Graduate Research students enjoyed the opportunity to network and present their work
at the annual School of Agriculture Food and Wine (AFW) Graduate Research
Symposium on the 30th September and 1st October 2026. Over 35 students presented
long format talks, three-minute thesis style talks (elevator pitch) or posters. The
audience were treated to a wide range of interesting topics including (but not limited to):

• Invasive snail populations in cropping systems in Australia
• The effect of hail netting on insects in apple orchards
• Management of soil contamination
• Genome editing of plants
• Improving plant breeding using computer vision and genomic selection
• Measuring various compounds in wine, hops and beverages
• Management of herbicide resistance
• Planting high-density native forests
• Seasonal characterisation of the buffalo milk microbiome
• Duckweed food products
• Predicting smoke taint risk in vineyards
• Understanding public perceptions of insects for food, feed and fertiliser

Professor Jason Able, Dean of School, commented, “The graduate research symposium
demonstrates the breadth of activity within our school and provides insight into the
agronomists, food technologists, plant breeders, and wine makers (as examples), of the
future. Our graduate students are the ‘bedrock’ of our research success, and as such,
we will continue to support and nurture this talent to enable us to keep delivering
innovative solutions which contribute to solving real-world challenges within the
agriculture, food and wine sectors. We also acknowledge the support of our sponsors
and the recognition that they provide to our students for excellence in graduate
research.”

In addition to graduate research student presentations, Dr Ruby Hume (Department for
Environment and Water) and Associate Professor Beth Loveys provided sage advice to
students about their future journey or careers after their PhD. The networking poster
sessions were also well attended with much discussion.

The Waite Social Club (WSC) oversaw the People’s Choice competition with President
Cadell Canute presenting them to the winners. Professor Jason Able (Dean of School)
and sponsors presented the awards to each winner of the awards which were judged by
the School’s Graduate Research committee, some sponsors and several early career
researchers. Congratulations to all the award winners, with special thanks to the award
sponsors as per below.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS (VOTED BY AUDIENCE)

WSC People’s Choice Poster, sponsored by WSC and Plant SynBio Australia: Olalekan Amoo
WSC People Choice Elevator Pitch (3MT), sponsored by WSC and Waite Research Institute: Andy Zhang
WSC People Choice Elevator Pitch Runner-Up, sponsored by WSC and ARC Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production: Claire Shoubridge
WSC People Choice Long Presentation Runner-Up, sponsored by WSC and ARC Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production: Mst Umme Habiba
WSC People Choice Long Presentation, sponsored by WSC and Plant SynBio Australia: Brad Maddidon

JUDGED AWARDS

Best Overall Presentation, sponsored by the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine: Timothy Thavarajah
Best Elevator Pitch, sponsored by Australian Grain Technologies: Andy (Anxing) Zhang
Highly Commended Elevator Pitch, sponsored by the ARC Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production: Claire Shoubridge, Guanghui Li
Best Poster, sponsored by Plants for Space ARC Centre of Excellence: Maliheh Arab

Best Elevator Pitch
Jason Able and Dr James Walter (left, from sponsor Australian Grain Technologies) with winner Andy Zhang.

Highly Commended Elevator Pitch
Jason Able and A/Prof Christopher Ford (left, CI from sponsor ARC Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production) with winner Guanghui Li.

Best Poster
Jason Able and Professor Jenny Mortimer (left, CI from sponsor Plants for Space) with winner Maliheh Arab.

Sally & Andrew Smith Prize: Best Long Presentation on Soils
Jason Able and Dr Ruby Hume (left, VP for sponsor Soil Science Australia) with winner Bart Poyser.

Best Long Presentation :Plant Improvement 
Jason Able and James Walter (AGT) with winner Alex Seward.

Best Long Presentation: Plants & Environment
Jason Able and Jenny Mortimer (left, CI from sponsor Plant SynBio Australia) with Zeinab Ghasemzadeh.

Best Long Presentation: Wine and Beverage Science
Jason Able and Christopher Ford (ARCTC IWP) with winner Song Yan.

Best questioners
Jason Able and Christopher Ford (ARCTC IWP) with winners Alex Seward and Nicole Crowhurst

Best Long Presentation: Transforming Agriculture
Jason Able and Nic Kentish (left, from sponsor Ag Institute Australia SA Branch) with winner Rebecca Stevens.