Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior 2014 Distinguished Career Award, Society for Self and Identity Richard M. Ryan is a professor at the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education at the Australian Catholic University and a research professor at the University of Rochester.

SDT has been widely applied on research and interventions in work organizations, schools, clinical settings, virtual environments and sports, among other areas of application.

His book Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior, co-authored with Edward L. Deci in 1985, has been cited over 37,000 times according to Google Scholar.

[9] He has earned fellowships from the Leverhulme Foundation and the James McKeen Cattell Fund, and was a visiting professor at the Max Planck Institute, The University of Bath, and the National Institute of Education at the Nanyang Technical University in Singapore.

He lectures frequently in the United States and abroad on Self-Determination Theory and the factors that promote motivation and healthy psychological and behavioral functioning.