Professor J R Hanson FRSC is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of Sussex. Early work on gibberellic acid at ICI has lead to a long and successful career in natural product and organic chemistry, documented by numerous research papers and books. In 2008 Professor Hanson received a Service Award from the RSC journal Natural Product Reports for his dedicated contribution to the journal, as author and editorial board member. Professor Hanson continues to teach chemistry and biochemistry and is a keen gardener.