Professor Rob Brander

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Professor, School of BEES, UNSW Sydney

Rob is a Professor in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences (BEES) at UNSW Sydney. While his background is in coastal geomorphology, his research interests and focus have moved into the field of beach safety. He has done considerable research on topics related to the rip current hazard and beachgoer knowledge and behaviour in relation to beach safety practice and hazards. Rob has been heavily involved in community beach safety education through his popular Science of the Surf (SOS) program, which has gained significant media attention and given him the nickname ‘Dr Rip’. He is the author of ‘Dr Rip’s Essential Beach Book’ and was a previous winner of an Australian Museum Science Eureka Prize for promoting community understanding of science. In January 2023, he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his services to beach safety education and research. Rob is a member of the International Drowning Researchers Alliance (IDRA).

Research Interests:

Rip current hazard on beaches
Public understanding and awareness of coastal hazards
Beach safety education and prevention
Science communication and public outreach

Recent Beach Safety Related Publications (last 5 years):

Brander, R.W., Williamson, A., Dunn, N., Hatfield, J., Sherker, S., Hayen, A. (2022). Evaluating the effectiveness of a science-based community beach safety intervention: the Science of the Surf (SOS) presentation. Continental Shelf Research (accepted April 2022).

Uebelhoer, L., Koon, W., Harley, M.D., Lawes, J.C., Brander, R.W. (2022). Characteristics and beach safety knowledge of beachgoers on unpatrolled surf beaches in Australia. Natural Hazards and Earth Systems Sciences, 22:909-926. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-909-2022

Woods, M., Koon, W., Brander, R.W. (2022). Identifying risk factors for beach drowning prevention amongst an Australian multicultural community. PLoS One, 17(1): e0262175 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0262175

Koon, W., Peden, A., Lawes, J.C., Brander, R.W. (2021). Coastal drownings: A scoping review of burden, risk factors, and prevention strategies. PLoS One, 16(2):e0246034 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246034

Lawes, J.C., Uebelhoer, L., Koon, W., Strasiotto, L., Anne, F., Daw, S., Brander, R.W., Mulcahy, N., Peden, A.E. (2021). Understanding a population: a methodology for a population-based coastal safety survey. PLoS ONE, 16(8): e0256202 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256202

Pitman, S.J., Thompson, K., Hart, D.E., Moran, K., Gallop, S.L., Brander, R.W., Wooler, A. (2021). Beachgoers’ ability to identify rip currents at a beach in situ. Natural Hazards and Earth Systems Sciences, 21:115-128. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-115-2021

Castelle, B., Scott, T., Brander, R.W., McCarroll, R.J., Tellier, E., de Korte, E., Tackuy, L., Robinet, A., Simonnet, B., Salmi, L-R. (2020). Wave and tide controls on rip current activity and drowning incidents in southwest France. Journal of Coast

Koon, W., Schmidt, A., Queriroga, A.C., Sempsrott, J., Szpilman, D., Webber, J., Brander, R.W. (2020). The need for consistent beach lifeguard data collection: results from an international survey. Injury Preventiondoi:10.1136/injuryprev-2020-043793

Lawes, J.C., Rijksen, E.J.T., Brander, R.W., Franklin, R.W., Daw, S. (2020). Dying to help: fatal bystander rescues in Australian coastal environments. PLoS One, 15(9): e0238317 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238317

Pitman, S.J., Thompson, K., Hart, D.E., Moran, K., Gallop, S.L., Brander, R.W., Wooler, A. (2020). Beachgoers’ ability to identify rip currents at a beach in situ. Natural Hazards and Earth Systems Sciences. (under review). https://nhess.copernicus.org/preprints/nhess-2020-244/

Brander, R.W., Warton, N., Franklin, R.C., Shaw, W.S., Rijksen, E.J.T., Daw, S. (2019). Characteristics of aquatic rescues undertaken by bystanders in Australia. PLoS ONE, 14(2):e0212359. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212349

Brewster, B.C., Gould, R.E., Brander, R.W. (2019). Estimations of rip current rescues and drowning in the United States. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 19(2):389-397. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-19-389-2019

Castelle, B., Scott, T., Brander, R.W., McCarroll, J., Robinet, A., Tellier, E., de Korte, E., Simonnet, B., Salmi, L-R. (2019). Environmental controls on surf zone injuries on high-energy beaches. Natural Hazards and Earth Systems Sciences, 19: 2183-2205. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-19-2183-2019

