Charles Roger Slack (22 April 1937 – 24 October 2016) was a British-born plant biologist and
biochemist who lived and worked in Australia (1962–1970) and New Zealand (1970–2000). In 1966, jointly with
Marshall Hatch, he discovered
C4 photosynthesis
carbon fixation or the Hatch–Slack pathway is one of three known photosynthetic processes of carbon fixation in plants. It owes the names to the 1960's discovery by Marshall Davidson Hatch and Charles Roger Slack that some plants, when suppl ...
(also known as the Hatch Slack Pathway).
Biography
Slack was born on 22 April 1937 in
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, England; the first and only child of Albert and Eva Slack.
He studied
biochemistry
Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...
at the
University of Nottingham
, mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom
, established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status
, type = Public
, chancellor ...
, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in 1958, and a
PhD in 1962.
He married Pam Shaw in March 1963, and had two children.
From 1962, Slack worked as a biochemist at the David North Plant Research Centre in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
, Australia (funded by the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. Ltd).
In 1970, he joined the
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development.
* Department of Scientific and Industria ...
in New Zealand.
From 1989 until his retirement in 2000, Slack was a senior scientist at the newly formed Crown Research Institute for
Crop & Food Research in
Palmerston North
Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...
.
Slack died in Palmerston North in 2016.
Roger Slack Award
In 2007 the
New Zealand Society of Plant Biologists renamed their annual award after Slack. The award is made to society members to recognise an outstanding contribution to the study of plant biology. It was renamed in recognition of his outstanding contribution as a plant biologist and biochemist in New Zealand, his role in the discovery of C4 photosynthesis (also known as the
Hatch Slack Pathway), and his contribution as an early member of the New Zealand Society of Plant Biologists.
Honours
* 1970: Peter Goldacre Award from the Australian Society of Plant Scientists (previously called the Australian Society of Plant Physiologists).
* 1980: Charles F Kettering Award from the
American Society of Plant Physiologists, shared with
Hugo Kortschak and
Marshall (Hal) Davidson Hatch.
* 1981: Rank Prize for Nutrition, shared with
Hugo Kortschak and
Marshall (Hal) Davidson Hatch.
* 1983: Elected as a Fellow of the
Royal Society of New Zealand
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a c ...
.
* 1989: Elected as a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...
.
Bibliography
Selected articles:
*
*
*
References
External links
*
Royal Society Te Apārangi
The Royal Society Te Apārangi (in full, Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi) is an independent, statutory not-for-profit body in New Zealand providing funding and policy advice in the fields of sciences and the humanities.
History
The R ...
Charles Roger Slack Obituary and Bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slack, Roger
1937 births
2016 deaths
Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand
People associated with Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (New Zealand)
Fellows of the Royal Society
People from Ashton-under-Lyne
Biochemists
Alumni of the University of Nottingham
English emigrants to New Zealand