On 8 August 2025, Dr Nigel Warwick, a former colleague of staff in Botany, and Agronomy and Soil Science lost his battle with cancer. Nigel was a valued colleague who served UNE for 25 years with great humility, understanding and kindness. He had a great rapport with both his students and fellow academics.
Nigel’s research interests were a unique combination of plant ecophysiology and military history. Fittingly, he will be remembered by his family and friends at a memorial service held at the Margaret Whitlam Pavilion in Canberra’s Arboretum on 10 September at 3 pm. He will be missed by his former students and colleagues, some of whom are making the trip to celebrate his life. For those who cannot be there physically, the live stream link is: https://attnd.com.au/nigel-warwick
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Dr Nigel Warwick, a Senior Lecturer in Plant and Crop Ecophysiology, retired from the University of New England (UNE) in 2022, leaving behind a significant legacy in botany, plant anatomy, military history and high-level academic service roles.
His academic journey began with graduating from Massey University in 1982 with a Bachelor of Horticultural Science (Honours), followed by a Diploma of Science (Biochemistry) in 1984. He then pursued his Doctor of Philosophy at the School of Agriculture & Forestry, University of Melbourne, which he completed in 1991. His doctoral research focused on “An ecogenetic and physiological study of salt-tolerance in brown beetle grass (Diplachne fusca L. Beauv.).”
Nigel’s extensive academic record included being employed as a Graduate Research Assistant and Tutor at University of Melbourne, and then as a Research Assistant at DSIR, New Zealand in the mid-1980s. After completing his PhD, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Plant Physiology at Washington State University, USA, from 1991-1993. He then returned to Australia as a Research Fellow in Plant Ecophysiology at Monash University from 1993-1996, before joining UNE in 1997 as a Research Fellow in Botany. His career at UNE progressed through Associate Lecturer (1998-2001), Lecturer (2002-2013) and then Senior Lecturer (2014-2022) in the School of Environmental & Rural Science.
Throughout his career, Nigel’s research interests were focused on plant water relations, comparative ecological anatomy, and the anatomy of Australian woody plants, with a particular focus on Acacias. He conducted research on the ecophysiology and anatomy of woody plants across various ecosystems, including forest, woodland, dunefield and dry rainforest. He fostered significant international collaborations, notably a 15-year highly respected partnership with Dr Peter Gasson at the Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK, and with cereal breeders at the NSW DPI Tamworth Agricultural Institute.
Nigel was highly successful in securing research funding, accumulating over $1 million in industry grants and benefactions between 2003 and 2017. Key projects included a grant from MidCoast Water (2005-2011) to determine the impacts of groundwater extraction on wallum communities, which continued with funding from the National Water Commission (2009-2011). Nigel’s scholarly contributions were published in high-impact journals such as Annals of Botany, Australian Journal of Botany, Scientific Data and Plant Physiology & Biochemistry. Nigel also served on the Council of the International Association of Wood Anatomists.
For over two decades, Nigel taught across a diverse range of units and coordinated and designed numerous units, including “Agricultural Ecology & Crop Physiology”, “Plant Physiology & Anatomy”, and “Plants in Aquatic and Coastal Environments.” He instructed undergraduate and postgraduate students in plant ecophysiology, plant anatomy, and ecological anatomy.
Nigel was a highly respected and dedicated mentor, successfully supervising many postgraduate research candidates from a range of countries. Nigel provided guidance and support to a number of academic staff across teaching, in the field and laboratory demonstration. His patience, humility and professionalism, and his unwavering support of staff and students will always be remembered. A number of students, staff and adjuncts benefited from Nigel’s generosity in making time to train them in his areas of expertise.
Beyond his botanical expertise, Nigel had a profound interest in military history. He was the official RAF Regiment Corps Historian. He was the author of two significant books on the RAF Regiment, Constant Vigilance: The RAF Regiment in the Burma Campaign (2007), which was selected for the Chief of the Air Staff’s Reading List in 2009, and In Every Place: The RAF Armoured Cars in the Middle East 1921-1953 (2014). Nigel developed close working relationships and friendships with many fellow military historians and members of the Regiment and achieved the enduring appreciation of former and current Regimental members for his contributions. Nigel also was the Principal Supervisor for a PhD (UNE) in history, entitled “Defending the Nest: The History of RAAF Airfield Defence,” completed in 2020. He truly was a man of interesting and diverse talents.
The UNE community send their condolences to Nigel’s wife Caroline, and his daughters Elinor and Clare.
Written by those who worked alongside Nigel