Professor Simon Haberle ‘The Wonders of Pollen: A Truly Canberra Perspective’

You are here

Thursday, 17 October 2019 - 12:30pm

Simon, from the ANU, will focus on the remarkable part pollen is playing in the science of food, health and history.  He will explore its use in the science of honey, allergy studies and the deep-time history of our environment – each told using examples of research from the Canberra region.        

Abstract

Pollen plays a wondrous part in the plant world - it contains a plant's genetic code and its purpose is to fertilize the plant via the process of pollination.  This talk, however, is not about pollen biology, but rather it will focus on the remarkable part pollen is playing in the science of food, health and history. The pollen laboratory at the ANU has been engaged in the study of pollen over the last 50 years and he will explore its use in the science of honey (melissopalynology), allergy studies (aeropalynology) and the deep-time history of our environment (palaeoecology) - each told using examples of research from the Canberra region.

Biography

Professor Simon Haberle:  Simon is currently the Director of the School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific at the ANU, and a lead scientist in the ARC Centre of Excellence in Australian Biodiversity and Heritage. He has a PhD in palaeoecology and specialises in pollen and charcoal analysis, allowing him to reconstruct past ecosystem change and explore how people have influenced landscapes in the past. He is currently working throughout the Asia and Pacific region, including Australia, with indigenous communities interested in developing long-term records of fire management and vegetation dynamics under shifting land management regimes.  He also leads the Canberra Pollen Monitoring Program that is actively researching the impact of atmospheric particles in contemporary urban landscapes on human health.