Sharon Anita Robinson is an

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

researcher known for her work on

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and

bryophytes Bryophytes () are a group of land plants ( embryophytes), sometimes treated as a taxonomic division referred to as Bryophyta '' sensu lato'', that contains three groups of non-vascular land plants: the liverworts, hornworts, and mosses. In t ...

. She is deputy-director of science implementation and UOW node lead of the Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future program, a special research initiative on excellence in antarctic science from the

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

, awarded $36 million over a seven year period (2021-2028). She is also the dean of researcher development and integrity (2022-2023) at the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately south of Sydney. , the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 s ...

. Robinson is a science facilitator for the Homeward Bound project, a leadership program for women in

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

(STEM). She was a faculty member for the HB3 (2018-2019) and HB5 (2020-2021) programs, as well as the Island Sky voyage 2023.

Early life and education

Robinson was born in London but lived in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

from age 6 to 19. She attended Helston Community College in West Cornwall and Budehaven Community School on the North Coast of Cornwall. She moved back to London to study Genetics & Botany at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(UCL) and graduated in 1983. She then worked for two years in student politics, first at UCL as a sabbatical officer and president of the union (UCLU) concerned with student education and welfare, and then as an executive officer of the National Union of Students. In 1986 she completed a Graduate Certificate in Science Education at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and taught science at Hampstead School, London for a year. She then returned to UCL in 1987 to start a PhD with Professor George Stewart, "''Nitrogen metabolism in carrot cell cultures''" which she completed in 1990.

Career and impact

After graduating, she held postdoctoral positions at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in the US (1991) and the School of Biological Sciences,

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

, Canberra (1992-1995). Robinson was made the inaugural lecturer in plant physiology at the

in 1996, and became a Senior Professor in 2016. She is a plant ecophysiologist and

biologist. Her research examines how plants respond to climate change with an integrated systems approach using molecular to ecological techniques. Throughout her career she has pioneered novel techniques to investigate metabolic processes ''in vivo'' and has expertise in plant nitrogen metabolism,

respiration Respiration may refer to: Biology * Cellular respiration, the process in which nutrients are converted into useful energy in a cell ** Anaerobic respiration, cellular respiration without oxygen ** Maintenance respiration, the amount of cellul ...

photosynthesis Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...

and photoprotective mechanisms (both for visible and ultraviolet (UV) radiation). An early career highlights was demonstrating a role for the enzyme

glutamate dehydrogenase Glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH, GDH) is an enzyme observed in both prokaryotes and eukaryotic mitochondria. The aforementioned reaction also yields ammonia, which in eukaryotes is canonically processed as a substrate in the urea cycle. Typic ...

in nitrogen mobilisation. Some of her most impactful work has been in developing on-line

mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is used ...

methods to measure the pathways that contribute to plant respiration, which has enabled assessment of plant stress physiology and

thermoregulation Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

. Robinson established the first long-term monitoring of Antarctic vegetation in 2000. Her findings since then have shown that change is occurring in these plant communities at an unprecedented rate, including species shifts in East Antarctic terrestrial communities and declining plant health due to climate change. The research is providing some of the first evidence that climate change and ozone depletion are affecting East Antarctic terrestrial communities. Robinson has pioneered the use of isotope analysis and other chemical makers for understanding how Antarctic mosses function and how climate change is affecting Antarctic plants. Through her research using of radiocarbon bomb spike she has been able to date Antarctic mosses – providing long-term growth records that demonstrate these are “old growth mosses”. In her research she uses

unmanned aerial vehicles An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...

(UAVs) to measure canopy productivity using

chlorophyll fluorescence Chlorophyll fluorescence is light re-emitted by chlorophyll molecules during return from Excited state, excited to non-excited states. It is used as an indicator of photosynthetic energy conversion in plants, algae and bacteria. Excited chlorop ...

and spectroscopic techniques. She has developed a near-remote sensing technologies to assess and track plant health in Antarctica and elsewhere. Robinson is a member of the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, served on the

College of Experts (2013-2017), and is an Editor for the journal ''Global Change Biology'' and ''Conservation Physiology''. She has written several articles for the public, exhibited Antarctic photography, produced award-winning YouTube video to promote science and presented a TEDx talk. She has visited the Antarctic continent and islands more than 12 times and her research has been featured in the UOW 40 years of Research, UOW Women of Impact, and ABC and BBC Science sites. In 2012 she was an invited speaker at the Australian Academy of Science, Mawson Symposium at the Shine Dome in Canberra. Robinson was the Executive Director of the UOW Global Challenges Program from 2020-2022, and Leader of the Program's Sustaining Coastal and Marine Zones Challenge from 2018-2020 at the

Awards and honours

Robinson has been awarded several prizes over her career. Most recently, she was awarded the UOW Vice Chancellor's Researcher of the Year award for 2019 and in 2018 she was awarded the Vice Chancellor's Outstanding Achievement in Research Partnership and Impact award. At the start of her research career the Linnean Society of London awarded her the Irene Manton Prize, for the Best UK PhD in Botany, 1991. She has also been awarded prizes for teaching. The Australian Society of Plant Scientists' awarded Robinson their Teaching Award in 2002. She has also been awarded prizes for her educational videos, including the Chlorotube 1st prize Competition 3 (YouTube ''In the Heat of the Night'') 2010, 2nd prize Competition 1 (YouTube ''The Science of Cool'') 2009. In 2021 she was shortlisted for the Eureka Prize in the Leadership in Innovation and Science category. Robinson was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the 2023 King's Birthday Honours for "significant service to science, particularly the study of Antarctic environmental change". She received an

Australian Laureate Fellowship The Australian Laureate Fellowship is an Australian professorial research fellowship awarded by the Australian Research Council. Fellows are chosen each year for five-year awards. In 2023 8 industry-focused Laureate Fellowships were awarded for the ...

in 2024.

Selected bibliography

* * * * * * *

References

External links

Sharon Robinson's webpage
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Sharon 21st-century British women scientists Living people 1961 births Members of the Order of Australia British Antarctic scientists Women Antarctic scientists British bryologists Women bryologists Alumni of University College London Academic staff of the University of Wollongong Ecophysiologists