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Sharon Robinson

(she/her)

7

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Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong

1990 PhD Plant Biochemistry, University College London
1986 Graduate Certificate in Science Education, Kings College London
1983 B.Sc. First Class Honours, University College London

Sharon Robinson is a plant ecophysiologist and global change biologist with 34 years experience studying the fascinating world of “hot” and “cold” plants. Her current research ranges from determining how Antarctic plants respond to climate change to developing new ways of measuring plant productivity remotely from drones. Recent career highlights include determining that the radiocarbon bomb spike can be used to date Antarctic mosses – providing long-term growth records demonstrating that these are “old growth mosses” and providing enabling technologies to allow the effect of climate on these plants to be investigated for the first time. She also developed a long term monitoring system for Antarctic vegetation that has provided the first evidence that climate change is affecting East Antarctic terrestrial communities. She is a Distinguished Professor in Global Change Biology and Dean Researcher Development at UOW. She has visited Antarctica 14 times since 1996.

Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF)
Editor, Global Change Biology
United Nations Environment Programme -Environmental Effects Assessment Panel
Homeward Bound Science Faculty 2019, 2023

UoW homepage: https://scholars.uow.edu.au/display/sharon_robinson

Experience

  • 2010–present
    Professor of Global Change Biology, University of Wollongong

Education

  • 1990 
    University College London, PHD Plant Biology
  • 1986 
    Kings College London, Graduate Certificate in Science Education
  • 1983 
    University College London, B.Sc. First Class Honours

Publications

  • 2014
    The spatial structure of Antarctic biodiversity, Ecological Monographs
  • 2014
    Solar Ultraviolet Radiation in a Changing Climate, Nature Climate Change
  • 2014
    Using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to capture micro-topography of Antarctic moss beds, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and GeoInformation
  • 2014
    Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment: an update, Polar Record
  • 2014
    Phytoremediation of hydrocarbon contaminants in subantarctic soils: an effective management option, Journal of Environmental Management
  • 2014
    Spatial co-registration of ultra-high resolution visible, multispectral and thermal images acquired with a Micro-UAV over Antarctic moss beds, Remote Sensing
  • 2013
    The genome of the long-living Sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera, Gaertner.). , Genome Biology
  • 2012
    From ecophysiology to phenomics: some implications of photoprotection and shade-sun acclimation in situ for dynamics of thylakoids in vitro, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
  • 2012
    Radiocarbon bomb spike reveals biological effects of Antarctic climate change, Global Change Biology
  • 2011
    In the heat of the night – alternative pathway respiration drives thermogenesis in Philodendron bipinnatifidum, New Phytologist
  • 2011
    Effects of solar UV radiation on terrestrial ecosystems. Patterns, mechanisms, and interactions with climate change, Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences

Grants and Contracts

  • 2014
    AirLIFT – an airborne active chlorophyll fluorescence sensing system for assessment of photosynthetic activity in plant canopies
    Role:
    Chief Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Australian Research Council
  • 2013
    Modelling spatial patterns and identifying environmental drivers for temporal change in Antarctic moss communities
    Role:
    Chief Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Australian Antarctic Science Grant
  • 2011
    Mapping Antarctic climate change in space and time using mosses as biological proxies
    Role:
    Chief Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Australian Research Council

Research Areas

  • Global Change Biology (069902)
  • Plant Cell And Molecular Biology (060702)
  • Plant Physiology (060705)
  • Plant Developmental And Reproductive Biology (060703)
  • Ecological Physiology (060203)
  • Community Ecology (Excl. Invasive Species Ecology) (060202)
  • Ecological Impacts Of Climate Change (050101)
  • Landscape Ecology (050104)
  • Conservation And Biodiversity (050202)
  • Environmental Impact Assessment (050204)
  • Environmental Management (050205)
  • Cell Metabolism (060104)
  • Atmospheric Radiation (040103)
  • Climate Change Processes (040104)

Honours

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