April 27, 2016

From first in family to feeding the famished

Honorary recipient dedicated to transforming agriculture industry

The son of a Wollongong steelworker and the first in his family to attend university, Professor Robert Furbank’s achievements in plant biology and contributions to sustainable agriculture were recognised with the awarding of an honorary Doctor of Science (honoris causa) at the autumn graduation celebrations.

Professor Furbank attended Tarrawanna Primary School and Corrimal High School, before graduating with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from UOW in 1979.

His parents’ commitment to providing opportunities for their son, opportunities that they never had, instilled in Professor Furbank both drive and determination.

Now the Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis at the Australian National University, he credits his UOW mentor, Associate Professor Ross Lilley, for training him to become an experimental scientist and for planting the seeds of his long-term interest in plant biology.

His passion: to do something translational between the laboratory and the farm that is “useful” for agriculture.

Though his career Professor Furbank has pioneered the concept of “digital agriculture”, which is allowing field trials of crop plants to be assessed in important new ways.

The concept is rapidly transforming the comprehensive monitoring of tens of thousands of crop field trials conducted each year in Australia.

Digital agriculture will enable the analysis of plant responses to the environment to be assessed in ways not previously dreamed of.

Professor Furbank’s significant contribution to the agricultural industry was recognised in 2014 when he received the CSIRO Plant Industry Leadership Award.

“I am constantly reminded of the importance of what I am doing and that it’s not just for the Australian farmer but for the many millions of people globally living on less than $1 a day,” he said.

On the global stage, Professor Furbank’s work contributes to future food security through advances in international agricultural research.

He is part of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, the International Wheat Yield Consortium and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Global Rice Initiative Science Partnership.

He also leads advisory teams of the International Wheat Yield Consortium and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation C4 Rice Consortium, and is a board member for two plant phenotyping networks.

Yet, he could quite easily have not gone down the path of science if not for a Year 10 class about photosynthesis.

“I was hooked,” he said. “Ironically, I almost gave away any ambition of a scientific career path in Year 10 when I was told by a careers advisor that a career in music or the arts was most appropriate as I was too poor in maths.

“But I guess my family and my mentors at UOW made me feel I could do anything I put my mind to.”

Professor Jenny Beck, Acting Executive Dean, Faculty Of Science, Medicine And Health, said Professor Furbank’s impressive career, demonstrated achievements and contributions to the plant industry were testament to his commitment to this research endeavour.

“For his outstanding scholarship in plant biology and his national and international service to sustainable agricultural development and innovation, it is a privilege and pleasure to present Professor Bob Furbank for a Doctor of Science.”