Rate My Professor Mark Westoby

Mark Westoby is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences within the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University, Sydney, where he joined as a Lecturer in 1975 and progressed through key appointments including Personal Chair in 1990, ARC Laureate Fellow and Distinguished Professor from 2010, and Emeritus Professor from 2017. He earned his B.Sc. (Hons) in Ecological Science from the University of Edinburgh in 1970 and Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from Utah State University in 1973. Early career positions encompassed Research Assistant in the US/IBP Desert Biome Modelling Group (1970-1973) and Research Associate with Dr. D. Pimentel at Cornell University (1973-1974). Westoby led the Macquarie University Genes to Geoscience Research Centre from 2005 to 2016, convened the ARC-NZ Research Network for Vegetation Function from 2005 to 2010, and organized annual national postgraduate short courses in ecology and evolution from 2001 to 2012, training hundreds of students. He supervised 47 PhD and postgraduate students who advanced to academic and research careers, including notable figures such as David Haig, Lesley Hughes, Ian Wright, and Angela Moles.

Westoby's research in evolutionary ecology has profoundly influenced plant ecology worldwide, pioneering measurable functional traits to quantify ecological strategies. He developed the leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant strategy scheme, contributed to the leaf economic spectrum linking leaf traits to growth trajectories, and proposed the state-and-transition model for vegetation dynamics, now required by U.S. Congress for federal rangeland management. With over 300 publications cited more than 100,000 times and an h-index surpassing 100, prominent works include 'Plant ecological strategies: Some leading dimensions of variation between species' (Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 2002) and 'Land-plant ecology on the basis of functional traits' (Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2006). He has served on editorial boards for Oecologia (2001-2005), American Naturalist (2001-2005), and Trends in Ecology & Evolution (1987-1992), chaired the Australian Academy of Science's National Committee for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (2013-2015), and held directorships including the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (2009-2016). Major awards include the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology (2021, shared), inaugural Ralph Slatyer Medal (2017), NSW Scientist of the Year (2014), Australian Laureate Fellowship (2011-2015), Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science (2009), Clarke Medal (2005), and Ecological Society of Australia Gold Medal (2003).