A graduate of the RUI, Jane Scharff gained a technical assistantship at the NMI in 1905, later becoming assistant naturalist. She took part in the Clare Island survey and became a recognised authority on the marine and fresh-water sponges of Ireland. She also wrote papers on coelenterates and corals.
The substantial legacy of this trailblazing plant pathologist includes the University of Melbourne’s fungal-rich herbarium and library, her scientific publications and her students’ ideas and investigations.
Jane Fletcher published a number of books on nature and nature study and broadcast on 7ZL Hobart and 3LO Melbourne. In 1934 she became the first woman to lecture to the Royal Society of Tasmania. She was an outstanding bird observer with a particular interest in crakes and rails.
Irish phycologist
Through her teaching and writing, she did a great deal to popularize knowledge about Australian flora, to encourage domestic gardeners to include native plants in their gardens and to persuade a wider audience of the need for conservation measures. She published twelve books about Australian plants and teaching nature studies between 1938 and 1980, and contributed widely to scientific journals and reference books including The Australian Naturalist, Australian Wild Life, Australian Encyclopaedia and Science Wonders of Australia. She was also editor, at various times, of New Horizons in Education, Australian Wildlife and Wildlife Research News.
Australian plant molecular biologist and a chief scientist at the plant division of CSIRO Canberra.
Australian statistician
Internationally recognised for her work on sheep breeding.
Prominent CSIRO scientist whose main area of research is in protein structure and immunoparasitology.
Australian microbiologist whose genetics research has provided insight into the transfer and evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.