwater and coral reef fishes. In 2015 he led the first ever multi-national expedition to study sharks in Japan, which was featured as the cover story of the February 2016 issue of Outside Magazine and covered by GoPro.
In 2016 he assumed the role of chief scientist at the conservation NGO Beneath the Waves and began building meaningful research partnerships. In 2017, he led the science on the BVI Art Reef, a collaborative project with Sir Richard Branson that sunk a derelict WWII ship for the purposes of establishing an artificial reef to restore overfished species in the British Virgin Islands. He also spearheaded a shark and fishing boat tracking initiative Global Fishing Watch, in partnership with Oceana, Google, and SkyTruth. In 2018 he launched the NGO's most ambitious campaign focusing on understanding the benefits of shark sanctuaries, which has included an expansive focus in the Bahamas with dozens of partners and collaborating institutions. The Bahamas work lead by Beneath the Waves has generated significant press and has been featured in "Forbes", "Scientific American", and on Sir Richard Branson's Virgin blog.
Gallagher sits on the editorial board of the scientific journal "Endangered Species Research".
Television.
Gallagher has appeared on the Discovery Channel shark week 2018 and 2019 and is an occasional contributor to Nat Geo Wild.
Entrepreneurship.
Gallagher has helped activate Beneath the Waves into a variety of influential communities and pop-culture events, including Summit Series, the 1 Hotel, Tortuga Music Festival, and Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. He has worked with the Grand Isle Resort and Spa in Great Exuma, Bahamas, to expose visitors of the resort to hands-on shark tagging research, thus creating a sustainable business model for funding ocean research. In 2017 he co-founded a beverage startup called Tempo, which produces plant-based, functional, and clean beverages for the modern consumer, whose products are currently sold in Whole Foods Market in the midwestern United States.
Awards.
In 2016, Gallagher became the first American marine biologist to make the "Forbes" 30 Under 30 List, at the age of 29. He was also the only conservation biologist on the list in 2016. He is also a member of the "Forbes" Non Profit Council. In April 2016 he was awarded the Loyola University Young Alumni Award, and in the same month he gave a TEDx talk in San Diego, California, on facing your fears to change the world.
In 2019, Gallagher became a Fulbright distinguished professor.