Anthony Trewavas facts for kids

Anthony James Trewavas (born in 1939) is a respected scientist. He is known for his work in plant physiology and molecular biology. He is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Edinburgh. Professor Trewavas is especially famous for his research into how plants behave and respond to their surroundings.

Early Life and Education

Anthony Trewavas was born in London in 1939. He went to John Roans Grammar School. After school, he studied at University College London. There, he earned both his first degree and his PhD in Biochemistry. His PhD research looked at how plants use phosphate. He also studied how plant growth hormones affect plants like Avena (oats).

Career Highlights

After finishing his PhD, Professor Trewavas did more research. He worked at the new University of East Anglia. In 1970, he moved to the University of Edinburgh. He became a Professor of Plant Biochemistry there in 1990. He held this position until 2004.

In 1972, he was invited to be a Visiting Professor. This was at a top plant research lab in Michigan State University. This lab was considered the best for plant studies at that time. He also visited other universities in America and Europe. He often gave many lectures during these visits. Professor Trewavas has written about 250 scientific papers. He has also written or edited three books. He became a Professor Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh in 2004. This means he retired but still holds an honorary title.

Amazing Plant Research

Professor Trewavas's main research explores plant behavior. This is simply how plants react to problems or changes in their environment. He led a group at Edinburgh that studied how calcium helps plants send signals. These signals are important for how plants grow and develop.

While he did a lot of work on tiny plant parts, his real passion was how whole plants behave. In 1972, he read a book about systems theory. This idea changed how he saw biology. It suggested that living things are made of many connected systems. These connections create new and surprising properties in plants and animals.

At the time, most scientists focused on breaking things down into tiny parts. So, Trewavas's new ideas were very different. Some people even made fun of his articles. But he kept going, inspired by another famous scientist, Barbara McClintock. He mentions her often in his 2014 book, Plant Behaviour and Intelligence.

Professor Trewavas has also been on the editorial boards of several science magazines. These include Trends in Plant Science and Plant Physiology.

Sharing Ideas with Parliament

In 2013, Professor Trewavas shared his ideas with the UK Parliament. He gave written evidence to a special committee. He talked about important scientific topics. He explained the difference between guessing and making a good prediction. He also stressed why scientists should be skeptical and test ideas carefully. He discussed how hard it is to test climate models. He also questioned if carbon dioxide (CO₂) always causes temperature increases, or if it can be the other way around. He concluded that if there isn't complete certainty, laws based on those ideas should be looked at again.

Awards and Honours

Professor Trewavas has received many important awards. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1993. He also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1995. In 1999, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a very high honour for scientists in the UK. He is also a member of the Academia Europaea. In 1999, he received a special award from the American Society of Plant Biologists. This award is given to only one non-US biologist each year. He is recognized as one of the most cited authors in plant and animal sciences. This means his work is often referred to by other scientists.