Michael Banner is an Emeritus Professor with the School of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, UNSW. He is also an affiliated member of the UNSW Australia-Pacific Tsunami Research Centre and Natural Hazards Research Laboratory (APTRC-NHRL).

Professor Banner researches fundamental and applied research in air-sea interaction processes, with a strong focus on understanding surface processes and the coupling between aqueous and atmospheric systems. Of particular interest is the role of wave breaking on air-sea momentum, dissolved gas and sea spray, and forecast model development for severe sea states. He is also an Adjunct Senior Scientist in the Oceanography Division at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, New York.