Leadership
The leadership team consists of:
Professor Ian Anderson is the Director of the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment. His research interests centre on the molecular ecology of soil microorganisms, particularly soil fungi, including those that form symbiotic mycorrhizal associations with the roots of plants.
Professor Ben Smith is the Director of Research within the Institute, responsible for the strategic delivery and execution of the Institute's research strategies.
Professor Mark Tjoelker is the Associate Director within the Institute. His research interests centre on the impacts of global environmental change on terrestrial ecosystems, particularly the effects on respiration and carbon cycling, climatic adaptation in plant traits, and the biogeography of forest tree species.
Professor Brajesh Singh research interests centre on functional microbial ecology, climate change and environmental biotechnology with particular focus on the role of microbes in ecosystem function and environmental sustainability within the Soil Biology & Genomics research theme.
Professor Belinda Medlyn's research focuses on how plants, especially forests, respond to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate change. She works at the interface between experiments and models within the Ecosystem Function and Integration theme.
Professor James Cook is the Theme Leader for the Plants, Animals and Interactions research theme within the Institute. His research focuses on the ecology and evolution of species interactions, with particular emphasis on insect/plant and insect/microbe interactions.
Professor Jeff Powell is the Theme Leader for the Soil Biology & Genomics research theme within the Institute. His research interests centre on soil ecology and understanding contributions of microbial biodiversity to ecosystem functioning and stability, particularly in systems experiencing environmental change.
Distinguished Professor Ian Wright is a Professor in Plant Functional Ecology, and the new Chief Scientist within the Institute. Ian is best known for global-scale analysis of plant traits, for careful quantification of plant structure-function relationships, and for using concepts from microeconomics to understand plant ecology and evolution.
