Dr Kate Delaporte PhD

Scholarship Committee – Member
Playford Scholars Liaison

Dr Kate Delaporte graduated from The University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Hons) and a Doctorate of Philosophy.  She was the third Playford Trust Horticultural Scholar (1996-1999). In 1999 Kate was awarded a two-year Churchill Fellowship to study the use of Australian plants overseas. 

In 2017, Kate was appointed as the Curator of the Waite Arboretum, Waite Campus, and she is a Senior Lecturer at The University of Adelaide. These dual roles enable her to teach about Horticulture, implement her knowledge of trees and Australian native plants, manage the Arboretum, and grow her various research interests.

Kate’s research focus is improving Australian native plants for horticulture by investigating propagation and cultivation, and development of new varieties and species.  This sits well alongside supporting increased preservation and sharing of indigenous knowledge of food and medicines from Australian plants. Added interests in promoting and enhancing opportunities for women in the workplace, particularly in Agriculture and Horticulture, sees Kate work with volunteers and community groups in the Waite Arboretum, the School of Agriculture Food and Wine and local schools, to encourage people of all ages to get out into the environment and into Science.