Events of the Year
Prestigious award for Professor Claire Halpin
Professor Claire Halpin of the University of Dundee,
Division of Plant Sciences, received a Royal Society
Wolfson Research Merit Award which provides five
years of support for outstanding scientists to help
them continue their ground-breaking work. It is
jointly funded by the Wolfson Foundation and the
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
Professor Halpin’s research focuses on the biosynthesis
of lignin, an essential component of many plant cell
walls. She aims to analyse where lignin waterproofs
and rigidifies the structure and investigate ways of
allowing plant materials to be used to make biofuels
and other industrial products.
This award helps ensure that leading-edge science
continues in the UK. Professor Halpin’s work assists in
supporting the development of sustainable biofuels
(see
highlight in August).
March
2014
Professor Anne Glover, Chief Scientific Adviser to the
European Commission and one of the most influential
women in science, took part in Dundee’s Women in
Science Festival. She delivered the 2014 Distinguished
Women Scientists Seminar at the invitation of the
James Hutton Institute. Professor Glover discussed her
career and the challenges she has faced to date. An
audience of around 200 people attended the event.
As an influential and pioneering figure in science,
Professor Glover continues to advocate female roles in
science and promote science as an accessible career
to all.
January
2014
“Our science excellence was demonstrated
with the publication of 393 journal papers”
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Collaborations
In April, experts from the James Hutton Institute and the
University of Dundee, Division of Plant Sciences, shared their
expertise with peers from across the country during the
annual UK Plant Sciences Federation conference, UK PlantSci
2013. Speaker Dr Nigel Kerby, Managing Director of Mylnefield
Research Services Ltd, reinforced the importance of creating
impact through science and innovation.
This conference demonstrated the significance and diversity
of plant science in the UK. Integral to meeting global
sustainability challenges, the conference also offered the
opportunity to showcase Dundee as a centre of plant science
excellence.
The James Hutton Institute and the Universities of Aberdeen
and Dundee joined forces to create the Scottish Food Security
Alliance – Crops. The vision is to build an alliance of excellence
which brings together researchers from different disciplines
to tackle important challenges. These include: sustainable
food production, the depletion of natural resources including
productive land, water and nutrients, and the impact of
climate change on society. The Alliance was launched at the
Royal Highland Show in June.
Food and drink is a success story in Scotland but in the face
of an evolving world with climate change and population
growth, it is important we consider how to produce food
more sustainably. The Alliance will create a critical mass of
internationally-recognised excellence in crop science, soil
science, environmental modelling and human nutrition.
Our Partners
“Our collaborations strive to
create impact through science
and innovation”
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