The Interdisciplinary Pottery Research Group, led by Dr Mathieu Leclerc, brings together academics based at the Australian National University  with a shared interest in pottery studies. IPORG members are involved in archaeological projects in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, and Torres Strait, Australia.
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​We seek collaborations with researchers from other institutions and industry partners. Our team possess expertise in a wide range of analytical techniques, allowing us to address diverse archaeological, technological, and methodological challenges.​
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IPORG fosters a dynamic and multi-disciplinary environment where researchers engaged in pottery studies to combine their expertise in a dynamic and cross-disciplinary environment fertile for can collaborate, exchange ideas, and drive innovation.

DR MATHIEU LECLERC

I am an ARC DECRA Fellow and Associate Investigator for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures. I am currently leading a project on organic residue analysis and ethnoarchaeological research on Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu, South Pacific. ​In 2019, I established the research group to bring together colleagues and students interested in applying a multidisciplinary approach to the study of archaeological materials in Oceania and Southeast Asia.

I have worked on pottery from Sulawesi, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Micronesia and have used a wide range of analytical techniques (XRF, pXRF, XRD, LA-ICPMS, microCT, QEMSCAN, SEM, petrography, and SHRIMP) Through the years, I also have developed an interest for non-traditional research outputs and I am actively engaged in outreach activities outside academia. 

DR MICHAEL ANENBURG

I am an ARC Linkage postdoctoral fellow at the experimental petrology lab in the Research School of Earth Sciences of the ANU.​

DR ELLE GRONO

I am an archaeological scientist who combines the microscopic analysis of archaeological soils and sediments, anthropogenic material residues, and paleoenvironmental proxies with theoretical perspectives from philosophy, hermeneutics, and materiality in archaeology. I have interdisciplinary experience in geoarchaeology, paleoecology, and microarchaeology of material culture, and I am passionate about fostering interdisciplinary crosspollination between archaeology and anthropology, the earth sciences, soil sciences and philosophy.
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My research interests also include micromorphology; Neolithic archaeology; Southeast Asian and Pacific archaeology; hunter-gatherer to agriculture transition; mobile to sedentary transition; Indigenous Australian archaeology; environmental archaeology;  philosophy of archaeology; and archaeological history and theory.

emily nutman

I am a PhD Candidate at the Australian National University, where I previously completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Archaeology and a Bachelor of Science in Earth Sciences with a specialisation in geochemistry and petrology.

I have previously used pXRF, thin section petrography, and LA-ICPMS to source stone artefacts and ceramics from Sahul (the combined Australia–New Guinea continent) and the Pacific. My research interests centre on changes in human movement, exchange and raw material procurement over long time scales, with a focus on how major environmental and cultural shifts impact human mobility and social networks.

DR KRISTINE HARDY

Currently a PhD student in archaeology at ANU, after having completed a Masters in Archaeological Sciences. I previously worked as a bioinformatician, and I am particularly interested in using software such as R to explore archaeological ceramic datasets. For my thesis project I am looking at pottery from the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea to help understand settlement movement. This involves recording the decorations and forms of the sherds and the use of petrographic sections. 
My research interests also involve using non-destructive micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to investigate pottery manufacturing techniques. I would ultimately like to use micro-CT to examine the history of different forming techniques in Oceania and Island South East Asia.

As a hobby I’ve recently taken to making and printing 3D models of the many diverse forms of pottery found throughout PNG.

tracey pilgrim

I am a current PhD candidate at ANU with a research interest in the role of ancient materials and technologies in past societies. I am also particularly interested in the application of archaeometric techniques of early ceramics and glasses. My research favours interdisciplinary approaches and seeks to combine macroscopic observations with micro-analytical techniques, ethnological analogy and ceramic ecology theory.

My doctoral study involves pottery from the Metal Age (ca. 200 BC – 500 CE) mortuary site at Catanauan, Phillippines. I completed my M.Sc. in Archaeological Materials at University College London with a thesis that investigated the technological features of Predynastic pottery from Hemamieh, Middle Egypt. I have since worked with pottery from a range of different chronological periods and geographic locations including Roman England, Neolithic Southeast Asia and Lapita and immediate Post-Lapita Pacific Islands. I have training in thin-section petrography, geochemical analysis and Micro-CT imaging.

PHILLIP BEAUMONT

I am a PhD student in Archaeology at ANU. My research interests focus on the emergence of pottery communities throughout the Wallacean islands of Eastern Indonesia and more specifically, the Nusa Tenggara archipelago and Timor.
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​I am interested in discerning the range of variation in ceramic traditions themselves as well as the inferred mechanism of technology transfers by focussing on local levels and developing case studies of early pottery traditions in specific locations.

ZOE BEHRENDT

I completed my Master of Archaeological and Evolutionary Science in 2022, after having received a double bachelor’s degree from ANU majoring in Archaeology and Chemistry, and minoring in Forensic anthropology and Biological anthropology.
​I am especially interested in applications of chemistry in archaeological and forensic research.

The organic residue analysis research I conducted during my Masters studies laid the foundation for ongoing work on organic residues in archaeological material at ANU.  My masters thesis focused on petrographic and chemical analysis of Neolithic pottery from Vietnam. I have also participated in archaeological fieldwork in Germany, England, and Australia.