Dr Long started his career collecting fossils around Melbourne as a boy from the age of seven. His keen interest in palaeontology lead him to pursue studies at both Melbourne and Monash Universities, graduating with a PhD in 1984. He then held postdoctoral positions at the Australian National University, University of Western Australia (as a QEII Fellow) and University of Tasmania before settling in as Curator in Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Western Australian Museum from 1989–2004. Since then he has been Head, Sciences at Museum Victoria.
Dr Long’s career has been recognised by the following awards:
- The Prider Lecturer 1991, Geological Society of Western Australia.
- Eureka Prize for the Public Promotion of Science, 2001.
- Whitley Book Award, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, for Best Popular Book in Zoology in 2002 for Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea, 2003.
- The Riversleigh Society Medal 2003 for promotion of public understanding of Australia’s prehistory.
- 2006 Wilderness Society Environmental Award for Children’s Literature (non-fiction) for The Big Picture Book.
- 2006 Australian Publishers Award for Best Primary Reference book for The Big Picture Book.
- The Australasian Science Prize 2008.