Professor Potter was born in 1938 in Woking, Surrey and obtained his first degree – a Bachelor of Arts in Zoology with Honours from the University of Oxford in 1962. While at Oxford, he obtained a Blue in both cricket and hockey. 

He moved to Australia in1962 and, after a period teaching, was appointed a Senior Tutor at the University of New South Wales in 1964, where he undertook a PhD. This led to the taxonomic revision and a greater knowledge of the life cycle and ecology of lampreys – a type of jawless fish which is found in various parts of the world, including southern Western Australia. Lampreys are important for enhancing our understanding of the early evolution of vertebrates. 

After completing his PhD in 1968, he spent a year on the staff of the world-renowned Duke University in the United States where he taught vertebrate anatomy and studied respiration in lampreys. In 1969, Ian was appointed to a postdoctoral fellowship and then senior lectureship at the University of Bath in England. During that period, Ian spent many summers at the Universities of Guelph and Toronto in Canada where the predatory habits of lampreys were causing massive mortalities in fish populations in the Great Lakes. 

He joined Murdoch University in 1976 as the Foundation Professor of Animal Biology, where his work continues today through the Harry Butler Institute’s Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems. Following discussions with the Departments of Fisheries and Environment and Conservation, he initiated the first major research programs on the fish faunas of the Swan and Peel-Harvey estuaries. These studies were the first comprehensive and widely accessible studies on various estuarine and coastal areas throughout WA, mapping their importance as fish nurseries, resident areas or migratory routes. 

The understanding of migratory pathways was particularly important for his research on lampreys which he continued in the waterways of south-western Australia, including the Donnelly and Warren systems. This continued to pursue the themes and directions identified in his and Professor Hardisty’s four-volume book “The biology of lampreys”. 

In 2013, Professor Potter was awarded the prestigious Jubilee Award by the Australian Marine Sciences Association for his extraordinary contribution to scientific knowledge on Australia’s marine and estuarine waters.  

The award citation noted his research led to better understanding of many recreational and commercially important fish and crustacean species – including their growth, reproduction age and dietary characteristics – providing cornerstone research for the sustainable management of species, including minimum legal length at capture and bag limits. These seminal biological studies included many iconic fish and crustacean species such as Flathead, Black Bream, King George Whiting, WA Dhufish, Western Blue Groper, Western School and King Prawns, and Blue Swimmer Crabs. 

In 2018, Professor Potter received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award by the international Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association “for outstanding contribution to knowledge of estuarine and coastal science”. He has been on the Clarivate list of highly cited researchers for the Biological Sciences, which represents the top 1% of authors by their field of expertise. 

One of Professor Potter’s greatest legacies remains the mentorship of a new generation of estuarine and marine scientists, with a record of more than 60 Honours and 40 PhD students supervised to completion. Many of Western Australia’s fisheries biologists benefited from Professor Potter’s mentorship. 

He moved from his teaching/research position at Murdoch in the 2000s to the role of Research Professor where he continues to support new research and mentor early and mid-career scientists.