John Merson has combined an active academic research career lecturing in the history and philosophy of science at the University of New South Wales with science journalism and broadcasting for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Science Unit. He has written, produced and presented episodes of the Science Show, Investigations and New Society, some of which have been published in book form (Stress : The Causes, The Costs and The Cures : the Science and Politics of a Global Crisis [2001]; Roads to Xanadu : East and West in the Making of the Modern World [1989]). A committed environmentalist, and the executive director of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, Merson has published widely , including papers for the Evatt Foundation. A member of the New South Wales Education Commission, his one work of juvenile fiction has a clear educational conservation message. Acting as a consultant on science and technology for industry and government and organisations such as the Australian/Indonesian Steering Committee on Science and Technology, he has written on the economic and social impact of information technology on the Asia/Pacific region. He was awarded the Australia/China Council National Press Club Prize in 1981. He has been Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of NSW.
