Researchers

Professor Stefan Arndt is an ecologist with 20 years of experience in applied ecosystem science. His research centres around the question how plants and entire ecosystems cope with changes in environmental conditions and how they respond to climate extremes like drought or heat stress. He investigates plant performance under environmental stress to predict which plant species will be best suited to survive and thrive in a future climate in forests, revegetation projects or urban areas. His research has three major areas of focus. In ecophysiology and plant adaptation he investigates the variety of mechanisms that enable plants to grow and thrive in their environment. In applied ecophysiology he studies plant species, provenances or cultivars that are best adapted to a future climate. And in ecosystem ecology he investigates the impact that climate and climate change has on key ecosystem processes like carbon cycling and greenhouse gas emissions.

Dr Sajitha Biju is an Early Career Research Scientist working in the School of Agriculture and Food, the Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne. Her main research focus lies in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry to explore possible biochemical defense pathways and mechanisms leading to sustainable drought stress management in legumes. Dr. Biju has investigated the role of the mineral element Silicon (Si) in alleviating drought stress in lentil plants by conducting different physiological, biochemical, and molecular experiments. Dr. Biju is currently working on a project which aimed to investigate the role of silicon in regulating the below-ground traits and its role in symbiotic Nitrogen fixation of lentil plants under drought stress.

Wildfire risk, fire management, climate change, risk communication, industry engagement, community engagement

I am passionate about sustainable agribusinesses and their contribution to sustainable regional economies. I have spent the last two decades in senior consulting, research, science management and corporate roles across the private and public sectors and in the not-for-profit sector. My diverse experience includes agribusiness research and education; advising government, agriculture and urban landscape clients as a consulting agronomist as well as environmental and corporate risk management in the water sector. My current research focusses on rural business resilience, the equitable distribution of water resources in regional communities and agriculture policy. My research is grounded in the understanding of farming systems as part of a complex catchment environment. I have undergraduate qualifications in Agricultural Science and a PhD in Agriculture, both from the University of Sydney. Additionally, I have a Masters of Environmental Laws obtained from the Australian National University and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Ross is a respected agricultural economist; the author of more than 145 journal articles and book chapters, and more than 320 conference papers and policy reports. He is a professor in the School of Agriculture and Environment at the University of Western Australia, chief economist in the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre, and a leader of a small group of economists in the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. Ross has an enduring interest in the financial performance of farm businesses and has published long-term studies of the impact of drought on broad-acre farms in SW Australia.

Social science applied to the study of agricultural innovation, the social organization of farming, farm workplace relations, the resilience of farming systems and rural communities and agricultural extension policy and design. The social dimensions of drought preparedness, drought response and adaptation to climate change at both the farm and community level are areas of research, along with the technology and workforce implications.

My research interests are:

• Gender and farm succession planning
• Agricultural labour force change, particularly the professionalisation of agriculture and growth in the professional services sector.
• Women's roles in agricultural production, particularly regenerative and small scale production.
• Local food systems and producer and consumer engagement within these food systems.

I teach into the Bachelor of Agribusiness, Bachelor of Business and Master of Human Resource Management at the University of New England.

Expert in innovation, have researched on farm practices and profitability in wool and beef industries. Expert in operations management and supply chain design and improvement. Expert in business strategy, especially sustainability and ESG. Experienced in decision-making research and practices.

I am a senior lecturer in farm economics in the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Over the last 12 years I have worked on a series of research projects with different agricultural industries to understand the impacts of projected climate changes and to explore options to adapt to a changing climate. I have highly developed skills in economic, financial and risk modelling.

Pablo J. Zarco-Tejada is a Professor in Remote Sensing and Precision Agriculture at the University of Melbourne. He leads the HyperSens Laboratory focused on remote sensing for crop stress detection using hyperspectral and thermal images acquired by piloted and uncrewed aircraft systems. He is Agricultural Engineer, M.Sc. in Remote Sensing and PhD in Earth and Space Science. He has been a Faculty member in remote sensing at the University of California, Davis, USA, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, National Research Council (CSIC, Spain), and Senior Scientist at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. Highly Cited Researcher since 2019, he is the author of more than 150 papers published in international journals. He is Associate Editor of Remote Sensing of Environment and European Journal of Agronomy journals and has received awards in Spain, the United Kingdom, and Canada.