Franklin, R.C., Peden, A., Brander, R.W., Leggat, P. (2019). Who rescues who? Understanding aquatic rescues in Australia using coronial data and a survey. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1753-6405.12900

Pitman, S.J., Gallop, S.L., Brander, R.W. (2019). Staying safe on a surf beach: what are rip currents? Frontiers for Young Minds, 7:33 https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2019.00033

Brander, R.W. (2018). Beach Safety Research. In: The Encyclopedia of Coastal Science. (Eds. C. Finkl, C.Makowski), Encyclopedia of Earth Science Series, Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_40-2

Brander, R.W. (2018). Rip Currents. In: The Encyclopedia of Coastal Science (Eds. C. Finkl, C.Makowski), Encyclopedia of Earth Science Series, Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93806-6_261

Castelle, B., Brander, R.W., Tellier, E., Simmonet, B., Scott, T., McCarroll, J., Campagne, J-M., Cavailhes, T., Lechevral, P. (2018). Surf zone hazards and injuries on beaches in SW France. Natural Hazards. 93(3): 1317-1335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-018-3354-4

Clifford, K., Brander, R.W., Trimble, S., Houser, C. (2018). Beach safety knowledge of visiting international study abroad students to Australia. Tourism Management, 69: 487-497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.06.032

Menard, D., Houser, C., Brander, R.W., Trimble, S., Scaman, A. (2018). The psychology of beach users: importance of confirmation bias, action and intention to improving rip current safety. Natural Hazards, 94(2):953-973. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-018-3424-7

Houser, C., Trimble, S., Brander, R., Brewster, C., Dusek, G., Jones, D., Kuhn, J. (2017). Public perceptions of a rip current hazard education program: ‘Break the Grip of the Rip!’ Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 17: 1003-1024. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-1003-2017

Warton, N.M. and Brander, R.W. (2017). Improving tourist beach safety awareness: the benefits of watching Bondi Rescue. Tourism Management, 63: 187-200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.06.017

Rob's Blog

Instagram Grant: Water Safety at Selfie Hot Spots

The selfie is a modern phenomena which can have tragic consequences. Temporary lack of self-awareness and concentration can lead to slips and falls; chasing the perfect selfie can lead people to visit risky locations at hazardous times.

Dye in the Rip

Various types of coloured dye have been used in rip currents for many years as an educational tool to help people better understand the speed and trajectory of this common beach hazard. It’s encouraging to see a new study by Indonesian researchers who released dye into a rip current at Drini Beach.

2021 Beach Safety Technology Conference

More than two hundred beach safety professionals and researchers from all over the world participated in the 2021 Beach Safety Technology Conference, "an international forum exploring the use and development of technology for ocean lifeguards, beach safety professionals and researchers." The free conference was hosted for free by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Beach Safety Research Group and Smart Beaches.

Keeping Multicultural Communities Safer at Beaches

Beach drowning among people from multicultural communities continues to be a major concern in Australia. Unfortunately, few studies have attempted to quantify how different multicultural communities interact with the beach, what their swimming ability is like and what they understand about common beach safety practices and hazards.

Reviewing Coastal Drowning Science

We reviewed 146 coastal drowning studies from around the world in an attempt to characterise the peer-reviewed scientific literature in the field. This study aimed to identify the key concepts, findings, evidence and gaps in the science in order to help guide future research and inform prevention activities.

Surf Zone Injuries in France

Surf Zone Injuries occurred more on warm sunny days with low wind due to increased beachgoer numbers and hazard exposure and were mostly associated with waves approaching the coastline straight on.

Lifeguard Data Collection

Lifeguard data has been used in drowning research since the 1980s, and a few challenges have previously been identified. However, what and how that information is recorded hasn’t been formally examined until now.

Lifeguard Data Collection Shared - WCDP 2019

Dr. Andrew Schmidt from Lifeguards Without Borders presented preliminary results from the International Lifeguard Data Collection Survey at the World Conference on Drowning Prevention in Durban, South Africa - thanks Andrew!

Background: Lifeguard Data Collection Survey

Back in 2017 at the World Conference on Drowning Prevention in Vancouver, a group of us lifeguard-researcher-nerd types were talking at the International Drowning Researcher’s Alliance (IDRA) meeting.

COVID-19 Disrupts Unpatrolled Beaches Research

An important component of our NSW Government Water Safety Fund project ‘Identifying Rip Currents and Beach Usage at Unpatrolled Beach Locations’ was to conduct face to face surveys of beachgoers visiting the unpatrolled beaches monitored by the remote trail cameras.