Professor Boyd’s research from his PhD onwards has been characterised by transdisciplinary projects that strive to bring together often disparate disciplines to better understand a wide range of inextricably linked ocean processes. His fundamental contributions to international research straddle four major interlinked themes: environmental controls on marine phytoplankton processes; phytoplankton controls on carbon sequestration into the deep ocean; the oceanic biogeochemical cycle of iron; and how changing ocean conditions will alter productivity and ecosystem performance.