| Citation | Professor James Prosser is an internationally recognised microbial ecologist and the world expert on soil nitrification. He is distinguished in particular for his pioneering work on ammonia oxidising bacteria and archaea. His achievements include the development of innovative techniques and conceptual models that have allowed new insights into the role of microorganisms in the nitrogen cycle. He has also been in the vanguard of the new interdisciplinary field of microbial community ecology that seeks to understand how the totality of bacteria, archaea and fungi combine together to determine soil ecosystem processes |