Forum Speaker Spotlight #2
by Jillian Browning • May 9, 2017 • Announcements, Events, Research
In the lead up to our Annual Marine Science Forum on the 3rd and 4th of June, we will feature a post about each of the scientists presenting this year.
This week we would like to introduce you to:
Dr John W. Runcie
- Honorary Research Associate, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney
- Chief Executive Officer, Aquation Pty Ltd
Photosynthesis under pressure: survival at extreme depths and temperatures
Bio
Having completed a science degree at Sydney University in 1990, John worked with The Ecology Lab in Sydney conducting marine impact assessment work before landing a position with the then NSW EPA, coastal and estuarine studies section. After several years with the EPA, John then started postgraduate studies at Sydney Uni (again), and was awarded a PhD in Marine Biology in 2001.
Postdoctoral research took the form of a NOAA supported grant to conduct coral reef research in Hawaii, developing a fluorescence-based approach to assessing the impacts of nutrients on nearshore coral reef systems. During this time, John was invited to assist in the Australian Antarctic Division’s Human Impact Research Program, and spent the next few years working variously in Hawaii on deepwater projects or at Casey Station, Antarctica. Research at Casey involved an examination of the physiology of seaweeds in a polluted bay by the old station, and involved both lots of diving field work as well as laboratory based experiments. The deepwater projects in Hawaii involved in the use of technical diving to examine invasive species, and manned submersibles to examine macroalgal distribution and abundance to their lower depth limit.
Dr Runcie now owns and operates the company Aquation Pty Ltd, based in the Central Coast, NSW. Aquation designs and manufactures marine plant physiology equipment including custom PAM fluorometers and respirometery systems, as well as water quality monitoring equipment. Aquation caters to academic and research institutions both in Australia and overseas, having sold to USA, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, Thailand and China.