Colleagues, collaborators, students and friends from across the Waite campus came together to celebrate Professor Steve Tyerman’s career at an event to mark his retirement on Friday 19 October.
After completing a plant science degree and PhD at the University of Sydney. After a postdoc in Julich, Germany Steve obtained ARC fellowships at Flinders University where he stayed as a teaching and research academic for some 18 years.
Steve has been at Waite since 2001 when he was appointed Chair of Viticulture at the University of Adelaide. He has been the Head of the Department of Plant Science in the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine and led the Adelaide node of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology.
His interests have always been in understanding the processes underpinning water and ion transport in plants. He has received several awards for his plant physiology research including the prestigious Peter Goldacre Award from the Australian Society of Plant Scientists and was elected as a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2003.
Chris Ford, Roger Leigh and Matt Gilliham all shared stories from their years working with Steve and his many career achievements. Of particular mention were his hands-on approach to research and experimental work, his willingness to collaborate, and the many students and early career researchers he has taught and mentored over the years.
Steve assured the crowd that retirement would not mean an end to his research career, but would free up his time to continue work on research projects.
So happy (non) retirement Steve, from everyone at the Waite!
