Biophysicist Senior Australian of the Year

Scientist Graham Farquhar has dedicated his working life to improving water-efficient crops and analysing climate change.

His efforts around food security and feeding growing populations have finally been rewarded by being named the 2018 Senior Australian of the Year.

The 70-year-old, who last year became the first Australian to receive the prestigious Nobel-equivalent Kyoto Prize, encouraged people to embrace creativity and struggle for honesty.

"I would like to emphasise to both young and old the importance of creativity, of struggling for honesty, and of accepting there will be failures along the way in any career," Dr Farquhar said.

"To me, the most important things in life are to struggle to improve, to struggle to be honest, and to struggle to re-evaluate one's prejudices."

After growing up with a Tasmanian farming family background, Dr Farquhar has carved out a career creating mathematical models of how plants work.