Hill, Robert S., Professor (1954 - )

Bob Hill is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Adelaide and is also Head of Science at the South Australian Museum. His nomination for the Clark Medal in 2002 read:

Professor Hill has had a profound impact on the study of Botany in this country. He has been instrumental in raising the profile of modern botanical studies through his own research which is of the highest international standard, through the training of numerous honours and postgraduate students, many of whom now hold botanical research positions in their own right, and through his distinguished service to botanical societies, organisations and government agencies.

"Importantly, Professor Hill's botanical research has made significant contributions to the areas of palaeobotany, plant systematics, plant ecophysiology and the application of research from these areas to interpreting changes that have occurred to the Australian flora through evolutionary time. His research has been recognised at the highest scientific levels, but most recently by the award of an Australian Research Council Senior Research Fellowship."

Bob has had a lifetime interest in the evolution of the vegetation of Australia and Antarctica. He has published more than 125 refereed journal papers, 35 book chapters, several symposium papers and has edited or co-edited four books, including The History of the Australian Vegetation (Cambridge University Press), Ecology of the Southern Conifers (Melbourne University Press), The Ecology and Biogeography of Nothofagus Forests (Yale University Press), and Vegetation of Tasmania (Australian Biological Resources Study).

He is President and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Biology and a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. His current research interest is the adaptation of the Australian vegetation to increasing aridity during the last 30 million years, and he is developing a research program on the impact of fire on the Australian vegetation during the same time period.

Bob is best known for his research on the fossil history of the southern beech, Nothofagus, and the southern conifers. His research on the fossil history of Nothofagus has been critical in refining our understanding of its evolution and biogeography.

Source: from ASBS Newsletter No.115, June 2003, Adapted from a press release: Monday, March 24, 2003