Peter Macinnis was born in Queensland, Australia, but grew up on Sydney’s northern beaches, where he still lives—and where he is a somewhat obsessive bushwalker. After several years tending ledgers in the 1960s, he decided it was better to be a biologist than an accountant and obtained a bachelor’s degree in botany and zoology. As well as being a husband and father of three, Peter has worked as many things: science teacher; education officer for the state department of education where he eventually became Principal Education Officer and number cruncher (as well as gaining a Masters in Education); and he was later an educator with both the Powerhouse and the Australian Museum before returning to the classroom for a number of years. In 1999 Peter began writing full-time for WebsterWorld, an online encyclopaedia, and continues his work there today.
Over the years, Peter has written or co-authored some twenty books, mainly for children or schools, as well as presenting talks on ABC Radio National since 1985, appearing on ‘Science Bookshop’, the ‘Science Show’ and, most frequently, on ‘Ockham’s Razor’. Peter has a large science web site (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~macinnis/scifun/index.htm) which has won many awards in the past few years. He has been twice awarded ‘highly commended’ in the Michael Daley Awards for Science Journalism, and in 2000 a children’s book he co-authored received a Whitley award from the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.
Peter’s work sits at the intersection of three interests: writing, science and education. His next book is about the history and development of rockets. He speaks several languages incredibly badly and has a black belt in bog-snorkelling.