Renaud Joannes-Boyau - Southern Cross University

Reading the bones: How Renaud has built a career with global reach, right here at SCU

Professor Renaud Joannes-Boyau is a natural collaborator, a passionate and highly accomplished researcher who gets things done. Since joining Southern Cross University in 2010, Renaud has progressed to become our Director of High Degree Research, Deputy Chair of the Academic Board and an elected University Council member. Read on to find out about some of the incredible work he’s leading.

Combining passion with expertise

The moment Renaud Joannes-Boyau realised his career path, he was just 11 years old. His grandmother had taken him to visit an archaeological site in southeastern France, believed to be one of the first places humans settled upon migrating to Europe.

“The site is called Terra Amata. There was this skull there, and I vividly remember saying, ‘Oh, this is fantastic! Can we touch the skull?’ And my Grandma said, ‘No, you can't touch it; only archaeologists can do that.’ And so, from then on, my goal in life was to be that person touching the skull!”

It’s an aspiration Renaud has gone well beyond achieving. Since completing his doctorate in geochemistry and geochronology in 2010, Renaud has become a highly sought-after expert in his field, providing advice on ancient human remains to institutions around the globe.

In his current role as Director of High Degree Research at Southern Cross University, Renaud provides guidance to supervisors and supports PhD and Master’s students across the faculty of Science and Engineering. On top of this, Renaud jointly runs research projects around the world, which means he’s often travelling (his tally for 2024 was 15 countries and more than 20 different human evolution sites).

As if this isn’t enough, Renaud also runs the biomics lab at our Lismore campus. The lab is one of only a handful of specialised human-remain dating geo-archaeological labs in the world and is globally recognised for its capabilities. Renaud is justifiably proud of this, given he was the driving force behind its creation.

“I was awarded a grant to start the lab in 2011, and it’s just been growing and growing since then! We started with a few hundred thousand dollars worth of equipment. Now, it is worth about $2.5 billion. Among other things, the lab equipment allows us to perform isotopic work on fossils, which helps us understand where fossils came from and how the organism lived, as well as to reliably date rock art, which is really valuable.”

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Building a high-impact research career

Renaud's passion for science has contributed to some significant breakthroughs. Most recently, Renaud co-developed a new technique for dating rock art using cave paintings in Indonesia. The ensuing paper, published in Nature in 2024, dated the oldest known rock art in the world to more than 51,000 years old.

But it’s clear that even more than the scientific breakthroughs, Renaud is inspired by the human element inherent in his work.

“The rock art we’ve been looking at, what we’re talking about is the creation of art. It’s this spark in human evolution. It’s storytelling, too. The earliest piece we’ve dated is a rendition of a pig being hunted by an animal-human creature. It tells us that humans at this time had a way to project themselves into a world that didn’t exist. It’s what makes humans human!”

Renaud believes in sharing his love of science as widely as possible. In recent years, building on his role at SCU, he’s branched out to become a well-known science communicator. A frequent author for The Conversation, he’s also featured in a host of documentaries, has a regular segment every Monday on the ABC breakfast show and, at the time of writing, is in the process of negotiating with producers to host a documentary on the development of cognition in humans.

“Over the years, I’ve developed a love for outreach and explaining science simply. I really believe that if people don’t understand a scientific matter, it’s not because they don’t have the capacity - it's just the way it was explained to them. You don’t always have to go into deep detail, systematically. To me, it’s about relating science to everyday life aspects. If you can make it fun, interesting and useful to people, they’ll understand it.”

What matters most

Since arriving in Australia with a single suitcase in 2006, Renaud has built an incredible career in his field. His skill set and expertise could have led him to pursue a career at almost any university in the country or overseas. So, why did Renaud choose SCU?

“I was a feather in the wind,” he says with a laugh, noting that his first job at SCU occurred by chance rather than design. But it didn’t take Renaud long to realise that SCU was the right fit for his entrepreneurial spirit and curious mind.

“I just saw the potential of what SCU could be. I thought, ‘I’ll be able to do more at a university this size.’ I could see SCU was transforming, and I wanted to be part of that transformation.”

Once Renaud secured a grant to start the lab at SCU, he didn’t look back. His work takes him all over the world, from South Africa to Siberia, and this global focus helps him produce incredible, high-impact research outcomes.

But the part of his role he’s most proud of remains his students, who have found roles all over the country and the world, and with whom he’s kept in touch with over the years.

“Of course, it’s the students. It’s the students I’ve supervised who’ve gone on to be good scientists. It’s about what I can do to help them become what they aspire to be. My research is important, of course, but if I’ve been useful to others, that’s what really matters.”