Join the Australian Academy of Science in our 70th anniversary year to look at our history and into our future, as part of our 2024 public speaker series.
Distinguished Professor Brajesh Singh FAA and Dr Zefang Shen will explore the work of Professor James Arthur Prescott CBE FAA FRS, pioneering developments in soil science, and what is next in the field.
James Prescott was born in 1890 in Lancashire, England. In 1912, he received the first postgraduate scholarship in agricultural science awarded by the British Government, which he used to study soil phosphate, including its extraction and estimation, at the Rothamsted Experiment Station.
In 1916, he became Chief Chemist and Superintendent of Field Experiments at the Sultanic Agricultural Society of Egypt, where he was involved in studies of bacteriological activity and spacing and watering trials using maize and cotton.
Professor Prescott came to Australia in 1924, when he became Chair of Agricultural Chemistry at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Agricultural Research Institute. In 1947, in recognition of his service to Australian science, he was made a Companion of the Order of the British Empire, and in 1971, the Australian Society of Soil Science established the JA Prescott Medal for outstanding contributions to soil science and climatology—an honour that Prescott said gave him more pleasure than any other.
He was not only a scientist concerned with fundamental research, but a conservation-minded agriculturalist: he recognised the need for land development in Australia provided it was based on sound principles and attempted within the limits imposed by climatic conditions.
His classification and mapping of Australian soils and his direction of detailed soil surveys of strategically chosen areas, together with his climatological techniques for determining the availability of soil moisture, provided the best practical parameters for the use and conservation of Australian soils. This was recognised when he became a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1954.
Join us to hear from Professor Singh and Dr Shen about the history of soil science, the pioneering work they both do, and what’s next in the field. Whether you’re a student, professional, or simply curious about the fascinating world of soil science, this event promises to inform and inspire!
Brajesh Singh is a Distinguished Professor of Soil biology, at Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University. Through his fundamental research, he identifies the quantitative relationships between microbial diversity and ecosystem-host functions and how natural and anthropogenic pressures such as climate change affect this.
His applied research harnesses the knowledge gained in fundamental studies to improve agriculture productivity, restoration success and environmental sustainability. Outcomes from his research have informed multiple policy decisions at national and international levels, and he is currently working with multiple government and inter-governmental bodies including the European Commission and United Nation agencies such as Food and Agriculture Authority (FAO) to support the implementation of relevant Sustainable Development Goals.
He serves on the FAO’s Intergovernmental Panel on Soil and is Chair of FAO International Network on Soil Biodiversity.
Professor Singh is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, American Academy of Microbiology, Australian Society of Soil Science, and American Society of Soil Science. He is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher, Humboldt Research Awardee and winner of the Applied Microbiology International Awards Dorothy Jones Prize.
Dr Zefang Shen earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2020 from Curtin University, where he developed wearable robots for rehabilitation. Since 2019, he has worked with the Soil and Landscape Science Group at Curtin University to develop machine learning research and engineering solutions in soil science.
Dr Shen’s research focuses on the development of novel machine learning for optimal, transferable, and interpretable spectroscopic modelling in soil assessment. He has pioneered in optimisation-based hyperparameter tuning to automate deep learning pipelines for soil spectroscopic modelling, deep transfer learning to leverage large soil spectral libraries for accurate characterisation of soil organic carbon, and explainable artificial intelligence for model interpretation and knowledge discovery.
His work has been published in prestigious journals including ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Global Change Biology, Communications Earth & Environment, SOIL, Scientific Reports and more.
Dr Shen goes beyond research to engineer practical solutions for soil monitoring. He is the developer of a global soil organic carbon estimation service with visible and infrared spectroscopy, incorporating cutting-edge machine learning research in soil spectroscopy. He also contributes to a sensing system for soil property characterisation, a portable, automated platform for cost-efficient measurement and monitoring of soil.
Date: Tuesday 9 April 2024
Time: 5.30pm–6.00pm at the venue for refreshments, followed by the talks 6.00pm–7.00pm AEST
Venue: The Shine Dome Canberra, and online livestream
Cost: $17 to attend in person, free online
The Australian Academy of Science’s public speaker series in 2024, our 70th anniversary year, will look at our history and into our future.
In each instalment, we will follow the story of one scientific discipline, with an Academy Fellow and an early-career researcher as our expert guides.
Across geology, virology, astronomy and more, we will trace our science history from landmark discoveries to the present cutting edge of Australian science.
Along the way, we will get to know the Academy’s iconic earliest Fellows who shaped Australian science: from Mark Oliphant to Frank Fenner to Dorothy Hill. We will experience the challenges and curly conundrums they grappled with, celebrate their triumphs and breakthroughs, and look ahead to today’s emerging generation of top minds following in their footsteps.
