Joseph Garnett Wood (2 September 1900 – 8 December 1959) was an Australian professor of

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

and a president of the Royal Society of South Australia. Wood was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and educated at

Unley High School Unley High School, located in Netherby, South Australia. History Unley High School was founded in 1910 as one of the first public high schools to be established after Adelaide High School in 1908. Initially it was under the control of the He ...

, the South Australian School of Mines and Industries and the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, where he was awarded

D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

in 1933. For much of Wood's career, his research was in the areas of stomatal physiology and the biochemistry of native plants under water stress. Wood contributed reviews on the biochemistry of nitrogen and sulphur metabolism in pasture plants to three international journals: ''Chronica Botanica'' in 1942, ''Annual Review of Biochemistry'' in 1945 and ''Annual Review of Plant Physiology'' in 1953.

Career highlights

*1942 President of the Royal Society of South Australia (RSSA) *1944 (Sir Joseph)

Verco Medal The Royal Society of South Australia (RSSA) is a learned society whose interest is in science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia. The major aim of the society is the promotion and diffusion of scientific knowledge, particularly in rel ...

of the RSSA *1948-59 member of the (interim) council of the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

, Canberra *1952 (W. B.) Clarke Medal of the

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June ...

*1950-56, 1959 member of the CSIRO ( Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) advisory council *1952-59 member of the UNESCO ( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) advisory committee on arid-zone research *1954 elected

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the Australian Academy of Science (F.A.A.) *1958 founding president of the Australian Society of Plant Physiologists.

References

*Ray Specht
Wood, Joseph Garnett (1900 - 1959)

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 16, MUP, 2002, pp 578–579.

External links

Wood, Joseph Garnett (1900 - 1959)
Encyclopaedia of Australian Science {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Joseph Garnett 20th-century Australian botanists Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science 1900 births 1959 deaths