ROBERT NORTON JOINS STAFF OF IPNI AS PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND

ROBERT NORTON JOINS STAFF OF IPNI AS PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND

September 1, 2009 – Norcross, Georgia, USA – Dr. Robert M. Norton is joining the staff of the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) as Director for Australia and New Zealand, effective October 1, 2009. He is based at Horsham, Victoria, Australia and will establish a program of agronomic research and education for IPNI, a not-for-profit, science-based organization.

“This announcement marks a significant milestone in our progress at the Institute and we are very pleased that Rob Norton has accepted this opportunity to extend our efforts in this key region,” said IPNI President Dr. Terry L. Roberts. “With his well established and respected record of achievement in agronomic research, teaching, and administration, Dr. Norton can make this transition in stride. We have great expectations and this new role will fit his talents.”

For the past 28 years, Dr. Norton has worked in a wide range of responsibilities in the Melbourne School of Land and Environment at the University of Melbourne. His recent research has looked at incorporating elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂) responses into estimates of climate change impacts on the Australian grains industry using information from the Australian Grains Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) project he established and led. He also has considerable experience in soil and fertilizer use, oilseed agronomy, crop water use, alternative grain crops, and farming systems.

Dr. Norton has authored more than 60 refereed articles, as well as another 100 conference papers and project reports. He has recently supervised six Ph.D. students, most based at Horsham in western Victoria where he established an agronomy research group in collaboration with the Victoria Department of Primary Industries. He is also the Australia coordinator of a FACE project in Beijing, China, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS).

A native of Australia, Dr. Norton earned his B.Agr.Sc. in 1975 and Dip. Ed. in 1976, both at Melbourne University. He was awarded the Ph.D. degree in 1993 at La Trobe University. His main areas of expertise include: soil and plant nutrition, especially nitrogen management for grain crops; field crop agronomy, particularly canola; farming systems development, with emphasis on new crops; and crop responses to high CO₂ environments. Dr. Norton has considerable international experience, with professional visits to Canada, China, Denmark, Spain, Italy, and the USA. He has also hosted scientists from numerous countries.

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