Marshall (Hal) Davidson Hatch AM (born 24 December 1932) was an Australian

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and plant

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical a ...

. He was the chief research scientist at the

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 ...

Division of Plant Industry in

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 ...

. He is a

Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science The Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science is made up of about 500 Australian scientists. Scientists judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field may be elected to Fellowship of the Academy. ...

, a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Science and was awarded Honorary Doctorates from the University of Göttingen and the University of Queensland. In Australia, in 1966, he elucidated, jointly with Charles Roger Slack, the C₄ pathway for the fixation of carbon, which is also sometimes known as the Hatch-Slack pathway. He is now retired.

Early life

Hatch was born in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

to Alice (née Dalziell) and Lloyd Davidson Hatch. His father was an accountant and the family moved to Sydney in 1947. His primary education was at Applecross Primary School and he then had a year of high school at Wesley College before moving east. He was 14 when he commenced at

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

where he completed the last four years (1947–1950) of his high school education. He was a member of the First XV Rugby team and won the State under 17 years mile championship at Newington. He then majored in biochemistry at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

completing his BSc with Honours in 1954 and a PhD in 1959.Hatch MD (1992) I Can’t believe my luck: Personal perspective. Photosynthesis Research 33: 1-14.Hatch, Marshall Davidson (1932- ) http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/biogs/P000483b.htm), Bright Sparcs. The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre on ASAPWeb, 1994-2007.

Career

From 1955 to 1959 he was a plant research scientist at the

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...

(CSIRO) in Sydney. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 1959 to work with Professor Paul Stumpf in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of California, Davis. From 1961 to 1966 Hatch worked as research officer in the David North Plant Research Centre at Colonial Sugar Refining Co Ltd in Brisbane with K.T. Glasziou. He was a reader in

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 ...

at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

in 1967; he returned to CSR from 1968 to 1969 serving as director of the David North Plant Research Centre. Since 1970 he has been chief research scientist at CSIRO Plant Industry in

.Hatch, Marshall Davidson (1932 - )
Bright Sparcs. The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre on ASAPWeb, 1994 - 2007

Honours

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

in 2001 for service to Australian society and science in biochemistry and physiology. *

International Prize for Biology The is an annual award for "outstanding contribution to the advancement of research in fundamental biology." The Prize, although it is not always awarded to a biologist, is one of the most prestigious honours a natural scientist can receive. Ther ...

in 1991 for his contributions to the plant sciences. *

Member 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 ...

in 1981 for public service in the field of plant metabolism. * Rank Prize in Nutrition in 1981, along with Hugo Kortschak and Roger Slack, for "outstanding work on the mechanism of

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...

which established the existence of an alternative pathway for the initial fixation of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

in some important food plants".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatch, Marshall Davidson 1932 births Living people Australian biochemists Researchers of photosynthesis People educated at Newington College University of Sydney alumni Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the Order of Australia Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Plant physiologists