Allen Kerr (biologist) facts for kids
Allen Kerr is a famous Australian biologist who was born in Scotland. He studied plants and became a professor at the University of Adelaide. His most important work was about a plant disease called crown gall. This disease is like cancer for plants. It is caused by a tiny germ called Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
About Allen Kerr
Allen Kerr was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on May 21, 1926. He went to the University of Edinburgh and earned a science degree.
From 1947 to 1951, he worked as an Assistant Mycologist. This means he helped study fungi at the North of Scotland College of Agriculture.
Later, from 1951 to 1980, he worked at the University of Adelaide in Australia. He started as a Lecturer and became a Reader in Plant Pathology. Plant Pathology is the study of plant diseases.
He also held important roles in science societies:
- From 1978 to 1983, he was the Vice-President of the International Society for Plant Pathology.
- From 1980 to 1983, he was the President of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society.
In 1978, he became a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. This is a special honor for top scientists in Australia. In 1986, he was also chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is one of the oldest and most respected science groups in the world.
In 1990, Allen Kerr received the first-ever Australia Prize. This award recognized his amazing work in plant genetics and biology.
After that, he became the Head of the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Adelaide in 1990. In 1991, he became the Head of the Department of Crop Protection at the same university.
Allen Kerr celebrated his 90th birthday in 2016.
Awards and Honors
Allen Kerr has received many important awards for his work:
- 1978 - Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
- 1978 - Walter Buffitt Prize of the Royal Society of New South Wales
- 1982 - Ruth Allen Award of the American Phytopathological Society
- 1986 - Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
- 1990 - Inaugural Australia Prize
- 1991 - Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences
- 1991 - Elvin Charles Stackman Award of the University of Minnesota
- 1992 - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)
- 1995 - Fellow of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society
- 1996 - Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society
- 2001 - Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology
