Rather than a single award, this year the judging panel decided to acknowledge two of the finalists…
Dr. Katie Broughton started at ACRI as a Postdoctoral fellow in 2014. Her very topical research has been fundamental to understanding the potential effects of our future climate. Katie’s innovative experiments use sophisticated chambers that regulate temperature and CO2 levels, mimicking what is projected to occur over the next 20 years.
Katie has attended and presented her research at many scientific forums both nationally and internationally, and has published scientific papers in recognised journals, as well as articles for the CRDC Spotlight and Australian Cottongrower magazines.
Dr Yui Osanai has been supporting cotton-related projects for several years now from her involvement with projects at Western Sydney University to her more recent endeavours at the University of New England. Her work has spanned a range of topics from climate, to soil biology to carbon and has seen her present at several national platforms, where she excels at explaining complex systems.
Her recent carbon work has the potential to change the way we think about carbon sequestration under cotton, and provides great insight into the long term impacts of climate on cotton physiology, productivity and the role of plant-soil feedbacks.
Yui has also shown a willingness to mentor graduate students, to teach them technical skills, different ways of approaching problems, data analyses, writing, and guide them in a friendly and collegial manner.