Conversations with Australian scientists

Hugh Tyndale-Biscoe was born in Kashmir, India in 1929. He attended the school his parents ran in Kashmir, then finished school in England. He was awarded a BSc from the University of New Zealand (then called Canterbury University College) in 1951.

Dr Isobel Bennett, one of Australia’s most renowned marine biologists, made pioneering contributions to plankton research, intertidal ecology, and the study of the Great Barrier Reef, despite having no formal university degree in science. Her lifelong dedication to marine biology produced influential books, extensive fieldwork, and lasting educational initiatives, earning her national and international recognition. Interviewed by Ms Nessy Allen in 2000.

William James (Jim) Peacock was born in Leura, New South Wales, in 1937. He was educated at the University of Sydney where he received a BSc (Hons) in 1958.

Dr Joel Mackay interviewed by David Salt in 2002. Dr Joel Mackay studied organic chemistry at the University of Auckland, receiving a BSc and an MSc. In 1990 he won a Commonwealth Scholarship to study at Cambridge University, where he looked at the mechanism of the action of antibiotics at the molecular level.

Dr John Passioura was born in Balranald on the Murrumbidgee River, New South Wales and grew up in Melbourne, where his family owned and operated a milk bar. He has a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Science (1958) and a PhD in soil chemistry (1963) from the University of Melbourne. Interviewed by Dr John Kirkegaard in 2022.

Dr June Olley interviewed by Ms Nessy Allen in 2001. June Olley received a PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where she studied lipid metabolism. She then worked at Torry Research Station, Aberdeen, on various aspects of fish technology.

Dr Leanne Armand developed an early love for nature, later pursuing biology and palaeontology through fieldwork and research. Her career evolved into micropalaeontology, focusing on fossil algae to study past sea temperatures and sea ice estimation. Interviewed by Ms Marian Heard in 2001.

Dr Lloyd Evans interviewed by Professor Bob Crompton, 2003. Dr Lloyd Evans is a highly distinguished plant scientist whose research has focused on the physiology of flowering. After completing a DPhil at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, he worked at the California Institute of Technology before becoming a research scientist at the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry.

Interviewed by Dr Max Blythe in 1993 with Dr Max Day. Dr Max Day studied botany and zoology at the University of Sydney, receiving a BSc in 1937. He was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1956.

Dr Moira O’Bryan interviewed by Ms Nessy Allen in 2001. Dr Moira O’Bryan, despite her youth, has already made a major contribution in the area of molecular reproduction and endocrinology. She started her career at St Vincent’s Hospital, in Fitzroy, Melbourne, working on the characterisation of an immune regulator in the male reproductive tract, and its effect on infertility.