Thomas ap Rees (19 October 1930 – 3 October 1996) was a botanist. He was Professor of Botany in the Department of Plant Sciences at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

between 1991 and 1996 when he has killed in a road accident whilst cycling home.

Education and early life

He was born in

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. The town is built on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, and centres on the River Frome. The town, about south of Bath, is the largest in the Mendip d ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and attended

Llandovery College , image = Llandovery College (geograph 5927072).jpg , image_size = , motto = Gwell Dysg Na Golud( here areno riches better than learning) , established = , closed = , type = Independent day and bo ...

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed was also the name of the area's county council and the name remains in use f ...

and served two years

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...

in the Royal Corps of Signals before studying botany at Lincoln College, Oxford gaining a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree in 1957 for research supervised by

Jack Harley John Laker Harley CBE FRS FLS FIBiol (17 November 1911 – 12 December 1990) was a British botanist, known for his work on ectomycorrhizal physiology. Early life, education and war service Harley was born at Old Charlton, then in Kent, in 19 ...

Research and career

He lived in Sydney, Australia for a number of years as a lecturer in botany 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 ...

and in 1961 he was appointed as Senior Research Officer of 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 ...

. He returned to Britain in 1964 on being appointed a lecturer at the

. Ap Rees' contribution to plant

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 ...

was substantial. He published over 100 research papers and more than 20 reviews during his career. Over 170 scientists attended a meeting held after his death in honour of him and his work. His main area of research was in the regulation and control of plant

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run c ...

. He argued that sucrose played a central role in plant metabolism. Much of his research was on non-

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydropon ...

species as he believed that there may be metabolic features present in these that could be bred into crop plants. Fellow scientists admired him for his sound approach to research.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Thomas ap English botanists People from Frome 1930 births 1996 deaths Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Academic staff of the University of Sydney English biochemists Professors of Botany (Cambridge) 20th-century British botanists Road incident deaths in the United Kingdom Cycling road incident deaths 20th-century British Army personnel Royal Corps of Signals soldiers