Dr Gary Fitt obtained his PhD from the University of Sydney. He joined CSIRO as an Experimental Scientist in 1977, moving to ACRI in 1983, playing a crucial role in the transition of pest management in the cotton industry from the chemical-dominated regimes of the 1980s and 90s through to the current GM era. He made fundamental contributions to understanding the ecology of Helicoverpa spp. and other major pests, and was integral to the development of insecticide resistance management and area-wide management in the industry. He played a key role in integrating Bollgard varieties into IPM for cotton and has mentored many students and early career researchers in entomology in other fields.

Gary has over 100 refereed publications and book chapters, most dealing with cotton pest management and including several in leading international journals such as Annual Review of Entomology. He served as a Program Leader in the first Cotton CRC, CEO of the second Cotton CRC, and a Board member of the third Cotton CRC. He has been a member of the Board of CRDC and served on several key industry committees including TIMS and the industry Biosecurity Planning group within Australia, served as Deputy Director of CSIRO Entomology and Director of CSIRO’s Biosecurity Flagship, and has also held senior positions in several international organisations relating to science and biotechnology.

He is also the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Mackerras Medal of the Australian Entomological Society and the Clunies Ross award from the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.