Having worked in research and senior management positions with the CGIAR system in Mexico [CIMMYT], Peru [CIP] and Taiwan [AVRDC] I have a holistic grasp of the issues facing the future of global agriculture and horticulture, and my opinions and input are sought widely, including by the CGIAR, DFID, USAID and the USDA where I have undertaken Programme and Consortium reviews.

Since arriving in Australia in 1995 I held until 2015 an appointment as Foundation Professor of Plant Science at CQUniversity in Australia where I researchee agronomy and physiology of new crop species, urban agriculture, crop resource use efficiency, solid and liquid waste management and abatement of pollution, sensing technologies and innovations in irrigation amongst others.

In early 2010 I relocated to the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development at the University of Reading as a Visiting Professor, from where I remotely ran the CQUniversity Centre for Plant and Water Science, and taught and engaged with students and proposal development in both Australia and the UK.

Since retiring in 2016, I have maintained contact with CQUniversity, publishing with staff, supervising students and still engaging in some project activities. I live in, and teach remotely from, Mexico to the UK on courses relating to irrigation, sustainable intensification and urban agriculture.

University of Reading, UK

Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Canada.

University of Reading, UK.

• University of Reading (UK) - BSc.Agricultural Botany (First Class Hons)
• University of Reading (UK) - Ph.D. Agricultural Botany
• Two years and one half (1973-1975) as Crop Physiologist at CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Mexico).
• Three years (1976-1979) as Agronomist/Crop Physiologist at the West Indies Central Sugar Cane Breeding Station, Barbados.
• Eleven years (1979-1990) as Physiologist in the Physiology Department and Coordinator of the research at the International Potato Center (CIP) Peru on adaptation of the potato to the hot humid tropics.
• One intercalated year (July 1987-July 1988) as Visiting Scholar at Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Dalhousie University, Canada.
• One year (Oct.1988-Dec.1989) replacing the Head of CIP Physiology Department, while on sabbatical leave.
• Five years (1990-1995) as Director of Production Systems Program of the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC) Taiwan.
• Twenty years as Foundation Professor of Plant Sciences at Central Queensland University, Rockhampton leading the Plant Sciences Research Group of the Primary Industries Research Centre, subsequently the Centre for Plant and Water Science.
• Move to part-time appointment at beginning of 2010, living in the UK and with an office at the University of Reading [UK], where I am, since 2010 a Visiting Professor in the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development.
• Emeritus Professor, since 2016
• Currently living in Mexico since late 2017.
  
  

                                                   Associate Editor for Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology

                                                   Editorial Board for Experimental Agriculture,

                                                   Editorial Advisory Board for Crop Physiology Abstracts,

                                                   Regional Advisory Committee for Grains Research Foundation,

                                                   International Foundation for Science Advisor,

                                                   Tropical Agriculture Association,

                                                   Association of Applied Biologists,

                                                   British Ecological Society,

                                                   Society of Experimental Biologists,

                                                   Asian and Latin American Potato Associations,

                                                   International Society for Tropical Root Crops,

                                                   International Society for Horticultural Science,

                                                   Australian Society for Horticultural Science,

                                                   Haslemere Natural History Society,

• Some of these are still current.
• Director, Centre for Plant and Water Science
• Professor within the School of Medical and Applied Sciences
• Associate Editor, Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology
• Member of Editorial Boards of Experimental Agriculture, and Crop Physiology Abstracts
• Scientific Advisor for International Foundation for Science
• Adjunct Professor, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, The University of Georgia , Athens , Georgia , USA
• Visiting Professor, University of Reading, UK

• Major personal emphasis on sustainable resource management as it relates to agriculture and horticulture.
• Catchment scale erosion studies, and links with economics and policy.
• Enhanced water use efficiency in irrigated and rain-fed cropping systems, re-use of ‘waste' water at the household and community level, and development of cropping systems for optimum water use.
• Ecological services of grazing and cropping systems.
• Demand chains for minor crops, with a focus on Asian vegetables, natural sweeteners, minor use of pesticides, integrated pest management.
• Bamboo agronomy and utilization.
• Land reclamation following polluting activities.
• Urban and peri-urban agriculture.
• Agricultural development (with emphasis on SE Asia).
• Modelling of within-plant competition for nutrients and impacts on development.
  

My research has led to the adoption of new crops in Australia and to improved production practices in a number of tropical developing countries world-wide. Based on my research I have published more that 200 refereed journal articles, and over 150 published reports, magazine contributions and book chapters, and supervised more than 40 Masters and PhD students