Biographical entry Wardrop, Alan Buchanan (1921 - 2003)

Summary

Alan Buchanan Wardrop was Professor of Botany at La Trobe University, Melbourne, 1966-ca 1986. He interests included the structure and formation of plant cell walls, and lignification. His skill with the electron microscope and with microspectrophotometry contributed much to our understanding of how plant cell walls form, elongate, thicken and differentiate, and of how these processes influence the technical properties of wood.

Details

Events

1942

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc) completed at the University of Tasmania

1944

Education - Master of Science (MSc) completed at the University of Tasmania

1944 - 1945

Career position - Royal Australian Air Force air crew training

1947 - 1950

Career position - Research Scientist in the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Division of Forest Products

1949

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) completed at the University of Leeds, UK

1950 - 1953

Career position - Senior Research Scientist in the CSIRO Division of Forest Products

1952

Award - Edgeworth David Medal received from the Royal Society of New South Wales

1953 - 1956

Career position - Principal Research Scientist in the CSIRO Division of Forest Products

1957 - 1964

Career position - Senior Principal Research Scientist in the CSIRO Division of Forest Products

1958

Education - Doctor of Science (DSc) received from the University of Melbourne

1959 - 1964

Career position - Research Scientist in charge of CSIRO Section of Wood and Fibre Structure

1964 - 1965

Career position - Professor of Botany at the University of Tasmania

1966 - c. 1986

Career position - Professor of Botany at La Trobe University

1976 -

Award - Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

c. 1986 - 2003

Career position - Emeritus Professor of Botany at La Trobe University

Related entries

Published resources

Journal Articles

• Williamson, Richard E., Higgins, Huntly G. and Stone, Bruce A., 'Alan Buchanan Wardrop 1921-2003', Historical Records of Australian Science, vol. 18, no. 1, 2007, pp. 113-136. Details

Newspaper Articles

• Anderson, John, 'Obituary: Professor Alan Buchanan Wardrop, Pioneering Academic', The Age, 23 July 2003. Details

Online Resources

• Blythe, Max, Interview with Professor Alan Wardrop (1921-2003), Interviews with Australian scientists, Australian Academy of Science, 1998, http://www.science.org.au/scientists/interviews/w/aw.html. Details
• National Library of Australia, 'Wardrop Alan Buchanan', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1476367. Details