Raymond (Ray) Jones

By March 11th, 2011

Biography

Raymond Jones was educated at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and the University of Cambridge. He obtained a PhD from the University of New England, Armidale in 1973.

After training in tropical agriculture at the University College of the West Indies in Trinidad, he spent four years in Kenya as an agricultural officer with the British Colonial Service.

In 1960, Jones was recruited to work at the Cunningham Laboratory in Brisbane by Dr Jack Davies, the then Chief of the CSIRO Division of Tropical Pastures. The whole of his time in Australia he worked for this Division and iterations of it.

His main research interests were in the development of sown pastures, firstly in the sub-tropics then in the tropics when he was moved to the CSIRO Davies Laboratory in Townsville in 1976.

Dr Jones was appointed Assistant Chief of the Division in 1982, and he served as Acting Chief from 1984 until 1986. He retired in 1998, but continued working as an Honorary Research Fellow at the CSIRO Davies Laboratory with the Division of Sustainable Ecosystems which had accommodated part of the Division of Tropical Crops and Pastures.

Honours and awards

Dr Jones received a number of awards and honours associated with his role in discovering a biological solution to the leucaena toxicity problem, including:

2008

North Australia Beef Research Council (NABRC) Medal

2007

Medal of the Order of Australia

2004

USA American Biographical Institute – Leading Intellectuals of the World – Medal

2001

Australian Centenary Medal

2000

International Biographical Centre, Cambridge ‘ Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century Medal

1992

Fellowship of the Tropical Grassland Society of Australia

1989

Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering

1985

Inaugural CSIRO Medal for Research Achievement

1984

Urrbrae Memorial Award

1982

Fellowship of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science

Source

Jones RJ, 2008, Personal communication.