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Wheat pioneer thrilled by Queen's honour

Professor Graham Farquhar

Professor Graham Farquhar AO: Both my parents were from the land in Tasmania and it was always thought that to do something useful for farming would be a great thing to do

Queen's Birthday honours A theoretical biophysicist, who helped create a new strain of water-efficient wheat that helps farmers through dry times, has been honoured today in the Queen's Birthday list.


"It's a thrill," says Farquhar. "It's a recognition by representatives of the broader public, not just scientists. And you know that family and friends are more likely to understand the nature of this recogniton."

Recently, Farquhar was elected into the US National Academy of Sciences, which he says is an enormous thrill, "but only scientists appreciate what that means. Whereas an AO, most of Australia understands what that means."

Farquhar says his parents inspired him into becoming a scientist.

"Both my parents were from the land in Tasmania and it was always thought that to do something useful for farming would be a great thing to do," he says.

Farquhar recalls a time when his father, who was an agricultural researcher with the CSIRO, returned from a trip to the United States.

"He came back with a textbook on biology and he said the 'in thing' was going to be biochemistry and biophysics."

Farquhar began studying physics and applied mathematics at Monash University in Melbourne, before completing his degree in biophysics with Honours at the University of Queensland.

In the 1980s, Farquhar led a team of researchers at the ANU, who helped develop a model that could calculate the water use efficiency of plants.

Plants 'breathe' through tiny mouth-like holes in their leaves called stomata. As carbon dioxide goes in, water molecules come out.

The researchers examined the ratio of the two types of carbon isotopes (carbon-12 and carbon-13) absorbed by the plants and found that those with a higher proportion of carbon-13 released less water, meaning they were more water efficient.

Water-efficient wheat

Farquhar, teamed up with CSIRO plant researcher Richard Richards, to use this model to develop a new strain of water-efficient wheat, later named Drysdale.

"Normally we physiologists explain what breeders have already done. But this was unusual because [Drysdale] was developed from the bottom-up," says Farquhar.

He says the research has had quite an impact helping agronomists and plant physiologists analyse their crops to work out why they get certain results.

Since the mid-1990s, Farquhar has a been contributing author and reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and in 2007 was a joint-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

"I think it's great that there's a process whereby you can use science you can get people to talk," says Farquhar.

He says he's not sure whether the IPCC has stayed as apolitical as he would have liked.

"But I do think having a really good scientific discussion is a great way of bringing people together."

Other scientists honoured

Other scientists awarded an AO include:

  • Associate Professor John Clark McBain, who was part of the team who made the first test tube baby, for his distinguished service to reproductive medicine as a gynaecologist, particularly in the area of infertility
  • Emeritus Professor Thomas Alexander McMeekin for distinguished service to science, particularly in the discipline of agricultural microbiology
  • Professor Robert John Norman for distinguished service to medicine in the field of reproductive health through significant contributions as a researcher and clinician.

Tags: climate-change, awards, botany