The University of Western Australia

W/Prof Tony O'Donnell

Dean/Winthrop Professor
Faculties of Science

Contact details

Address

Faculties of Science
The University of Western Australia (M264)
35 Stirling Highway
CRAWLEY WA 6009
Australia

Phone

6488 8703

Fax

6488 8709

Email

tony.odonnell@uwa.edu.au

Biography

Professor O'Donnell commenced his appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences in August 2008. He has previously served as the sub-Dean and Head of the Graduate School in the Faculty of Agriculture and Biological Sciences at Newcastle University, and was the Director of the Institute for Research in Environment and Sustainability. Tony O’Donnell was also a Professor in Soil Microbiology and Molecular Ecology at Newcastle University, and he obtained his PhD in 1979 from the University of Bristol.

Key research

Soils are complex, multi-organism systems that are becoming amenable to analysis through the expansion of post-genomic technologies into environmental genomics. In the last ten years, the importance of microorganisms in maintaining a sustainable biosphere has been widely recognised. This has resulted in a surge of activity in environmental microbiology, and the development of novel technologies to better interrogate the role of microorganisms in soil.

Professor O’Donnell has used these techniques to investigate gene:environment interactions in a range of systems, including agricultural soils and contaminated land. More recently, together with Thailand and India, he has been developing a research programme in bioenergy based around Jatropha and the conversion of municipal waste to biogas. Central to Professor O'Donnell's research is the need to understand the functional consequences of the interactions between biological complexity (eg, bacteria, fungi, nematodes etc.) and between these components and management of the abiotic soil environment.

Previous positions

Professor O’Donnell has served on the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grants board for Plant and Microbial Sciences and Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Panel. He has also sat on the Natural Environment Research Council research advisory panel for the Centres for Ecology and Hydrology (Biodiversity panel).

Internationally, he has chaired the grants board of the Finnish Academy of Sciences and holds adjunct Professorships in Thailand and Brazil. He has strong research interests in SE Asia and has led training workshops and UK trade missions in Thailand, Malaysia and Korea.

Research profile

Research profile and publications