Barbara Bollard

Barbara Anne Bollard also known as Barbara Breen and Bollard-Breen, is a New Zealand academic, and is a professor at University of Wollongong. She was previously a full professor at Auckland University of Technology, specialising in using remote sensing and drones to map and manage conservation areas.

Academic career
Bollard attributes her love of science to her father, New Zealander John Bollard, who was involved in the development of solid fuel propellants for the US space programme, and had been involved in training John Glenn. Bollard completed a PhD titled Integrating social and biophysical data to develop and evaluate marine protected area planning at a local scale: the 1998 Cairns Area Plan of Management as a case study  at James Cook University in 2006. Bollard then joined the faculty of Auckland University of Technology, rising to full professor in 2022. She is now a professor at the University of Wollongong.

Bollard's describes herself as a "techno-nerd". Her research focuses on using geospatial mapping, including remote sensing and drone technology, for the identification and management of protected areas. She has used these techniques to map three areas in Antarctica, as well as deserts in Namibia. She is also exploring how the three-dimensional maps created for conservation planning can also be used in gaming, allowing a virtual experience of remote environments. Bollard's work to create a photo-mosaic of the area around Scott Base was featured in the National Geographic and Antarctica New Zealand-produced programme Continent 7: Dangerous Science. In summer 2023 Bollard worked with researchers from the University of Wollongong and Queensland University of Technology on an Australian Antarctic Division project to map moss beds around Casey Station, to better understand the areas at risk and the effects of climate change.