Person
McBratney, Alexander Broadfoot
AM FAA
- Occupation
- Soil scientist and University Administrator
- Website
- https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0913-2643
Summary
Alex McBratney is an internationally renowned soil scientist. He has made major contributions to agriculture and soil science by providing farmers, natural resource managers and policy makers with tools to map soil properties, leading to improved agricultural practices. McBratney was a founding partner in the GlobalSoilMap.net project which aims to create a digital map of the world's soils to a depth of one metre. He is Director of the Sydney Institute of Agriculture and Professor of Digital Agriculture and Soil Science at the University of Sydney.
Details
"Alex McBratney is a world-leading soil scientist who conceived and developed pedometrics, digital soil mapping and soil security, radically strengthening the knowledge base of soil science. He established new theory and empirical models of soil variation in landscapes and developed their applications, for example, in precision agriculture. His contributions have revolutionised the availability of soil information and led to improved agricultural practices with reduced environmental impacts and enhanced security of the world's soil." [from https://www.science.org.au/profile/alex-mcbratney 30/10/2025]
Chronology
- 1982 - 1988
- Career position - Research scientist, CSIRO Division of Soils, Brisbane
- 1989
- Career position - Associate Professor in Geoststistics, University of Sydney
- 1989 - 1994
- Career position - Associate Professor in Soil Science, University of Sydney
- 1994 - 2016
- Career position - Professor of Soil Science, University of Sydney
- 2004
- Award - J. A. Prescott Medal, Australian Society of Soil Science
- 2006
- Award - Richard Webster Medal, Pedometrics Commission, International Union of soil Sciences
- 2008
- Award - J. K. Taylor OBE Gold Medal in Soil Science, Australian Society of Soil Science
- 2014
- Award - V. V. Dokuchaev Medal, International Union of Soil Sciences
- 2015 - 2016
- Career position - Dean, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, University of Sydney
- 2016 -
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
- 2017 -
- Career position - Professor of Digital Agriculture and Soil Science, University of Sydney
- 2017 -
- Career position - Director, Sydney Institute of Agriculture, University of Sydney
- 2018
- Award - Prize for Excellence in Biological Sciences (Ecological, Environmental, Agricultural and Organismal), New South Wales Premier's Prizes in Science
- 2021 -
- Career position - Editor, Global journal of soil security research
- 2022
- Award - Australian Medal of Agricultural Science, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology
- 2022
- Award - ARC Laureate Fellowship
- 2024
- Award - Poggendorf Lecturer, Royal Society of New South Wales
- 2024
- Award - Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to soil science through research and education, and to the development of digital mapping techniques
Related entries
Published resources
Resources
- The Poggendorff Award and Lectureship, Royal Society of New South Wales, Sydney, 2026. https://www.royalsoc.org.au/awards/discipline-awards/poggendorff-award-and-lectureship/. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Professor Alexander Broadfoot McBratney: Member of the Order of Australia', in It's an Honour, AustralianAwards and Honours Secretariat, Australian Government, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2024, https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/3016902. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 30 October 2025, Last modified: 20 January 2026