Capacity & Expertise
The Waite employs more than 1,100 of Australia’s best researchers and technical people in a wide range of plant and agriculture-related disciplines.
These disciplines include microbiology, genetics, phenomics, entomology, molecular biology, plant physiology, soil, water, climate and biosecurity specialists, precision agriculture and remote sensing, weed management and others.
Between them, they cover the full spectrum of fundamental to applied research in a wide range of crops and specialisations. If you can’t find the expert you are looking for, call the general enquiries number on our Contact page and we’ll put you in touch with the right group or person.
Capability directory
Agronomy & Farming Systems
- Crop Physiology: Glenn McDonald, The University of Adelaide
- Agronomy: Rhiannon Schilling, SARDI
- Agronomy: Gurjeet Gill, The University of Adelaide
- Agroforestry & Extension: Ian Nuberg, The University of Adelaide
- Legumes and Nitrogen: Matt Denton, The University of Adelaide
- Integrated Agricultural Systems Group: Rick Llewellyn, CSIRO
- Mixed Farming & Cropping Systems: Therese McBeath, CSIRO
Biometry
- Applied Statistics: Olena Kravchuk, The University of Adelaide
- Advanced Statistical modelling: Julian Taylor, The University of Adelaide
- Statistical modelling and programming for genetics of plant breeding: Beata Sznajder, The University of Adelaide
- Software and database development: Mario Fruzangohar, The University of Adelaide
Carbohydrates
- Vincent Bulone, Adelaide Glycomics
Cereals
- Durum Wheat Breeding: Jason Able, The University of Adelaide
- Oat Breeding: Pamela Zwer, Crop Improvement, SARDI
- Cereal agronomy: Rhiannon Schilling, SARDI
- Cereal agronomy: Kenton Porker, SARDI
- Cell Walls: Rachel Burton, The University of Adelaide
- Genetics: Diane Mather, The University of Adelaide
- Genetics: Melissa Garcia, The University of Adelaide
- Salinity Tolerance: Stuart Roy, The University of Adelaide
- Pathology: Tara Garrard, Plant Health & Biosecurity, SARDI
- Eco-Physiology: Victor Sadras, Climate Applications, SARDI
- Wheat Grain Biochemistry, Genetics and Quality: Daryl Mares, The University of Adelaide
Environment and Sustainability
- Life Cycle Analysis: Kieran Hirlam, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Environmental certification (Sustainable Winegrowing Australia ): Mardi Longbottom, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Contaminant Biogeochemistry & Environmental Toxicology: Anu Kumar, CSIRO
- Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry: Jason Kirby, CSIRO
- Emerging Contaminants & Risk Assessment: Rai Kookana, CSIRO
- Managed aquifier recharge, Joanne Vanderzalm, CSIRO
- Wastewater and stormwater recycling: Declan Page & Joanne Vanderzalm, CSIRO
- Environmental Tracers, Noble Gas Laboratory, Geochronology: Axel Suckow, CSIRO
- Environmental Tracers & Applications: Dirk Mallants, CSIRO
- Environmental Tracers & Applications, Groundwater: Sebastien Lamontagnè, CSIRO
- Food Waste: Steven Lapidge, Fight Food Waste CRC
- Ecological monitoring: Ben Sparrow, TERN, The University of Adelaide
- Ecological monitoring: Sally O’Neill, TERN, The University of Adelaide
- Ecological monitoring, Climate change adaption: Greg Guerin, TERN, The University of Adelaide
- Ecological monitoring, restoration Ecology: Nick Gellie: TERN, The Univeristy of Adelaide
- Fish ecology: Brenton Zampatti, CSIRO
- Land & Water Sustainability, research program director: Joanne Chong, CSIRO
Extension
- Winemaking problem-solving, wine education, winemaking and viticulture extension: Con Simos, The Australian Wine Research Institute
Food & Nutrition
- Nutrigenomics: Tina Bianco-Motto, The University of Adelaide
- Functional Foods, Early Life Nutrition and Long-term Health: Jo Zhou, The University of Adelaide
- Food Technology: Andrew Maronich, SARDI
- Food Sciences: Maria Saarela, SARDI, The University of Adelaide
- Food Microbiology: Valeria Torok, SARDI
- Food Waste: Steven Lapidge, Fight Food Waste CRC
Genomics
- Drought tolerance in cereals: Stuart Roy, The University of Adelaide
- Alien introgression, cereal cytogenetics and chromosome engineering: Ian Dundas, University of Adelaide
