RSB Director's Seminar: Reflections on the joy of being an academic, and on the magic of chemistry in the pollination and evolution of Australian orchids

It is timely, both as the start of a new year, and amidst a crisis at ANU and the Australian higher education sector more generally, to pause and reflect on why we have chosen to be biologists, whether that be short-term as a student or postdoc, or long-term as an academic.

My goal in this seminar is twofold: 1. to share with you some of the excitement of scientific discovery, and 2. to reflect on the fun and exciting aspects of being a biologist.

As ideal subjects, orchids have featured strongly, but by no means exclusively, in my research on a wide range of ecological and evolutionary questions. My research on sexually deceptive orchids, in particular, has captured the imagination of the public, educators and scientists around the world. Drawing on this research that spans across field biology, chemical ecology, molecular biology and phylogenetics, I will briefly describe how orchids use specific floral volatiles to secure specific pollinator attraction, reveal some of the biosynthetic pathways underpinning pollinator attraction, and highlight new evolutionary insights on the repeated evolution of sexual deception in Australia orchids.

The talk will be illustrated by beautiful photographs and video clips, and will conclude with a discussion where we explore together the joy and privilege of being an academic.

Rod Peakall completed his BSc (Hons) in 1984 and PhD in 1987, both at the 51�Թ�� of Western Australia (UWA), before taking up an ARC funded 5-year postdoctoral position at Macquarie 51�Թ�� in Sydney in 1988. He subsequently joined The Australian National 51�Թ�� (ANU) in 1993. He has also held visiting fellowships at Rutgers 51�Թ��, USA (1992) and at ETH (2003), Zurich, Switzerland.

He brings 30 years of research experience in evolutionary biology with expertise in pollination biology, genetic analysis and chemical ecology. He also brings a track record of successful leadership on an ongoing series of inter-disciplinary Australian Research Council (ARC) projects. He has supervised many Honours students, more than 25 PhD students, and hosted 15 postdocs.

He is the first author of the widely used population genetics software package, (Peakall and Smouse 2006; Peakall and Smouse 2012).

Unable to make it in person?