Visiting Fellow
Wood anatomy, wood identification, electron microscopy
Phone: +61 (0)2 6295 0932
Fax: + 61 (0)2 6125 0746
E-mail: yolandah@bigpond.com

Roger grew up on a dairy farm in Jarrah-Karri timber country near Margaret River, Western Australia, and left school at 14 years of age. He joined the RAAF and spent the following 12 years on various airforce stations in Australia and south-east Asia. Roger was awarded the Australian Active Service Medal for one year of duties on the US airbase at Ubon during the Vietnam War. After discharge from the RAAF in 1968, he came to Canberra to work as an electronics technician at the Satellite Tracking Station at Orroral Valley. While employed tracking satellites, he studied part-time and obtained a Degree in Applied Science, a Graduate Diploma in Resource Management, and a Graduate Diploma in Electronics from CCAE (now University of Canberra). On the closure of the Tracking Station in 1983, he commenced employment as a Senior Technical Officer at the ANU SEM Unit, which at that time was located in the Forestry Engineering Wing but was later moved to RSBS. In 1991, he began part-time research on the wood anatomy of Callitris (cypress pine) using electron microscopy, for which he was awarded a PhD in 1997. Roger was employed as a Senior Technical Officer at ANU for 21 years until his retirement in 2004. On retirement he was appointed a Visiting Fellow in SRES.

Professional Activities

My main interest is in the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for the study of wood anatomy. I find that SEM is ideally suited to this application and there is ample scope for high-resolution microscopy studies of the wood of many Australian species. I am particularly interested in the wood anatomy of softwoods.

I conduct the Forest Products (FSTY 3016) practical classes in wood identification.

I am currently involved in writing a paper on branch abscission and branch base hydraulic architecture in Wollemi Pine.

Academic Highlights

Selected Publications

Heady, R.D. and P.D. Evans. 2005. Wood Anatomy of Actinostrobus (Cupressaceae). IAWA Journal 26(1): 79-92.

Heady, R.D., J.G. Banks and P.D. Evans. 2002. Wood Anatomy of Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis, Araucariaceae). IAWA Journal 23(4): 339-357.

Heady, R.D. and P.D. Evans. 2000. Callitroid thickening in Callitris. IAWA Journal 21(3): 293-319.

Ride, W.D.L., Pridmore, P.A., Barwick, R.E., Wells, R.T. and R.D. Heady. 1997. Towards a Biology of Propleopus oscillans (Marsupialia: Propleopinae, Hypsiprymnodontidae). Proc Linn. Soc. NSW, 117: 243-328.

Heady, R.D., Cunningham, R.B., Donnelly, C.F. and P.D. Evans. 1994. Morphology of warts in the tracheids of cypress pine (Callitris Vent.). IAWA Journal 15(3): 265-281.