Richard M. Ryan is a Professor at the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education at the Australian Catholic University, North Sydney. He is also Distinguished Professor in the College of Education at Ewha Womans University, South Korea, Professor Emeritus in Psychology at the University of Rochester, USA, and Visiting Professor at Imperial College London, UK. As a clinical psychologist and co-developer of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), he is currently the most cited researcher in psychology today. He is the author of over 450 papers and books in the areas of human motivation and well-being, including, Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development and Wellness (2017).
He lectures internationally on the factors that promote motivation and healthy psychological and behavioral functioning, applied to such areas as work and organizations, education, health, sport and exercise, video games and virtual environments. He has also been honored with several lifetime achievement awards and honorary professorships and is recognized as one of the eminent psychologists of the modern era.