JA Prescott Medal
The JA Prescott Medal is awarded annually to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to soil science. The JA Prescott recipient receives a medal and a certificate. The Award is open to financial members of Soil Science Australia and other Australian soil scientists.
Nomination Process
Nominations must be made via email before the closing date in the year in which the Medal is to be awarded.
- The candidate needs to be a financial member of the Society.
- Submission of the candidate for the Award shall be accompanied by a case in support of the candidate.
- Nominations should be prepared in each case by a nominator and a seconder and be supported by three additional financial members of the Society.
- Nominations are confidential to the Awarding Committee.
Medal Presentation
The JA Prescott medal is presented by the Federal President or their proxy at a Soil Science Australia national conference or another event determined by the Federal Council.
Award Winners
1972 C.G. Stephens | 1990 K.G. Tiller | 2008 R. Dalal |
1973 not awarded | 1991 R. Gilkes | 2009 M. McLaughlin |
1974 T.J. Marshall | 1992 W.W. Emerson | 2010 D. Chen |
1975 J.P. Quirk | 1993 J.N. Ladd | 2011 not awarded |
1976 R.G. Downes | 1994 R. French | 2012 S.E. Smith |
1977 K. Norrish | 1995 G. Aylmore | 2013 J. Churchman |
1978 J.K. Taylor | 1996 not awarded | 2014 A.J. Baldock |
1979 N. Collis-George | 1997 K. Northcote | 2015 V.V.S.R. Gupta |
1980 R. Brewer | 1998 R.W. Fitzpatrick | 2016 Rai Kookana |
1981 B.E. Butler | 1999 A. Rovira | 2017 Neil McKenzie |
1982 C.H. Williams | 2000 M.J. Mulcahy | 2018 D. McKenzie |
1983 G.D. Hubble | 2001 B.E. Clothier | 2019 N.W. Menzies |
1984 C.G. Hallsworth | 2002 J.W. Holmes | 2020 not awarded |
1985 J.R. Freney | 2003 J.M. Oades | |
1986 K. Lee | 2004 A.B. McBratney | |
1987 M. Raupach | 2005 not awarded | |
1988 P.H. Walker | 2006 R.E. White | |
1989 O.T. Denmead | 2007 P. Rengasamy |
James Arthur Prescott (1890 – 1987) was born in England, moving to Australia in 1924 as Professor of Agricultural Chemistry at the University of Adelaide. From 1929 he was Chief of the Division of Soils CSIR, and from 1938 to 1955 he was the Director of the Waite Agricultural Research Institute, South Australia.When Prescott came to Australia he was just beginning to make some impact on the scientific world. Prescott was to further the development of agricultural science in a revolutionary manner that attracted international attention. In 1951 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London for his fundamental pedological researches and his pioneering work in climatology.
Soil Science Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land and we pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future.