Meet the experts – Richard Cresswell
Wednesday, 9 August, 2023
Meet Richard Cresswell
1. How do you explain what you do for work at parties?
Who’s having a party? And I don’t! Honestly, eyes glaze over. Most people just think I’m a fashion designer’s husband.
2. Why did you choose to work in the environmental space?
I didn’t! I wanted to be a farrier, then a vet, then did a geology course in high school and pure serendipity and opportunities led me here! Oh, and then there's my name…!
3. What do you love most about what you do?
I get paid! … for doing things very few people get to do. Who gets to go on an airboat survey of the Magela Creek wetlands one month and then be sampling 70 degree, high pressure groundwaters 1 km underground in the Ernest Henry Copper-Gold Mine the next?
It’s always an adventure in the field!
4. What achievement are you most proud of?
Finding and marrying the love of my life!
The Barbie to his Ken
5. How do you make a difference in your role with ELA?
Others should decide whether I make a difference. I just try to treat others as I’d like to be treated myself. Tony Windsor has a saying: “The world is run by those who turn up. We turn up. We have to make sure that others who may follow us want to turn up.”
6. To share your genius, what’s your one top tip for clients working on groundwater projects?
Trust me. If you don’t; go find someone you do.
7. What do you love about science?
It will ultimately explain everything!
8. What's the most interesting project you've ever worked on?
Whatever I’m working on right now is the most interesting project! Having said that, the most satisfying was the Northern Australia Sustainable Yields Project (when I was at CSIRO). Most exciting was hunting for meteorites on Devon Island Ice Cap, Arctic Canada (during my PhD). Most surreal was installing groundwater samplers down the aforementioned Ernest Henry.
Enjoying his time on the water
9. An interesting or fun fact your team or your clients might not know about you?
Some things are best kept secret!
10. What do you nerd out over?
Aikido.
Perfecting his Aikido skills