Adrienne Elizabeth Clarke (née Petty; born 6 January 1938) is Professor Emeritus 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 ...

at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, where she ran the Plant Cell Biology Research Centre from 1982–1999. She is a former chairman 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 ...

(CSIRO, 1991–1996), former Lieutenant

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and the ...

(1997–2000) and former

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

(2011–2017).

Biography

Born in Melbourne, Clarke reports she experienced some sexism as a bright student in the 1950s. She attended

Ruyton Girls' School , motto_translation = Upright and Faithful , established = 1878 , type = Independent, single-sex, day school , denomination = Non-denominational , key_people = , chairman ...

and entered the University of Melbourne in 1955 where she was a resident of Janet Clarke Hall (then still part of

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

) reading Science. She graduated with an Honours degree in Biological Sciences in 1959, and gained her PhD in 1963. She married Charles Peter Clarke on 14 August 1959. In 1964 she became a research fellow at the United Dental Hospital of Sydney, then moved to

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

in Houston and the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, later teaching at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. She worked at the University of Melbourne as Research Fellow (1969–1977), then lecturer, senior lecturer and reader before being appointed Professor of Botany in 1985 and Laureate Professor in 1999. She retired from the University in 2005. Clarke is a former chairman of

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 ...

(1991–1996) and a former Lieutenant

(1997–2000). She is a Fellow of

Janet Clarke Hall Janet Clarke Hall (JCH) is a residential college of the University of Melbourne in Australia. The college is associated with the Anglican Province of Victoria. JCH is one of the smallest of the colleges of the university and was the first univ ...

at the University of Melbourne. In 2010 she joined the

Council, and succeeded

Sylvia Walton Sylvia Jane Walton, (née Collis) (born 16 January 1941) was Chancellor of La Trobe University (2006–2011), Principal of Tintern Grammar (1982 - 2005) and Principal of St Catherine’s School from 2007 to 2013. Biography The daughter of Ro ...

as Chancellor of

on 26 February 2011. She has also been involved in the commercial sector; she was a director of a number of public companies and sat on a number of boards, including Western Mining,

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

, Fisher and Paykel, Woolworths and the AMP Society. She was also a member of the Australian Advisory Board of the Global Nature Conservancy. In 1998, in association with three University of Melbourne colleagues, she founded the agribusiness Hexima.

Contributions

Clarke's scientific work provided critical insight to the biochemistry and genetics of flowering plants, their reproduction, and their growth. It led to industrial applications for next-generation controls of insect pests and fungal disease of crops. Her team was the first to clone the gene which regulates self-compatibility in plants and the first to clone the "c" DNA of an Arabinogalactan Protein. She describes her expertise as: *The molecular basis of self-incompatibility *The chemistry and biology of a class of proteoglycans, the arabinogalactan-proteins *Proteinase Inhibitors and their use in control of insect development She is co-editor of major scientific books dealing with chemistry, cell biology and genetics.

Honours and awards

*Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...

(FAA) *Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is a learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. It was founded in 1975 as one of Australia's then four learned academies (now five) ...

(FTSE)FTSE
, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering *1991

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 ...

(AO)Officer of the Order of Australia
(AO), 10 June 1991, ''It's an Honour''. ''For service to science and industry,particularly through the application of biotechnology.'' *1992

ANZAAS The Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) is an organisation that was founded in 1888 as the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science to promote science. It was modelled on the British A ...

Mueller Medal The Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) is an organisation that was founded in 1888 as the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science to promote science. It was modelled on the British As ...

*1993 Outstanding Achievers Award,

National Australia Day Council The National Australia Day Council (NADC) is a non-profit social enterprise owned by the Australian Government and is the national coordinating body for the Australian of the Year awards and Australia Day. It was established in 1979 and inco ...

*2001

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 ...

Centenary Medal
, 1 January 2001, ''It's an Honour''. ''For outstanding community service, especially as Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria.'' *2001

Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The Honour Roll was established as part of the cele ...

*2004

Companion 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 ...

(AC)Companion of the Order of Australia
(AC), 26 January 2004, ''It's an Honour''. ''For service to science and academia as a leading international researcher, for the application of economic benefit to scientific discovery, and for mentoring future leaders.'' *Foreign Associate of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

(USA) *Foreign Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

(USA)

References

External links

* Laurence Muir (2007) Professor Adrienne Clarke, pp17–20 of
"Some Inspirational People"
– 15 inspirational Australians profiled by Sir Laurence MacDonald Muir. {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Adrienne 1938 births Living people People educated at Ruyton Girls' School People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) 20th-century Australian botanists Companions of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences University of Melbourne faculty 20th-century Australian women scientists Women botanists Chancellors of La Trobe University University of Michigan fellows Lieutenant-Governors of Victoria American women academics