Allen Kerr (biologist)
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Allen Kerr AO, FRS, FAA (21 May 1926 – 14 December 2023) was a Scottish-born Australian biologist. He served as Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Adelaide. His most significant work was his study of crown gall — a plant cancer induced by Agrobacterium tumerfaciens.
Biography
[edit]Kerr was born in Edinburgh on 21 May 1926. He gained a B.Sc. degree at the University of Edinburgh.
From 1947-1951 he was an assistant Mycologist at the North of Scotland College of Agriculture.
From 1951-1980 he was Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer, then Reader in Plant Pathology at the University of Adelaide.
From 1978-1983 he was Vice-President of the International Society for Plant Pathology.
From 1980-1983 he was President of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society.
In 1978, he was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.
In 1986 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society.
In 1990 he received the inaugural Australia Prize for his work with plant genetics and biology.
In 1990, he became Head of the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Adelaide, and in 1991 he became Head of the Department of Crop Protection at the University of Adelaide.[1]
Kerr celebrated his 90th birthday in 2016.[2] He died in Adelaide on 14 December 2023, at the age of 97.[3]
Awards
[edit]- 1978 - Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
- 1978 - Walter Buffitt Prize of the Royal Society of New South Wales
- 1982 - Ruth Allen Award of the American Phytopathological Society
- 1986 - Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
- 1990 - Inaugural Australia Prize[4]
- 1991 - Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences
- 1991 - Elvin Charles Stackman Award of the University of Minnesota
- 1992 - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)
- 1995 - Fellow of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society
- 1996 - Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society
- 2001 - Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology
References
[edit]- ^ Kerr, Allen (1926 - ), Encyclopedia of Australian Science, www.eoas.info
- ^ "90th birthdays". Australian Academy of Science. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- ^ "Kerr, Professor Allen FRS, FAAS, AO". MyTributes. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ 1990 Australia Prize Archived 29 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine, sciencegrants.dest.gov.au
External links
[edit]- 100 Years of Australian Innovation - No Gall, biotechnology-innovation.com.au
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- 1926 births
- 2023 deaths
- Scientists from Edinburgh
- Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
- Australian biologists
- Australian geneticists
- Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science
- Fellows of the Royal Society
- Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
- Australia Prize recipients
- Officers of the Order of Australia
- Australian scientist stubs
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