Richard William McDowell (born 29 June 1973) is a New Zealand soil scientist and former first-class cricketer.

A professor at Lincoln University, McDowell was awarded the Hutton Medal of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2021.

[2][3] His doctoral thesis, completed in 2000, was titled Processes involved in controlling phosphorus release to surface and sub-surface runoff.

[5] Since returning to New Zealand, McDowell has had a prominent role in the field of land and water resources, becoming a principal scientist at AgResearch.

[9] In November 2021, he was awarded the Hutton Medal by the Royal Society Te Apārangi, for his work on nutrient flows from land to water.