Current as of 31/05/2023

Dr John Radcliffe AM FTSE, FAIAST, FASAP

Dr John Radcliffe has an agricultural science degree from the University of Adelaide and a PhD in Crop Science from Oregon State University. After research in dairy science and pasture production, he moved to research management, eventually becoming Chief Executive and Director-General of the South Australian Department of Agriculture. In that role, he became a Commissioner of the Murray Darling Basin Commission

Subsequently he was appointed an Institute Director and later Deputy Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national research agency. He was appointed a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 1994. For both South Australia and CSIRO, he was a member of the heads of agencies Standing Committee on Agriculture and Resource Management responsible to Commonwealth and State Ministers of Agriculture and Water Resources. From 1997-1999, he was Chairman , Executive Council, CAB International (Wallingford, UK)

From 2000, John Radcliffe became an Honorary Research Fellow in CSIRO and developed a publishing career on water policy topics, especially recycled water. In 2002, he co-authored the final report of the National Land and Water Resources Audit. Amid many other appointments, from 2005 to 2008, he was a Commissioner of Australia’s National Water Commission and from 2011-2016, chaired the Research Advisory Committee of the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence. He has served as Secretary and in 2023, is a member of the ATSE SA Division Committee.

During 2023, John is,curating for the Academy's Water Forum, a set of ten scientific essays identifying a 50 year vision for the future for the Murray Darling Basin in response to climate change.

Dr Radcliffe has made an outstanding contribution to Australian agriculture at both national and state levels. Through his position on such organisations as the Murray Darling Commission, the standing committee of agriculture and the boards of three Cooperative Research Centres, he has had a major influence on the direction of agricultural research and development in this country. In South Australia he was largely responsible for the review and restructuring of the Department of Agriculture.
His vision initiated the discussions which lead to the co-location of the Department of Agriculture, CSIRO and the University of Adelaide on the Waite Campus. He was instrumental in setting up the CRC for Soil and Land Management with the three partners on the Waite Campus. In his position as Director, CSIRO Institute of Plant Production and Processing, Dr Radcliffe is having a major influence on the directions of rural research and its application to industry throughout Australia.