Graham Farquhar receives Kyoto Prize in Japan

Publication date
Tuesday, 14 Nov 2017
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Distinguished scientist Dr Graham Farquhar AO has received the Kyoto Prize in Japan as part of an official ceremony for this year's winners.

The Kyoto Prize is the most prestigious international award for fields not traditionally honoured with a Nobel Prize.

Dr Farquhar from the ANU Research School of Biology won the 2017 Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences for his life's work in plant biophysics and photosynthesis, which has involved research on water-efficient crops and the impacts of climate change.

He has helped develop new water-efficient varieties of wheat, improved global food security, and found evaporation and wind speeds are slowing as the climate changes.

Dr Farquhar is the first Australian to win a Kyoto Prize.

It is the second honour for Dr Farquhar in the past fortnight, who was also awarded ACT Senior Australian of the Year.