Professor Roger Byard AO PSM started life in Tasmania, but his contribution to forensic pathology is known around the world.
He helped identify victims of the Bali Bombings in 2002 and the Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand in 2004, bringing closure to families seeking lost loved ones. He also investigated the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia.
His research into sudden infant death syndrome pinpointed cigarette smoke and sleeping facedown as contributing risks – a groundbreaking discovery that no doubt saved many babies’ lives.
Roger grew up in Wynyard in north-west Tasmania, studied medicine in Hobart and trained in pathology in Canada. His research has been recognised with many academic honours and, in 2021, he was ranked in the top two per cent of scientists worldwide by Stanford University.
He is now an Emeritus Professor at The University of Adelaide and a senior specialist forensic pathologist at Forensic Science SA.