Medals commemorate Australian agricultural leaders

The memory of two of Queensland’s most influential agricultural scientists will be kept alive when the Bell and Bryan Medals are awarded on November 23.

The awards are a collaborative activity between UQ’s Faculty of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Veterinary Science (NRAVS) and the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (AIAST).

They will be announced at an event at the Seddon Building, UQ St Lucia.

• The Bryan Medal honours Dr W. W. (Wilf) Bryan who retired from the CSIRO Division of Tropical Agronomy in 1972 after a prestigious career in plant breeding and pasture agronomy. Dr Bryan is also remembered for his work breeding hybrid maize varieties when a staff member at the Queensland Agricultural College (predecessor organisation of today’s UQ Gatton Campus). The Bryan Memorial Medal was established by the Queensland Branch of the AIAST in 1976.

• The Bell Medal honours Arthur F. Bell, the first qualified scientist to hold the position of Under-Secretary of the then State Department of Agriculture and Stock (now DPI&F). Mr Bell was previously a pathologist and Director of the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations. The AIAST created the award in 1958 following the passing of Mr Bell.

Director of Studies for the NRAVS Faculty Dr Colin Birch is encouraging students to submit their theses and place themselves in line for these prestigious awards. He believes that the history behind the awards is as important today as when the medals were first presented.

“The history of agriculture in Queensland is long and proud,” he said.

“Through these medals we are able to honour two of the major contributors of their time but also encourage future industry leaders.”

The Bell and Bryan Medals are awarded to Faculty Honours degree students from the St Lucia and Gatton campuses respectively. The awards are administered and judged by scientists who are members of the AIAST, south-east Queensland and southern Queensland branches. The awards are based on the quality of written theses submitted by students and a verbal presentation made by them on the evening of the presentation.

Past Bell and Bryan medallists have been awarded for excellence in many areas including economic analysis of land management, molecular genetic research in grain sorghum, native seed dormancy on rehabilitated mine sites, wastewater treatment and the breeding of ‘assassin’ bugs.

“The diversity of projects awarded in previous years serves to highlight the vast potential of work being conducted by these students for the benefit of the agricultural and associated industries,” Dr Birch said.

Media inquiries: Susanne Schick - UQ Gatton Campus (075460 1229, 0409 265 587). Further information/comment: Dr Colin Birch (0408 712 192) or David Lloyd (07 4688 1261 or david.lloyd@dpi.qld.gov.au)