More information about the whole series is available on the series webpage.
events@science.org.au
Join the Australian Academy of Science in our 70th anniversary year to look at our history and into our future, as part of our 2024 public speaker series.
Distinguished Professor Brajesh Singh FAA and Dr Zefang Shen will explore the work of Professor James Arthur Prescott CBE FAA FRS, pioneering developments in soil science, and what is next in the field.
James Prescott was born in 1890 in Lancashire, England. In 1912, he received the first postgraduate scholarship in agricultural science awarded by the British Government, which he used to study soil phosphate, including its extraction and estimation, at the Rothamsted Experiment Station.
In 1916, he became Chief Chemist and Superintendent of Field Experiments at the Sultanic Agricultural Society of Egypt, where he was involved in studies of bacteriological activity and spacing and watering trials using maize and cotton.
Professor Prescott came to Australia in 1924, when he became Chair of Agricultural Chemistry at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Agricultural Research Institute. In 1947, in recognition of his service to Australian science, he was made a Companion of the Order of the British Empire, and in 1971, the Australian Society of Soil Science established the JA Prescott Medal for outstanding contributions to soil science and climatology—an honour that Prescott said gave him more pleasure than any other.
He was not only a scientist concerned with fundamental research, but a conservation-minded agriculturalist: he recognised the need for land development in Australia provided it was based on sound principles and attempted within the limits imposed by climatic conditions.
His classification and mapping of Australian soils and his direction of detailed soil surveys of strategically chosen areas, together with his climatological techniques for determining the availability of soil moisture, provided the best practical parameters for the use and conservation of Australian soils. This was recognised when he became a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1954.
Join us to hear from Professor Singh and Dr Shen about the history of soil science, the pioneering work they both do, and what’s next in the field. Whether you’re a student, professional, or simply curious about the fascinating world of soil science, this event promises to inform and inspire!
Brajesh Singh is a Distinguished Professor of Soil biology, at , Western Sydney University. Through his fundamental research, he identifies the quantitative relationships between microbial diversity and ecosystem-host functions and how natural and anthropogenic pressures such as climate change affect this.
His applied research harnesses the knowledge gained in fundamental studies to improve agriculture productivity, restoration success and environmental sustainability. Outcomes from his research have informed multiple policy decisions at national and international levels, and he is currently working with multiple government and inter-governmental bodies including the European Commission and United Nation agencies such as Food and Agriculture Authority (FAO) to support the implementation of relevant Sustainable Development Goals.
He serves on the FAO’s Intergovernmental Panel on Soil and is Chair of FAO International Network on Soil Biodiversity.
Professor Singh is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, American Academy of Microbiology, Australian Society of Soil Science, and American Society of Soil Science. He is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher, Humboldt Research Awardee and winner of the Applied Microbiology International Awards Dorothy Jones Prize.
Dr Zefang Shen earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2020 from Curtin University, where he developed wearable robots for rehabilitation. Since 2019, he has worked with the Soil and Landscape Science Group at Curtin University to develop machine learning research and engineering solutions in soil science.
Dr Shen’s research focuses on the development of novel machine learning for optimal, transferable, and interpretable spectroscopic modelling in soil assessment. He has pioneered in optimisation-based hyperparameter tuning to automate deep learning pipelines for soil spectroscopic modelling, deep transfer learning to leverage large soil spectral libraries for accurate characterisation of soil organic carbon, and explainable artificial intelligence for model interpretation and knowledge discovery.
His work has been published in prestigious journals including ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Global Change Biology, Communications Earth & Environment, SOIL, Scientific Reports and more.
Dr Shen goes beyond research to engineer practical solutions for soil monitoring. He is the developer of a global soil organic carbon estimation service with visible and infrared spectroscopy, incorporating cutting-edge machine learning research in soil spectroscopy. He also contributes to a sensing system for soil property characterisation, a portable, automated platform for cost-efficient measurement and monitoring of soil.
Date: Tuesday 9 April 2024
Time: 5.30pm–6.00pm at the venue for refreshments, followed by the talks 6.00pm–7.00pm AEST
Venue: The Shine Dome Canberra, and online livestream
Cost: $17 to attend in person, free online
The Australian Academy of Science’s public speaker series in 2024, our 70th anniversary year, will look at our history and into our future.
In each instalment, we will follow the story of one scientific discipline, with an Academy Fellow and an early-career researcher as our expert guides.
Across geology, virology, astronomy and more, we will trace our science history from landmark discoveries to the present cutting edge of Australian science.
Along the way, we will get to know the Academy’s iconic earliest Fellows who shaped Australian science: from Mark Oliphant to Frank Fenner to Dorothy Hill. We will experience the challenges and curly conundrums they grappled with, celebrate their triumphs and breakthroughs, and look ahead to today’s emerging generation of top minds following in their footsteps.
More information about the whole series is available on the .
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events@science.org.au
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
