Royal Society Te Apārangi

As the National Representative Body for the Frontiers Planet Prize in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Royal Society Te Apārangi has selected three national winners to be put forward to the international Frontiers Prize jury. The national winners are: 🌟 Professor Elizabeth Macpherson of Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury for the paper 'Setting a pluralist agenda for water governance: Why power and scale matter' 🌟 Dr Dan Lowry of GNS Science for the paper 'Ocean cavity regime shift reversed West Antarctic grounding line retreat in the late Holocene' 🌟 Dr Sebastian Steibl of Waipapa Taumata Rau The University of Auckland for the paper 'Rethinking atoll futures: local resilience to global challenges'. Find out more here https://lnkd.in/gTPzcnfk

Congratulations to the three winners of the inaugural Prime Minister’s Space Prizes! 👏 SpaceOps NZ founder and chief executive Robin McNeill MNZM has been awarded the Prime Minister’s Space Prize for Professional Excellence, while high school students Cairo Akehurst from Christchurch’s Cashmere High School and Tianyi Mathur from Scots College Wellington-New Zealand have jointly won the Prime Minister’s Space Prize for Student Endeavour. Space Operations New Zealand Ltd is a New Zealand owned and operated ground segment service provider for the space industry. Robin has designed and built ground stations in Antarctica, Tokelau and Southland. He has played a critical role in deepening New Zealand’s space relationship with the European Space Agency - ESA. He is also instrumental in growing a pipeline of engineers and employees with the necessary skills and experience to deliver future impact. He supervises post-graduate students undertaking space research and SpaceOps NZ employs undergraduate engineering students in summer jobs. Cairo is the brains behind Cattle Credit, a start-up that stemmed from a research project to improve the accuracy of satellite data to measure methane emissions. His work aims to harness satellite data and turn it into something farmers and companies can use to understand methane emissions at a farm level and track the impact of mitigation efforts. Tianyi has developed a computer simulation to mimic the process of communication between cells. Practical applications for the space sector could include biosensors, autonomous systems, or new materials that could organise or repair themselves automatically, which could be vital in spacecraft or in extraterrestrial environments and would avoid the need for impractical traditional manufacturing infrastructure in space. All three received their awards during an event at Parliament on Tuesday evening and are pictured here with Head of the New Zealand Space Agency Iain Cossar. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gFQDH32d Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Royal Society Te Apārangi #PMSpacePrizes #STEM #SpaceAwards #Satellites #Southland #Christchurch #WellingtonNZ

The Royal Society Te Apārangi has sent an open letter to the Prime Minister about the importance of research in the social sciences and humanities, following changes to the Marsden Fund terms that explicitly exclude research areas in the social sciences and humanities. In the letter, Society President Distinguished Professor Dame Jane Harding DNZM FRACP FRSNZ says: “we urge you to give serious consideration to alternative investment mechanisms, maybe through other portfolios, that could address the loss of funding for research in the social sciences and humanities (approximately $16.4 million annually). The risks of failing to invest in these research areas are substantial.” Read the full letter here https://lnkd.in/gNYnDgve

Following the success of the 11th International Abalone Symposium held in Auckland, New Zealand in 2023, we are pleased to announce the publication of a special issue featuring research contributions from the symposium.   Thank you to the New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research hosted by the Taylor & Francis Group for providing a platform to bring together this body of abalone research. Special thanks to Fei He and the publishing team at the Royal Society Te Apārangi of New Zealand for their guidance throughout the publication process. Also, thank you, to all the researchers who have contributed and to the reviewers for your feedback.   On behalf of all the editors (Norman Ragg and Leonie Venter) we hope you enjoy exploring this dedicated abalone issue.   The full issue can be view via the journal’s page: New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, Volume 59, Issue 1 (2025), https://lnkd.in/g4PC253z.   #abalone #stakeholders #symposium #research

Ten Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowships have been awarded in the 2024 inaugural round. The suite of Aotearoa New Zealand Tāwhia te Mana Research Fellowships support researchers at different career stages to produce excellent and impactful research and to develop into leaders in their fields, their respective host organisations and across the whole of the Aotearoa New Zealand science, innovation and technology (SI&T) system. The Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowships target mid-career researchers to allow them to further establish themselves as research leaders in their research fields. The recipients are: - Manpreet Dhami, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research - Moses Faleolo, Victoria University of Wellington - Andrew Hall, The University of Auckland - Jenni Hopkins, Victoria University of Wellington - Rebecca Kiddle, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa - Graham McCulloch, University of Otago - Christina Painting, University of Waikato - Rachel Purcell, University of Otago - Matiu Rātima, University of Otago - Helen Woolner, Victoria University of Wellington Find out more here https://lnkd.in/gxKvjKaA

Response to changes to the Marsden Fund The Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology has today released changes to the Investment Plan and Terms of Reference for the Marsden Fund. The new Terms contain explicit signals that every application for funding must describe its potential to generate economic, environmental, or health benefits for New Zealand, and that 50% of grants from the Fund each year must have the potential for economic benefit. The new Investment Plan focuses on sciences such as physics, chemistry, maths, engineering, and biomedical sciences, with the disestablishment of panels which assess proposals on social sciences and humanities. Read the response from our President here https://lnkd.in/gtnpuUjx Read further information on the Marsden Fund webpage here https://lnkd.in/gVKrm8PF

The New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research is calling for papers for its special issue 'Freshwater fish in focus: knowledge, values and management'.   The journal is seeking boundary-pushing contributions from across the natural and social sciences and kaupapa Māori research that provide insight into the trajectory of freshwater fish and fisheries in Aotearoa New Zealand.    Freshwater fish in Aotearoa New Zealand are unique and highly valued. Many of our native species are threatened and face an uncertain future, while the place of introduced species in Aotearoa is increasingly contested. