This is my fourth Centre of Excellence (CoE). The previous ones were in complex systems, bioinformatics, big data and modelling, and now plant systems. They have all been very different. The most important issue that I have learnt is that being in a CoE is hard, and it should be hard. We all have an obligation to take the time
The Centre held its third annual Research Retreat and second annual Early Career Researcher (ECR) Workshop in Cairns last week with 108 and 74 in-person attendees respectively. It was great to hear from so many of our Centre Members on their recent research achievements and discuss future directions. The Research Retreat began with a Welcome to Country from the Minjil group who
I was recently lucky enough to participate in the Early Career Researcher (ECR) Development Day expertly organised by ECRs from the Centre and the respective Schools of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Biological Sciences at The University of Queensland. I was there to provide some perspective on non-academic career opportunities and had the opportunity to listen to some other sessions
There is much interest in the new generation Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots, including ChatGPT. In part, such platforms are designed to mimic or reproduce human “conversations” including scientific discussion, with functionality stretching to writing and debugging computer code. Without a doubt these new platforms will change the scientific landscape, but will scientists and researchers become redundant? Will future scientists need
The ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture is pleased to share our 2022 Annual Report with you. The report outlines more information about our Centre, research, community, and performance in 2022. As those who have been subscribed to this newsletter for a while would know, 2022 was a jam-packed year for the Centre that saw us recruit lots of new members, host,
A significant body of work on the evolution of land plants has been conducted in 2022. The research led from Chief Investigator John Bowman’s lab provides new insights into the mechanisms controlling the development and reproduction of non-vascular plants, and outlines the benefit of using liverworts as a model system. By providing insights into the evolution of vascular plants, the
Understanding plant-water relations and crop water use for agricultural systems is forming a significant body of work for the Centre. Such research is critical for improving ecosystem management and breeding crops with traits including improved water use efficiency, drought tolerance, and heat tolerance, to combat the environmental stresses caused by climate change. Cooper and Messina provide an overview of methodologies
30 Centre members from The University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, Western Sydney University, and the University of Tasmania had the pleasure of visiting colleagues at the Hermitage Research Facility in Warwick this month. Chief Investigator David Jordan and Associate Investigator Emma Mace put together a thorough agenda including research presentations, field visits, and equipment demonstrations from the Hermitage team. When asked about the trip, attendees
ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture PhD candidate Tori Millsteed is one of an elite group named as a 2023 Westpac Future Leader for her research on boosting crop yields through genetics. The West Australian-born biochemist and environmentalist said she felt very fortunate to be awarded the scholarship, which allowed her to follow her passion
