Professor David Baulcombe FRS to be new Professor of Botany

The Department is pleased to announce the election of Professor David Baulcombe FRS, as the new Professor of Botany with effect from 1 September 2007. Professor Baulcombe, is currently a Senior Research Scientist at the Sainsbury Laboratory, John Innes Centre in Norwich Trained as a botanist, his research interests are in the area of plant gene expression generally. As a result of his studies of expressing viral genes in plants, he established the role of small RNAs in RNA silencing, a mechanism for regulation of gene expression that is universal (see an interview).

Professor Baulcombe has been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards in recognition of his work, including the Massry Prize from the Massry Foundation, University of Southern California in 2005 and the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Science from the Wiley Foundation, Rockefeller University, both shared with Craig Mello and Andrew Fire. He was elected to the Royal Society in 2001, and as a foreign associate member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) in 2005.

Science Week roundup

Science week was a huge success, attracting large numbers of attendees on Saturday 17 March. Some photos are available here:

• Mushrooms growing on a toilet roll


• Searching for nectar


• CSI Botanic Garden


• Explaining the science 1


• Explaining the science 2

Dr Clifford Evans passes away

It is with sadness that we learn of the passing of Dr Clifford Evans, a former stalwart of the Botany School from 1937 to 1979, and reported by St John's on the 22nd September as follows:

Dr George Clifford Evans, M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D., Fellow of St John's College 1938-2006, sometime Bursar in Charge of College Buildings, and Emeritus Reader in Experimental Ecology, died on 12 September 2006, aged 93 years.
His reputation was founded on highly original work on light interception in forest understories and the pioneering the use fisheye lens photography to characterise sunflecks. His book, Quantitative analysis of Plant Growth (1972) brought widespread recognition to rigorous methods required for growth analysis, a long standing Departmental tradition.

The funeral was on Monday October 2nd at St Peter's Church, Coton.

What Makes Nature's Clock Tick

What Makes Nature's Clocks Tick (a Daily Telegraph article)
Dr Alex Webb is part of a European project to delve into nature's clock

Some bumblebees like it hot

Some bumblebees like it hot
Bumblebees prefer warmer flowers and can learn to use colour to predict floral temperature before landing, a new study reports.

National Fellowship for outstanding contribution

Dr Keith Johnstone, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Plant Sciences, has won a national award for his part in improving teaching and learning across the biological sciences at the University of Cambridge.
More information here.

Dr Max Walters passes away

There is to be a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Dr Max Walters at Grantchester Parish Church on Sat 3 June 2006 at 2.30 pm. All are welcome.
Obituary by Professor Peter Grubb for the Guardian.