Robert Furbank

Robert Furbank is a Professor and Centre Director at the Australian National University (ANU), leading the ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis. He specializes in enhancing crop yields through improving photosynthesis and abiotic stress tolerance in cereals like wheat and rice. His work spans plant phenomics, genetic manipulation, and high-throughput phenotyping techniques. He co-leads the C4 Rice Consortium, aiming to introduce C4 photosynthesis into rice to boost productivity. Furbank holds a BSc (Hons) from the University of Wollongong (1979) and a PhD from ANU (1982). He has received prestigious awards, including the Queen Elizabeth II Research Fellowship (1987) and the CSIRO Plant Industry Leadership Award (2014).

Research interests include C3/C4 photosynthesis mechanisms, carbon allocation, and developing tools for plant phenomics. He collaborates internationally with organizations like CIMMYT and IRRI, focusing on translational research to bridge experimental findings with crop improvement. His recent projects address heat tolerance in wheat and satellite-based phenotyping for crop analysis.

• Education:
• Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours), University of Wollongong, 1979
• PhD, Australian National University, 1982

Research Highlights: Combining molecular genetics and phenomics to understand genetic variation in photosynthesis; developing CO2-concentrating mechanisms in rice; improving wheat yield via high-throughput measurement tools.

• Awards:
• Queen Elizabeth II Research Fellowship (1987)
• ACT ICT Innovation Award (2013)
• CSIRO Plant Industry Leadership Award (2014)

Grants and Collaborations: Leads major initiatives like the ARC Centre and participates in global consortia such as the International Wheat Yield Partnership. His work integrates advanced imaging and machine learning for crop trait prediction.