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Wednesday, 14 March 2007

Leading researcher in irrigation science Professor Wayne Meyer has been appointed as the University of Adelaide's new Chair of Natural Resources Science.

Professor Meyer will lead a natural resource science team whose work will inform and influence the management of Australia's natural resources.

"While others are currently focussing on natural resource issues surrounding water, there will be increasing recognition that the quantity and quality of water is dependent on the condition of soils and vegetation and, hence, land use," Professor Meyer said. He brings together biology, ecology, soils and water management and agriculture.

"I aim to make the University of Adelaide the main provider of quality graduates in natural resources science in Australia," Professor Meyer said. "This will be built on a research base that uses some of the developing remote sensing, computer modelling and visualisation IT to provide improved information for regional natural resources management."

Faculty of Sciences Executive Dean Professor Bob Hill said: "Professor Meyer has a wealth of research and project management experience in the management of soils and water in irrigated areas.

"His appointment builds on the University's existing strengths in agriculture, ecology, genomics, resource economics and the technologies of modelling, remote sensing, visualisation and computing to form the basis of what will be a globally significant research team."

Professor Meyer comes to the University after a long career in CSIRO where he was the founding Chief Executive Officer of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Irrigation Futures and, for the last three years, has been the CRC's Chief Research Scientist.

Professor Meyer said current development of state and regional National Resource Management plans provided the ideal opportunity for research in this field to influence plans for restoration, maintenance and conservation of Australia's natural resources.