Macquarie University Professor Mark Westoby was recently awarded the inaugural Ralph Slatyer Medal from the Australian National University (ANU) Research School of Biology for his outstanding biological research.
“Mark Westoby is one of Australia’s most distinguished ecologists, and richly deserving of this award,” says the Director of the ANU Research School of Biology, Professor Allen Rodrigo.
Professor Westoby said he was deeply honoured to win the inaugural medal for his life’s work in researching ecology and evolution, mainly in plants.
We checked in to learn more about him.
In a nutshell, my job is to…
Build Macquarie’s reputation on the international research stage.
I’ve been at Macquarie for…
Forty-two years!
The top three things on my to-do list today are…
- Submit abstracts for a meeting in the USA in August
- Meet with a postdoctoral fellow from Germany
- Deliver a seminar from a sabbatical visitor about the project we’re working on.
Name a Macquarie staff member that impressed you last week…
Alison Downing for introducing our herbarium (a collection of dried plant specimens, including marine algae, mosses and liverworts, lichens, ferns, conifers and flowering plants) to visiting dignitaries. She demonstrated high-power expertise, a humble style, and did it for love.
The last great movie I saw was…
In ten years from now, I hope to be…
Breathing.
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