SUTHERLAND Shire resident Robert Park has received the prestigious Clarke Medal from the Royal Institute of Australia for his work in saving the world's crops from fungal parasites.
Professor Park, 57, is a leading expert in the research of rust control in cereals. He received the award for his research into food security, particularly crop protection.
The Clarke Medal has been awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales since 1878 for meritorious contributions to the areas of geology, mineralogy and natural history of Australasia.
Previous recipients include Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson.
Professor Park received the award in recognition of his more than 30 years' work in crop protection research.
He sees the protection of crops as particularly urgent as the international demand for wheat is predicted to increase by more than 1.5 per cent a year up to 2020.
Professor Park was recently appointed to the Judith and David Coffey Chair in Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Sydney Plant Breeding Institute.
He leads the Australian Cereal Rust Research Program, heading a team of 20 scientists at the CSIRO, University of Adelaide and in Mexico.
His research involves the control of rust in wheat using environmentally sustainable methods.
"The rusts are a group of fungal parasites that are of particularly high biosecurity concern because of their ability to develop explosively in crops and to spread rapidly," he said.
"Rust-infected spores can be blown across thousands of kilometres and are known to have spread on wind currents from southern Africa to Australia.
"A single epidemic of stem rust in wheat in Australia in 1973 caused $300 million in damage. This would be in excess of $1 billion in today's prices."
Professor Park's work takes him to many countries including China, Kenya, Ethiopia, South America, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
He completed a PhD in plant pathology at La Trobe University in 1984. He was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt research award in Germany in 1995 and a Fulbright Senior Scholarship to the United States in 2010.
In recognition of his work in China, he was awarded the Friendship Award of China in 2009 — the highest honour the Chinese government bestows on foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to the country.