Adrian John GIBBS
7 Hutt St,
Yarralumla, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone
+61 2 62816971; 0418 489677
adrian_j_gibbs@hotmail.com
I wasted the first five years of my retirement believing that I should try, with two other colleagues, to produce a project of commercial value to the world in general and ANU in particular. How misguided we were. After five years of being surrounded by thieves and bullies, we abandoned the project, despite its promise. Since then, with indispensable help from the ANUEF and two colleagues in Japan (Saga and Kurashiki), I have published 45 multi-author peer-reviewed papers on various aspects of virus evolution – some of them the most interesting in my career, and all listed in an ANUEF eTexts CV: https://emeritus.anu.edu.au/publications/e-texts
For many years my wife and I had worked as balloon crew for one of our sons, so in 1995 et. seq. I trained as a balloon pilot, and we had great fun flying our own balloon at various places in Australia until 2005. The climax was, perhaps, two flights over Wilpena Pound.
Our major activities now are:
- keeping each other alive;
- doing good deeds, especially for grandchildren;
- helping Nik Fominas with eTexts for ANUEF;
- attending all ANUEF talks, and other public talks on science related topics;
- writing an occasional Lett2Ed on science-related matters
- helping Sustainable Population Australia, Nature and Science Forum and other Quixotic enterprises;
- maintaining a sense of humour.
Curriculum Vitae
Born: February 15, 1934
in London, U.K. Nationality: Australian and British.
Family:
wife Patricia Ann Gibbs; three adult sons and six grandchildren.
Education and professional appointments:
Secondary
education: King's College, Taunton, Somerset, U.K.
Tertiary
education: Imperial College of Science and Technology (Royal College
of Science), University of London, U.K. 1956: B.Sc. 1st Class Hons.
Botany, Associate of the Royal College of Science, Forbes Memorial Medallist:
1961 Ph.D. (London); 1993. Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
1956-66
Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, U.K.; Agricultural Research
Council Scholar; Scientific Officer and Senior Scientific Officer.
1966-70
John Curtin School of Medical Research, A.N.U.; Research Fellow and
Senior Research Fellow;Visiting Fellow 2000-2001.
1970-71
Rothamsted Experimental Station; Principal Research Officer: Honorary
Lecturer, Dept. of Virology, University of Birmingham
1971-2001
Research School of Biological Sciences, A.N.U.; Senior Fellow and Professor
(E1 - 1992; E2 - 1994); Visiting Fellow 1997-2000; 1972-75 Honorary
Associate, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Sydney; 1976-86 Head
of Virus Ecology Research Group, RSBS; 1990-7 Group Leader, Molecular
Evolution & Systematics Group, RSBS; 1996-7 Head, Centre for Molecular
Structure and Function, ANU; 2000-05 Visiting Fellow, School of Botany
and Zoology, Faculty of Science, A.N.U.; 1981-84; 1992-93 Council of
Australian National University; 1983-7 Board of the Institute of Advanced
Studies; 1990-5, General Policy Committee, 1985-86, 1992-94; Committee
on Public Affairs and Continuing Education; 1982-93; Scientific Advisory
Committee of the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, 1987-88;
Management Committee of the Centre for Molecular Structure and Function,
1990-92; 1994-98; Management Committee of the Cooperative Research Centre
for Plant Science, 1991-95.
Committee and editorial work:
Co-editor
of 'Journal of General Virology` (plant viruses), 1969-71; /of 'Intervirology`
(plant viruses), 1973-85; /of 'Australasian Plant Pathology` (plant
viruses), 1978-81; /of 'C.M.I./A.A.B. Descriptions of Plant Viruses`,
1970-72; /of "Portraits of Viruses: A Review Series", Intervirology,
1979-88;
International
Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, Exec. Comm. member, 1966-78, 1991-3
(Life Member 1996); Chairman of the Data Subcommittee, 1991-3
Programme
Committee, Section on Virology of the IUMS, 1971-2001
Scientific
Advisory Board of 'Plant Pathology`, 1981- 2000; /of founding Editorial
Board of 'Virus Research`, 1983-87; /of Editorial Advisory Board of
'Archives of Virology`, 1985-2002; /of Editorial Advisory Board of the
'Review of Plant Pathology`, 1987-96; /of Advisory Board of 'Indian
Phytopathology`, 1988-96; /of Editorial Advisory Board of the 'Encyclopaedia
of Virology`, 1990-93; /of the founding Editorial Board of 'Molecular
Phylogenetics and Evolution`, 1991-2003; /of the founding Editorial
Board of 'Molecular Plant Pathology On-Line, 1996-98
Culture
Committee of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, 1987-90
Board of
the Australian Genomic Information Centre, University of Sydney, 1991-94
Crop Protection
Programme Advisory Board of C.A.B. International, 1996-2000;
Australian
Plant Disease Database, Phase 2 Steering Committee. 2001-2003
Research Aims:
To understand
the origins, evolution and ecological adaptations of viruses and their
hosts by comparative molecular and ecological studies. Virus diagnosis.
Scientific publications:
Co-author
or editor of 9 books (one translated into Russian and Chinese). Co-author
of 6 networked publications. Author or co-author of 232 research papers
or reviews.
Pastimes:
Chasing
balloons; learning more science, gardening; growing old gracelessly.
June 2008