- Next generation sequencing, Metagenomics: Anthony Borneman, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Bioinfomatics: Michael Roach, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Grape Genomics: Mark Thomas, CSIRO
- Harley Smith, CSIRO
Horticulture
- Almond Breeding: Michelle Wirthensohn, The University of Adelaide
- Eucalypt Breeding: Kate Delaporte, The University of Adelaide
- Native Foods: Carolyn Schultz, The University of Adelaide
- Agricultural resource management: Ian Nuberg, The University of Adelaide
- Wine Grape & Horticulture, Rob Walker, CSIRO
- Grapevine Breeding & Irregular Bearing, Harley Smith, CSIRO
- Almond pathology: Brittany Oswald, SARDI
- Horticulture Pathology: Mark Sosnowski, SARDI
- Diagnostics and biosecurity: Cathryn Todd, SARDI
- Horicultural systems: Tim Pitt, SARDI
Hydrology
- Regional Scale Groundwater Analysis: Russell Crosbie, CSIRO
- Environmental Tracers, Noble Gas Laboratory, Geochronology: Axel Suckow, CSIRO
Insects
- Bees: Katja Hogendoorn, The University of Adelaide
- Bees: Scott Groom, The University of Adelaide
- Insect Behaviour and Ecology: Mike Keller, The University of Adelaide
- Integrated Pest Management: Kym Perry, Entomology, SARDI
- Greg Baker, Entomology, SARDI
- Collective Behaviour: Jerome Buhl, The University of Adelaide
Metabolomics
- Natoiya Lloyd and Markus Herderich: The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Bioinformatics: Luca Nicolotti, The Australian Wine Research Institute
Molecular Genetics
- Molecular genetics for plant breeding – Diane Mather, the University of Adelaide
- Molecular genetics for cereal breeding – Kenneth Chalmers, the University of Adelaide
- Crop Improvement: Tim Sutton, SARDI
- Wine Grape & Horticulture, Rob Walker, CSIRO
- Disease Resistance: Ian Dry, CSIRO
- Grapevine Function: Mandy Walker, CSIRO
- Harley Smith, CSIRO
Natural Resource Management
- Managed aquifier recharge, Joanne Vanderzalm, CSIRO
- Wastewater and stormwater recycling: Declan Page & Joanne Vanderzalm, CSIRO
- Environmental Tracers & Applications: Dirk Mallants, CSIRO
- Environmental Tracers & Applications, Groundwater: Sebastien Lamontagnè, CSIRO
- Ecological monitoring: Ben Sparrow, TERN, The University of Adelaide
- Ecological monitoring: Sally O’Neill, TERN, The University of Adelaide
- Ecological monitoring, Climate change adaption: Greg Guerin, TERN, The University of Adelaide
- Ecological monitoring, restoration Ecology: Nick Gellie: TERN, The Univeristy of Adelaide
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Ecological and socio-economic systems modelling: Martin Nolan and Darran King, CSIRO
Nematology
- Genetics: Diane Mather, The University of Adelaide
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Pastures
- Crop Improvement: Alan Humphries, SARDI
Plant Cell Physiology
- Matt Gilliham, The University of Adelaide
- Ion and water transport: Steve Tyerman, The University of Adelaide
- Plant hormones: Philip Brewer, The University of Adelaide
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Plant ecophysiology and remote sensing: Tanya Doody and Steve Gao, CSIRO
Plant Pathology
- Cereal Diseases: Tara Garrard, SARDI
- Pulse and Oil Seed Diseases: Jenny Davidson, Plant Health & Biosecurity, SARDI
- Soil Diagnostics: Alan McKay, SARDI
- Viruses: Nuredin Habili, AWRI
Plant Phenomics
- Bettina Berger, Australian Plant Phenomics Facility
- Darren Plett, Australian Plant Phenomics Facility
Plant Protection
- Entomology: Jerome Buhl, The University of Adelaide
- Integrated Pest Management: Kym Perry, SARDI
- Quarantine: Pauline Glocke, Plant Health & Biosecurity, SARDI
- Soil-borne diseases: Alan McKay, Soil Biology & Diagnostics, SARDI
- Snails: Helen Brodie, SARDI
Plant Reproductive Biology
- Matt Tucker, The University of Adelaide
- Dabing Zhang, The University of Adelaide/Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- Scott Boden, The University of Adelaide
Precision Agriculture
- Rob Bramley, CSIRO
Pulses
- Improvement: Tim Sutton, Crop Improvement, SARDI
- Pathology: Jenny Davidson, Plant Health & Biosecurity, SARDI
- Faba Bean Breeding, Melissa Garcia, The University of Adelaide
- Agronomy: Penny Roberts, SARDI
Soil Science
- Contamination, fertilisers: Mike McLaughlin, The University of Adelaide
- Ecology: Tim Cavagnaro, The University of Adelaide
- Chemistry: Ron Smernik, The University of Adelaide
