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Grains industry statistician Alison Kelly wins prestigious Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) 2015 Seed of Light award


Australia
March 4, 2015


GRDC northern panel chair James Clark presents the 2015 GRDC Seed of Light Award
to respected grains industry statistician Alison Kelly.

Few people have a natural inclination to understand and interpret statistics but fewer still have the ability to make the numbers meaningful on a practical level.

Alison Kelly has a remarkable gift for both and was recognised for her outstanding contribution to the Australian and in particular the northern grain industry last night as winner of the prestigious Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) 2015 Seed of Light award.

The award was presented during a gala dinner in Goondiwindi as part of the GRDC Grains Research Update and recognises an individual who has made a significant contribution to communicating the importance and relevance of research outcomes to the wider grains industry.

Alison has become widely respected over the years for her work in biometrics and plays a pivotal role in the Statistics for the Australian Grain Industry (SAGI) project from her base at the Leslie Research Centre in Toowoomba.

SAGI aims to increase statistical competency and awareness of statistical principles among Australian grains industry personnel; enable the use of `best practice’ statistics for Australian grains industry research through the portfolio of GRDC projects, improve the cost-efficiency of research and enhance industry confidence and adoption of research findings.

GRDC northern panel chair James Clark said Alison’s work in developing statistical methods to collect, analyse and interpret data was ground-breaking and had challenged every aspect of grains industry research.

“Alison has altered the way the grains industry thinks about science, not simply from a statistics perspective but importantly, how to make those statistical analyses meaningful and relevant at a paddock level,” Mr Clark said.

“She has an uncanny ability to ensure that everything she does has practical relevance and delivers improved returns to growers.

“Alison has challenged our industry to question why and how we conduct our research. This has resulted in a more rigorous approach to experimentation both in the field and the lab and improved scientific outcomes and outputs.

“Her work has changed the techniques used by key grains research scientists, enabling them to make decisions for improved trait selection to a level previously thought to be impossible.”

Alison began her career with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries in the biometrics department and since then has worked in a broad range of grains industry projects from the GRDC-funded National Variety Trials (NVT) to plant breeding programs, the disease response curves project and pilot malting project. She has also undertaken a PhD on the use of factor analytic and other singular variance models in plant breeding.

Alison has a first-hand appreciation of the need for practical relevance within grains research analysis, maintaining an involvement in the family’s farming operation near Pampas on Queensland’s Darling Downs.



More news from: GRDC (Grains Research & Development Corporation)


Website: http://www.grdc.com.au

Published: March 4, 2015

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