About Us

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Dean's welcome

We welcome students who share our passion for application of science and economics to the major issues of today. It is increasingly clear that providing solutions is an exciting career path.

History

Academic programs in agricultural science were established in the University of Sydney in 1910 with the appointment of Robert Dickie Watt as the Foundation Professor in Agriculture.

Our people

Our staff members are dedicated, imaginative and creative; The faculty’s interdisciplinary research community deliver timely, creative new concepts, and technologies

Clubs and societies

University clubs and societies are a great way to get involved in campus life, to meet people who share your interests and to gain valuable experience


Associate Professor Michael Harris

Associate Professor Michael Harris

My interests are in resource, environmental and agricultural economics generally. My specific research interests are in the economics of sustainability, and ...

Dr Shyamal Chowdhury

Dr Shyamal Chowdhury

Research projects that I am currently working on include: evaluating the effect of migration on household welfare in Bangladesh; eliciting consumer preferences for...

Dr Paulo Santos

Dr Paulo Santos

More than 70% of the differences in income or life expectancy across the world are due to circumstances beyond one’s control: the place where we are born or our parent’s wealth...

Professor Alex McBratney

Professor Alex McBratney

I work passionately on the sustainable use and management of the soil system. The understanding that provides answers to such questions helps us...

Dr Margaret Barbour

Dr Margaret Barbour

Understanding how terrestrial ecosystems respond to environmental change will underpin progress on some of the big issues currently facing humans...

Dr Greg Hertzler

Dr Tina Bell

Fire is a fundamental component of most Australian terrestrial ecosystems. As a fire ecologist I am interested in the wide range of responses of flora, fauna, soil microorganisms and ..

Dr Tariq Chattha

Dr Tariq Chattha

I have a passion to: develop high performance plant based technologies suited to heat prone water deficit environments, and promote knowledge and introduce innovations to improve...

Dr Peng Zhang

Dr Peng Zhang

My research interests include molecular cytogenetics of cereal, germplasm and genetic stocks development, and rust and other resistance genes transfer from wild species to cereal...

Professor Jeff Amthor

Professor Jeff Amthor

The physical and chemical transformation of solar energy, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and other elements into new plant matter determines both the quantity and quality...

Marcelo Stabile

Professor Richard Trethowan

I want to produce more food with less water: I am interested in developing crop cultivars that use water more efficiently...

Associate Professor Willem Vervoort

Associate Professor Willem Vervoort

Determining future environmental management requires understanding of the basic drivers of landscape change. My research focuses on simulating landscape hydrology and forecasting...

Robert Pallasser

Dr Thomas Bishop

I am a Senior Lecturer in Environmetrics. Environmetrics is concerned with application and development of statistical methods for solving environmental and agricultural problems...

Associate Professor Michael Kertesz

Associate Professor Michael Kertesz

As a molecular microbial ecologist, the science that fascinates me most revolves around questions of functional interactions, especially in soil and rhizosphere environments...

Professor David Guest

Professor David Guest

My research is driven by my fascination with the complex interactions between plants and other organisms, in particular how plants recognise and respond to potential pathogens...

Professor Ivan Kennedy

Professor Ivan Kennedy

I’m interested in understanding and enhancing biological nitrogen fixation using sunlight as an energy source for more efficient crop nutrition...

About us

The issues facing the world today shape our work in agriculture and the environment. Learn about our commitment to people, our investment in leading research facilities and our wide network of research and education partners.

With a teaching staff made up of industry leaders, including four of the Australian Research Council's Future Fellows, we have earned the ability to influence policy locally and internationally. When bushfires hit Victoria in 2009, the media came to our staff for comment.