Ronika Power

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Ronika K. Power

| workplaces = Macquarie University
University of Cambridge

| alma_mater = Macquarie University
University of Bradford

| thesis_title = From the cradle to the grave : child, infant and foetal burials in the Egyptian archaeological record from the Early Dynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom (ca. 3300-1650 BC)

| thesis_url = http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/845227327

| thesis_year = 2012

}}

Ronika K. Power is an Australian archaeologist who is a Professor of Bioarchaeology in the Department of History and Archaeology and Director of the Centre for Ancient Cultural Heritage and Environment at Macquarie University. Power is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and the Royal Society of New South Wales.

Early life and education

Power became interested in mummies as a child.{{Cite web|last=Kellahan|first=Kristie|date=2018-12-04|title=Superstar of STEM, Ronika Power, makes a living by looking into death|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/superstar-of-stem-ronika-power-makes-a-living-by-looking-into-death-20181203-p50jwm.html|access-date=2022-01-24|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2020-10-01|title=Whispers From The Ancient Dead: The Engrossing World Of Ronika Power - The Brilliant|url=https://thebrilliant.com.au/profiles/whispers-from-the-ancient-dead-the-engrossing-world-of-ronika-power/|access-date=2022-01-24|language=en-AU}} She became ill with glandular fever and missed her high school leaving exams. She was left with chronic fatigue syndrome and remained unwell for eight years. Power was an undergraduate student at Macquarie University, where she studied ancient history. She graduated with the University Medal.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} After graduating Power moved to the United Kingdom, where she completed a master's degree in Palaeography at the University of Bradford. Power returned to Australia, where she completed her doctoral research in egyptology at Macquarie University.{{Cite web|title=Associate Professor Ronika Power|url=https://aips.net.au/tall-poppies/2019-new-south-wales-award-winner/13135-2/|access-date=2022-01-24|website=AIPS|language=en}} Her doctorate evaluated burials in the early Dynastic period. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

Research and career

Power worked as a European Research Council postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge. As part of this work, she looked to understand the nature of connectivity in the Trans-Saharan zone.{{Cite web|title=Trans-SAHARA: State Formation, Migration and Trade in the Central Sahara (1000 BC - AD 1500) {{!}} Archaeology and Ancient History {{!}} University of Leicester|url=https://le.ac.uk/archaeology/research/big-antiquity/trans-sahara-project|access-date=2022-01-24|website=le.ac.uk}} In 2014, she started working on the ERC Fragility and Sustainability in the restricted island environments of Malta (FRAGSUS) project, which studied why certain cultures maintained civilisations for centuries whilst other collapsed more quickly.{{Cite web|last=Stoddart|first=Dr Simon|date=2019-04-28|title=FRAGSUS: Fragility and Sustainability in the restricted island environments of Malta|url=https://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/recently-completed-projects/fragsus-fragility-and-sustainability-restricted-island|access-date=2022-01-24|website=www.arch.cam.ac.uk|language=en}} FRAGSUS was the outcome of a long-term collaboration between the University of Malta and the University of Cambridge, largely driven by Caroline Malone. Power worked with the British Museum to develop Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives, an exhibition that ran from 2016 to 2017.{{Cite web|last=Hakim|first=Libby|date=2017-03-22|title=Building pictures of the ancient past|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/building-pictures-of-the-ancient-past-20170322-gv3ii3.html|access-date=2022-01-24|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}

In 2016, Power returned to Macquarie University, where she was made a lecturer in bioarchaeology. Her research considers ancient human remains to better understand human health and migration. She studied the fossilised skeletons of a massacre that occurred 10,000 years ago in Lake Turkana.{{Cite web|title=Archaeological Find Points to Ancient Human Violence|url=https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/archaeological-fine-points-to-ancient-human-violence/|access-date=2022-01-24|website=Science Friday|language=en-US}} This study was named by Archaeology as one of the Top Ten Discoveries of 2016.{{Cite web|title=10,000-Year-Old Turf War - Archaeology Magazine|url=https://www.archaeology.org/issues/240-1701/features/5117-kenya-nataruk-early-battle|access-date=2022-01-24|website=www.archaeology.org}} Alongside her research, Power taught courses on the archaeology of death and burial. She delivered a TED talk at TEDxMelbourne in 2019.{{Citation|title=Our urgent need to do death differently {{!}} Ronika Power {{!}} TEDxMelbourne| date=17 January 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA_ntn-icwc|language=en|access-date=2022-01-24}}

Awards and honours

2018 Elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London{{Cite web|title=Prof Ronika Power|url=https://www.sal.org.uk/our-fellows/directory/dr-ronika-power/|access-date=2022-01-24|website=Society of Antiquaries of London|language=en-GB}}
2018 Appointed a Superstar of STEM
2019 Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales{{Cite web|last=Administration|date=2019-07-15|title=Macquarie Ancient History researchers elected to Royal Society of NSW|url=https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/media-releases/macquarie-ancient-history-researchers-elected-to-royal-society-of-nsw|access-date=2022-01-24|website=The Lighthouse|language=en-au}}
2019 Australian Academy of the Humanities Max Crawford Medal{{Cite web|title=Max Crawford Medal|url=https://humanities.org.au/grants-and-awards/max-crawford-medal/|access-date=2022-01-24|website=Australian Academy of the Humanities|language=en-AU}}
2019 Union Académique Internationale Kwang-su Lim Early Career Award{{Citation|title=2. Union académique internationale|date=2019-09-23|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783110572643-017|work=Deutsch als internationale Wissenschaftssprache und der Boykott nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg|pages=434–449|publisher=De Gruyter|doi=10.1515/9783110572643-017 |isbn=978-3-11-057264-3 |access-date=2022-01-24|url-access=subscription}}
2019 Australian Institute of Policy in Science Tall Poppy Award{{Cite web|title=NSW Tall Poppies|url=https://aips.net.au/tall-poppy-campaign/nsw-tall-poppies/|access-date=2022-01-24|website=AIPS|language=en}}

Selected publications

{{Cite Q|Q30052466}}
{{Cite Q|Q59144962}}
{{Cite Q|Q108194966}}

References

Category:Living people

Category:Macquarie University alumni

Category:Alumni of the University of Bradford

Category:Academic staff of Macquarie University

Category:Bioarchaeologists

Category:21st-century Australian scientists

Category:Australian women archaeologists

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:People with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome