Steve Cooke is a cultural and historical geographer and an expert in issues related to heritage, memory, and identity, particularly the spatialities of difficult histories. This is evidenced through over 30 scholarly publications, including two highly commended books on the memory of war and genocide and the award of over AU$1.3m in grants to support his work. He spent five years in Higher Education in the UK, first as a Research Fellow at the University of Stirling and then as a Lecturer in Historical and Cultural Geography at the University of Hull. In 2002, Steve moved to Australia and worked in high-level management positions in some of Victoria’s most significant places, including the Melbourne Maritime Museum (home of Polly Woodside) and the Shrine of Remembrance. In 2011, he returned to academia at Deakin University where he is an Associate Professor of Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies and course director for the cultural heritage and museum studies programs. He was appointed Associate Head of School (International and Partnerships) within the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2019.