Oliver Knox

Oliver Knox,

University of New England,

New England

Dr Oliver Knox is the senior lecturer in Soil Systems at the university of New England, Australia. He originally graduated from the University of Aberdeen with a BSc in Genetics in 1994 and later undertook a PhD there investigating the links between bacterial biocontrol and nitrogen cycling. His interests in soil biology were sparked during this time and since then he has worked on projects investigating the diversity of the Mycorrhizae of Svalbard, the role of nematodes in root colonisation by bacteria and the effects of GM cotton on rhizosphere diversity and function. In more recent years Oliver’s work has widened into agricultural systems and he has both led and been involved in projects looking at the benefits of organic amendments, which have ranged from seaweed through to anaerobic digestate, and the importance of crop rotations. Oliver is keen to foster the passion he has for these subject areas in others and ran the MSc in Environmental Protection and Management at the University of Edinburgh from 2008 to 2013. His current work is predominantly with the Australian cotton industry and teaching soil biology at UNE to anyone who will listen.