|
PROFESSOR
RICHARD MARK BATEMAN
Job
Title: Keeper of Botany
Appointed in November 1999, following a series of
transfers between posts at approximately three-year intervals
over a 22-year research career that began as a laboratory
technician. These jobs, beginning with the most recent,
covered the following:
|
 |
Director
of Science at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Head of Phylogeny
and Palaeobotany at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and National
Museums of Scotland, NERC Advanced Research Fellow in the Departments
of Geology and Botany at Oxford University and Royal Society/ESUC
Lindemann Research Fellow in the Paleobiology Department of the
Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, where he studied fossil
plant phylogeny and evolutionary theory. He pursued his palaeobotanical
doctoral research and both his part-time undergraduate degrees
through the 1980s while based in or around London during Ken Livingstone's
entertaining first reign.
The
job involves initially, exploring the many byzantine aspects
of an exceptionally complex organisation with the aim of understanding
(and perhaps even helping to simplify) them, while trying to avoid
the Museum's special home-grown brand of political banana-skins.
Renewing old friendships and getting to know many fascinating
new colleagues. Looking for ways to allow Botany staff to express
their many skills more effectively, and increasing research and
curatorial focus, without decreasing increasingly essential external
income. More pragmatically, fielding 40-50 e-mails, several memos
and several formal and informal meetings per day. Trying to compose
credible answers to at least a few of these diverse challenges
while standing in a sardine-packed District Line tube somewhere
between the Museum and home (Kew).
Interested
in Botany since he was handed over a Bradford garden fence
by his mother to their then horticulturally-inclined neighbour
at the age of 18 months and promptly uttered his second ever word,
which was "Mesembryanthemum" (His mother insists this story
is true and that his first ever word was "mummy". Forty years
on, his father still refuses to comment!) Receiving the legacy
of a six foot by four foot greenhouse from his grandfather at
the age of 13 prompted a rapid expansion of interest in horticulture
in general and tropical orchids in particular. His switch to temperate
orchids (which rapidly led to a string of amateur scientific publications)
was prompted by the destruction of his plant collection by a virulent
strain of tobacco mosaic virus in his early 20s. However, professionally
it took him another 20 years to gradually move from mineralogical
research through palaeobotany to neobotany.
Botanical
loves: Any plant group he has studied in the past, notably
orchids and clubmosses (he studied them because he loves them!)
and his partner, Kew plant anatomist Paula Rudall.
Botanical
hates: Zoologically-focused evolutionary theorists who think
that they understand plants and botanically-focused geneticists
who cannot recognise a plant; also over-bred horticultural hybrids
of any plant family.
|
SARAH
DARWIN
Job
Title: Research Assistant
Appointed
in April 2000, on a one year contract. Sarah graduated
with a first class honours degree in Botany at Reading University
in July 1999. Prior to this she was working as a botanical
illustrator.
|
 |
The
job involves looking at the possibility that hybridisation
is occurring between the endemic Galapagos tomato - Solanum
cheesmaniae - and feral domestic tomatoes; as well as the
population genetics of the endemic species. The work has been
generously funded by the Hubbard Foundation. She is working with
Sandy Knapp and Johannes Vogel at the NHM and also will be carrying
out molecular analyses with Jim Mallet at University College London.
The
work will involve finding and collecting tomato plants from the
Galapagos Islands - both the endemic tomatoes, of which there
are two subspecies and the cultivated species. Collections will
include herbarium specimens, to be housed in Ecuadorian herbaria
and at the NHM and also seeds. Plants will be assessed in the
field for a number of morphological characters before collection.
The field work will be done in collaboration with Alan Tye, the
Head Botanist at the Estacion Cientifica Charles Darwin in Galapagos.
Plants will be grown on from the collected seeds at the Chelsea
Physic Garden in London, then morphological, allozyme and DNA
analyses will be undertaken.
Interested in Botany since: since growing plants from the
age of nine years old. While some of her friends had pets such
as goldfish or hamsters, Sarah had 'Avo' and 'Cado'.
Botanical
loves: Araucariaceae - the monkey puzzle tree family.
Botanical
hates: invasive plants.
|
INGRID
JÜTTNER
Job
Title: Marie-Curie Research Fellow
Appointed
in February 2000 for two years. Ingrid was previously a
Research Officer at National Research Centre for Environment
and Health, Munich, Germany, 1990-1992: Research in Aquatic
Ecotoxicology - pesticides in aquatic ecosystems.
|
 |
Research
Assistant at Technical University of Munich, Germany (PhD-project),
1992-1995: Research in paleolimnology - acidification of lakes
in the Black Forest, Germany. Postdoctoral Research Associate
at Cardiff University (1995-1997): Research in Phycology (Himalayan
Diatoms) and Ornithology (Wales, Nepal). Research Officer at National
Research Centre for Environment and Health, Munich, Germany, 1997-1999:
Research in Aquatic Ecotoxicology - endocrine disrupters in aquatic
ecosystems. The job involves research in the ecology, taxonomy
and biogeography of Himalayan diatoms: assessment of diatom biodiversity
and community pattern in streams (collection from field surveys)
and autecology of selected taxa (laboratory experiments).
Interested
in Botany since 1984
Botanical loves: diatoms, marine macroalgae, higher plants
Botanical hates: nothing
|
