Adjunct Professor
Statistical consulting and collaboration, design of research studies, statistical modelling, biological conservation, psephology, statistics in sport
Phone: +61 2 6125 9245
Fax: + 61 (0)2 6125 0746
E-mail: ross.cunningham@anu.edu.au

Ross Cunningham trained as a statistical consultant in CSIRO, Division of Mathematics and Statistics, Adelaide from 1969-1973 and moved to CSIRO Canberra in 1973 to practice. In 1982 he was appointed Statistical Consultant in the Faculties, ANU and was instrumental in establishing the highly regarded Statistical Consulting Unit of the Graduate School, ANU where he became Head. In 2001 he became a Visiting Fellow at CRES where he continues to work with Professor David Lindenmayer and others.

Professional Activities

I have a strong enthusiasm for and belief in statistical science, in particular data modelling and the design of research studies in many areas. My work usually involves establishing collaborative working relationships with researchers from a large range of scientific fields to gain sufficient understanding of their field to be able to communicate and solve problems effectively. I have made contributions in the intellectual conception, the design and implementation in many projects

Career highlights

• Head, Statistical Consulting Unit, ANU 1982-2001
• Discovery of a new species of possum
• Published over 200 papers in referred journals in many scientific fields
• Election night forecasting for Channel 10 and the ABC 1980-2000

Selected Publications

Cunningham, R.B., Lindenmayer, D.B., MacGregor, C. , Welsh, A and Barry, S (2005) Effects of trap position, trap history, microhabitat, and season on capture probabilities of small mammals in a wet eucalypt forest. Wildlife Research, 32 657-671

Cunningham, R.B., Lindenmayer, D.B., Nix, H.A. and Lindenmayer, B.D. (1999) Quantifying observer heterogeneity in bird counts. Australian Journal of Ecology 24, 270-277

Lindenmayer, D.B. , Cunningham, R.B, Viggers , K.L. and Donnelly, C.F. Morphological variation among populations of the Mountain Brushtail Possum, Trichosurus caninus Ogilby (Phalangeridae: Marsupialia). Australian Journal of Zoology (1995) 43 449-458

Cunningham, R.B., and Lindenmayer, D.B. (2005). Modeling count data of rare species: some statistical issues. Ecology, 86, 1135-1142.

Telford, R.D. and Cunningham, R.B. Sex, sport and body size dependency of haematology in highly trained athletes. Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise (1991) 23(7) 788-794