Robert Park Email Address

Judith and David Coffey Chair in Sustainable Agriculture

Australia's leading higher education and research University.

I have 30 years experience in cereal pathology and genetics, with a strong focus on the rust diseases. I completed a PhD in plant pathology at La Trobe University in 1984 and since then have conducted research on the pathology and genetics of rust diseases of wheat, barley, oat and triticale. In 1995, I was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt research award in Germany, and in 2010, a Fulbright Senior Scholarship to the USA. In recognition of my extensive work in China, I was awarded the Friendship Award of China in 2009. This is the highest honor that the Chinese Government bestows on foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to China. I was awarded the NSW Science and Engineering Award for Excellence in Biological Sciences in 2013 in recognition of my "cutting-edge work that has generated economic and environmental for the state of New South Wales". I was the recipient of the NSW Royal Society Clarke Medal in 2015. The Clarke Medal was first awarded in 1878 and recognises "meritorious contributions to Geology, Mineralogy and Natural History of Australasia". I curently hold the Judith and David Coffey Chair of Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Sydney, and have been Director of the Australian Cereal Rust Control Program (ACRCP) since 2000. The ACRCP leads the world in seeking genetic solutions to plant diseases. I have worked extensively in international agriculture and have published two books and more than 100 scholarly research papers.