Person

Watson, Irvine Armstrong (1914 - 1986)

FAA CBE

Born
31 March 1914
Parkes, New South Wales, Australia
Died
1 March 1986
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Agricultural scientist and University Administrator

Summary

Irvine Watson was a world leader in wheat research and a major contributor to the Australian wheat industry. His principal research was into stem rusts of wheat, leading to the development and release of no less than 16 new high quality rust-resistant wheats. In trials of wheat varieties he worked closely with his University of Sydney colleague, Walter L. Waterhouse. Watson also maintained fruitful collaborations with the farming community and the flour milling industry. Having joined the University of Sydney in 1938, he became Professor of Agricultural Botany (Plant Breeding) in 1962, retiring 15 years later. His research was recognised with a number of awards, including the James Cook Medal from the Royal Society of New South Wales, and the Farrer Memorial Medal. The Northwest Wheat Research Institute in Narrabri, N.S.W., was renamed the I. A. Watson Wheat Research Centre in 1977 in honour of his contribution to wheat improvement in Australia.

Details

Chronology

1938
Education - BAgSc (hons), University of Sydney
1938
Career position - Assistant Lecturer in Agriculture, University of Sydney
1939 - 1941
Career position - Thomas Lawrence Pawlett Scholarship, Department of Plant Pathology and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.
1941
Education - PhD, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.
1941 - 1944
Career position - Assistant Lecturer in Agriculture, University of Sydney
1944 - 1946
Career position - Lecturer in agriculture, University of Sydney
1952 - 1965
Career position - Head, Section of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Sydney
1955 - 1956
Career position - Research Associate, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.
1955 - 1962
Career position - Associate Professor in Genetics and Plant Breeding, University of Sydney
1958
Award - Farrer Memorial Medal, Farrer Memorial Trust
1962 - 1977
Career position - Professor of Agricultural Botany (Plant Breeding), University of Sydney
1964 - 1986
Award - Fellow, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science
1966
Award - Elvin Charles Stalkman Award, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.
1966 - 1967
Career position - Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Sydney
1966 - 1976
Career position - Head, Department of Agricultural Botany, University of Sydney
1971
Award - Commemorative Medal, International Wheat and Maize Improvement Centre, Mexico
1972 - 1986
Award - Foreign Member, Soviet Academy of Agricultural Science
1974 - 1977
Career position - Director of the Plant Breeding Institute and Head of the Department of Agricultural Botany, University of Sydney
1975 - 1986
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science
1975 - 1986
Award - Foundation Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences
1977
Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
1977
Award - James Cook Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales
1979
Award - DSc (Agriculture), University of Sydney

Related Awards

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Books

  • Watson, I. A. and Butler, F. C., Wheat rust control in Australia: national conferences and other developments and initiatives (Sydney: University of Sydney, 1984), 80 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • McIntosh, R. A.; and Smith-White, S., 'Irvine Armstrong Watson 1914-1986', Historical Records of Australian Science, 7 (4) (1989), 405-415. Details
  • McIntosh, R. A.; Mullins, M. G. C.; and Deverall, B. J., 'Death of a distinguished plant pathologist', Australasian Plant Pathology, 15 (2) (1986), 48-9. Details
  • Watson, I. A., 'Walter Lawry Waterhouse, 1887 - 1969 (memorial series, no. 22)', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 95 (3) (1971), 260-3. Details

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

Digital resources

Title
Irvine Armstrong Watson
Type
Image

Details

Rosanne Walker and Helen Cohn

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