biology

Lilian Ross Fraser

Lilian Ross Fraser is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lilian Ross Fraser rather than just read about it. In short: Lilian Ross Fraser (1908– 5 October 1987) was an Australian botanist. She became the first woman inducted as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science.

Key takeaways

Lilian Ross Fraser belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lilian Ross Fraser to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lilian Ross Fraser from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lilian Ross Fraser (1908– 5 October 1987) was an Australian botanist. She became the first woman inducted as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science.

Career Fraser was born in 1908, she was the daughter of Mr and Mrs C. Fraser of Pennant Hills. After graduating from Sydney Girls' High School, she attended the University of Sydney where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree. Fraser then conducted her postgraduate research at her Alma mater which included a study of the taxonomy of sooty moulds. She conducted fieldwork alongside Joyce Winifred Vickery of the Barrington Tops National Park rainforest species in the 1930s before earning her Master's degree. Fraser and Vickery co-discovered Lomandra hystrix, which they published in Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 62: 286 1937. Fraser eventually became the first Australian female to earn a Doctorate of Science in New South Wales by 1937. Upon receiving her doctorate, she also became the first female Australian botanist and left to complete her graduate studies at Imperial College, in London. Fraser eventually accepted a position with the Australian Department of Agriculture in 1940 as an assistant plant pathologist. Alongside R. J. Swaby, she studied citrus diseases, and co-discovered that Phytophthora citrophthora in citrus trees along Murrumbidgee irrigation areas were the cause of a decline in their growth. As a result of her scientific accomplishments, Fraser became the first woman inducted as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and the second female president of the Linnean Society in 1948. By August 1960, she was promoted to Senior Biologist at the New South Wales Department of Agriculture. Fraser made many collections of smut fungi and her collections of Sphacelotheca mutabilis (now Sporisorium mutabile), Sorosporium polycarpum (now Sporisorium polycarpum), Ustilago serena, Ustilago valentula and Sorosporium fraserianum (now Sporisorium fraserianum) became the type specimens of those species, described by Hans Sydow. Two other new species, Entyloma arctotis Vánky and Sporisorium lingii Vánky, were later found among her collections. By the time Fraser retired in 1973, she has been promoted to Chief Biologist of the Biological and Chemical Research Institute at Rydalmere. She was awarded the Clarke Medal by the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1976. The standard author abbreviation L.R.Fraser is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

References

Further reading P. Barkley, 1987, Australasian Plant Pathology, 16(4): 96. Brummitt, R.K. & Powell, C.E., Authors Pl. Names (1992): 209; Lanjouw, J. & Stafleu, F.A., Index Herb. Coll. E-H (1957): 207; Vegter, H.I., Index Herb. Coll. N-R (1983): 787;

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lilian Ross Fraser

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lilian Ross Fraser claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lilian Ross Fraser before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lilian Ross Fraser ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lilian Ross Fraser

In research: Lilian Ross Fraser appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lilian Ross Fraser in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lilian Ross Fraser is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1908 births, 1987 deaths, 20th-century Australian botanists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lilian Ross Fraser outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Lilian Ross Fraser in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lilian Ross Fraser means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lilian Ross Fraser out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lilian Ross Fraser in simple terms?

Lilian Ross Fraser (1908– 5 October 1987) was an Australian botanist. She became the first woman inducted as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science.

Why does Lilian Ross Fraser matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lilian Ross Fraser?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lilian Ross Fraser.