- Mixed Farming & Cropping Systems: Therese McBeath, CSIRO
- Organic Matter Characterisation: Jeff Baldock, CSIRO
- Nutrient Cycling: Mark Farrell, CSIRO
- Biological Processes: Lynne MacDonald, CSIRO
- Soil ecology & biological function: Paul Harvey, Gupta Vadakattu, CSIRO
- Agronomy, Soil constraints: Rhiannon Schilling, SARDI
Water
- Irrigation and water use efficiency: Paul Petrie, SARDI
- Wastewater management: Jim Kelly, Arris
- Managed aquifier recharge: Joanne Vanderzalm, CSIRO
- Wastewater and stormwater recycling: Declan Page & Joanne Vanderzalm, CSIRO
- Groundwater dependent ecosystems: Jodie Pritchard and Tanya Doody CSIRO
Weed Science
- Chris Preston, The University of Adelaide
- Rhiannon Schilling, SARDI
- Gurjeet Gill, The University of Adelaide
- Peter Boutsalis, The University of Adelaide
Wine Chemistry
- Aroma, flavour and phenolic compounds, tannins: David Jeffery, The University of Adelaide
- Grape berry metabolism of acids: Chris Ford, The University of Adelaide
- Oak-derived flavours, ‘green’ characters, smoke taint chemistry: Kerry Wilkinson, The University of Adelaide
- Flavour and aroma Chemistry: Leigh Francis, Markus Herderich, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Analytical chemistry, natural products chemistry, oenology: Markus Herderich, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Sulfur chemistry, pheromones: Marlize Bekker, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Polyphenols, proteins, polysaccharides: Keren Bindon, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Colloids, surfaces, materials, particle mesurements: Agnieszka Mierczynska-Vasilev, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Metals, Authenticity: Eric Wilkes, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Authenticity: Martin Day, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Flavour & Aroma, Paul Boss, CSIRO
Wine Microbiology and Fermentation
- Yeast development: Vladimir Jiranek, The University of Adelaide
- Winery wastewater: Paul Grbin, The University of Adelaide
- Microbial genetics, next-genome sequencing: Anthony Borneman, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Yeast nutrition: Simon Schmidt, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Wine production microbiology: Amy Rinaldo, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Wine Microorganism Culture collection: Simon Dillon, The Australian Wine Research Institute
Wine Sensory
- Quantitative descriptive analysis, wine quality assessments, multivariate data analysis, consumer testing: Leigh Francis, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Sue Bastian, The University of Adelaide
- Kerry Wilkinson, The University of Adelaide
- David Jeffery, The University of Adelaide
Wine Supply Chain
- Winery engineering: Richard Muhlack, The University of Adelaide
- Winemaking technologies, winery refrigeration, wine transport, lees management, tank design: Simon Nordestgaard, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Sensors, packaging solutions: Neil Scrimgeour, The Australian Wine Research Institute
Viticulture
- Grapevine physiology, adaptation to climate warming: Steve Tyerman, The University of Adelaide
- Grapevine ecophysiology, advanced sensing technologies: Vinay Pagay, The University of Adelaide
- Fruit quality, vine balance: Cassandra Collins, School of Agriculture, Food & Wine, The University of Adelaide
- Grapevine Physiology: Everard Edwards, CSIRO
- Wine Grape & Horticulture: Rob Walker, CSIRO
- Precision Agriculture: Rob Bramley, CSIRO
- Berry Development: Chris Davies, CSIRO
- Disease Resistance: Ian Dry, CSIRO
- Grapevine Function: Mandy Walker, CSIRO
- Flavour & Aroma: Paul Boss, CSIRO
- Genomics: Mark Thomas, CSIRO
- Breeding & Meristem Function: Harley Smith, CSIRO
- Greenhouse gas emissions from viticulture, viticulture extension: Mardi Longbottom, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Agrochemicals, viticulture extension: Marcel Essling, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Quality markers: Keren Bindon, The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Climate research: Peter Hayman, Climate Applications, SARDI
- Grapevine Trunk disease: Mark Sosnowski, SARDI
- Vine Resilience: Paul Petrie, SARDI