Rate My Professor Owen Atkin

Owen Atkin, Professor of Plant Ecophysiology in Biology at the Australian National University (ANU), has a distinguished career in plant physiology. He completed his BSc (Hons) in Botany at ANU in 1987 and PhD in Plant Science at the University of Toronto in 1993. Postdoctoral positions followed at Utrecht University (EU Fellowship, 1993-1995) and ANU (ARC Fellowship, 1996-1999). He was a faculty member at the University of York's Biology Department from 1999-2008, returning to ANU in 2008 where he secured an ARC Future Fellowship (2009) and was promoted to Professor (2010). Key appointments include Chief Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Energy Biology (2014-2021); Head, Division of Plant Sciences, Research School of Biology (2017); Vice Chancellor's Entrepreneurial Professor and Director, Centre for Entrepreneurial Agri-Technology (CEAT, ANU-CSIRO collaboration, 2019-present); Director, ANU Australian Plant Phenomics Facility node (2022-2023); and Director, ANU Agrifood Innovation Institute (2024-present).

Professor Atkin's research examines environmental influences, particularly temperature gradients, on plant carbon metabolism, encompassing respiration, photosynthesis, and heat tolerance. Approaches integrate controlled environment studies, field research across global biomes, molecular analyses, and modeling collaborations with UK and US groups to enhance terrestrial biosphere simulations. Focus areas include respiratory responses in crops (wheat, rice) and ecosystems, informing breeding for energy efficiency and climate resilience. Prominent works include "Thermal acclimation and the dynamic response of plant respiration to temperature" (Trends in Plant Science, 2003), "The crucial role of plant mitochondria in orchestrating drought tolerance" (Annals of Botany, 2009), "Plant respiration in a changing world" (New Phytologist, 2010), "Global variability in leaf respiration in relation to climate, plant functional types and leaf traits" (New Phytologist, 2015), and co-authorship on the TRY global plant trait database (Global Change Biology, 2011 and 2020). Since 2007, he has been an Editor for New Phytologist and has presented numerous invited lectures at major conferences, such as the European Geosciences Union and New Phytologist Workshops.