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PLANT GENETICIST ELECTED NEW PRESIDENT OF THE AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE
29 April 2002

Dr Jim Peacock, Chief of CSIRO Plant Industry, has been elected to lead Australia’s senior organisation of research scientists and technologists, the Australian Academy of Science.

He replaces Professor Brian Anderson who completes his four-year term at the conclusion of the Academy’s Science at the Shine Dome on Friday 3 May.

Jim Peacock, 64, was elected to the Academy in 1976. His leading work has been recognised in Australia and overseas. In 2000, he was the joint recipient of the inaugural Prime Minister’s Prize for Science. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (Britain’s Science Academy) and a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences. He has maintained strong links with the United States since his early days as a Professor at the University of California in San Diego and then at Stanford University.

His principal research areas have included molecular plant science, gene technology and modern agriculture. He has a long track record in ensuring that basic research is taken to its final end point in terms of applications in agriculture and other industries.

Dr Peacock has a personal interest in school science education. He has, for many years, been Chairman of the Academy’s School Biology Committee which has overseen the production of school text books such as ‘Biology – The Common Threads’.

Looking forward to his term as President, Jim Peacock said,

‘It is an honour to have been elected President of the Australian Academy of Science and I will be working hard throughout the next four years to promote the role of science in contributing to Australia’s prosperity.

Immediate challenges include the higher education review and the setting of national research priorities. These are vital issues for Australia’s scientific, economic and social future and wise leadership is imperative from our decision makers. They can only provide this if they have access to quality information. I will be ensuring that the Academy continues to contribute significantly to the process of wise decision making in this country.’

In the past, Dr Peacock has served on the Australian Research Grants Committee, the Prime Minister’s Science Engineering and Innovation Council, ASTEC, and the Recombinant DNA Committee (ASCORD).