Emeritus Professor Ian Cowan studied at London University, London, United Kingdom, and worked in Jamaica before lecturing at Nottingham University in the United Kingdom. He arrived in Australia to work for the CSIRO and, later, the Research School of Biological Sciences at Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. He headed the Environmental Biology Group, Research School of Biological Sciences at the University and was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences in 1984. He retired from research in 1993. As well as plant physiology and ecology his interests included the history of science and early illustrations of Australian flora and fauna.
Source: Research School of Biology homepage, Australian National Unviersity website, rsbs.aun.edu.au (sighted 20/10/2011)
