Dr Andrew (Andy) Viduka
<p>Chief Investigator Dr Andrew (Andy) Viduka is a maritime archaeologist and archaeological objects conservator employed by the Australian Government as the Assistant Director of Underwater Cultural Heritage. Andy co-drafted the Australian Government’s Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 which he administers, leads the Australian Underwater Cultural Heritage Program, and Australia’s consideration of ratification of the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.<br /><br />Andy is actively involved in maritime archaeological projects with the not-for-profit research group Wreck Check Inc. continuing his research interest in linking community outcomes with the discovery and protection of underwater cultural heritage. In 2022, he co-authored a book based on Wreck Check research in 2015-2016 titled, 'Misadventures in Nature's Paradise: Australia's Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island during the Dutch era'.<br /><br />Andy’s PhD was on ‘A public good conservation approach for underwater cultural management through citizen science’ and in 2018 he founded the citizen science project Gathering Information via Recreational and Technical (GIRT) Scientific Divers. He is the Director of GIRT Scientific Divers Pty Ltd, an Honorary Associate of the University of New England (Armidale, Australia), a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and an ICOMOS – ICUCH Bureau Member. Andy is also a member of ICOMOS - ICAHM, the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology (AIMA) and the Australian Citizen Science Association and a Board Member of the Ocean Decade Heritage Network.</p>