Judith Gay West (born 1949) is an Australian scientist currently working as an Executive Director of the

Australian National Botanic Gardens The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) is a heritage-listed botanical garden located in , Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1949, the Gardens is administered by the Australian Government's Departme ...

. West holds a doctor of philosophy (PhD) by thesis on "A taxonomic revision of ''

Dodonaea ''Dodonaea'' is a genus of about 70 species of flowering plants, often known as hop-bushes, in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa, the Americas, s ...

'' (''

Sapindaceae The Sapindaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1858 accepted species. Examples include horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee. The Sapindaceae occur in tempera ...

'') in Australia". She completed her PhD in 1981 from the University of Adelaide, South Australia. West completed her Bachelor of Science in 1970 with majors in Botany and Zoology from the University of Sydney, New South Wales. She completed her Bachelor of Science (Honours) with first class honours in Botany in 1972, also from the University of Sydney. West has been pivotal in raising the profile of Australian plant systematics through her ongoing participation on multiple national and international associations and committees. West's research centres on plant systematics of Australian plants, in particular morphological and breeding system evidence in combination with molecular data. West is proactive in sharing her research so as to incorporate the knowledge into interactive identification packages of nationally significant groups, including eucalypts,

legumes A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock fo ...

, grevilleas, orchids and tropical rainforest plants. She has represented Australian herbaria as the Australian Botanical Liaison Officer in 1988 with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom.

Awards and honours

In 2001, West was awarded the Nancy T Burbidge Medal by the

Australian Systematic Botany Society Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

for longstanding and significant contribution to Australian systematic botany. In 2003, West was awarded an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for service to the advancement of botanical science and research, particularly in the field of plant systematics, to science administration and policy development, and to the establishment of Australia's Virtual Herbarium.

Career

*1973 – 1977 – tutor at the Botany Department, University of Adelaide, South Australia. *1980 – Research Scientist of the Australian National Herbarium,

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

Plant Industry,

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. *1987 – Australian Botanical Liaison Officer, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. *1989 – 1996 – Senior Principal Research Scientist and Program Leader of the Australian Flora Resources and Management program,

Plant Industry,

. *1989 – Director, Australian National Herbarium. *1994 – Directorship, Centre for Plant Biodiversity research, CSIRO Plant Industry. *1999 – Adjunct Professor, Division of Botany and Zoology, Australian National University, Canberra. *2009 – Executive Director,

and head of Parks and Biodiversity Science within the Australian Government Department of the Environment. * 2018 - Acting Director of National Parks

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Judith Gay 1949 births Living people Australian women scientists University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of the University of Adelaide Australian Botanical Liaison Officers Officers of the Order of Australia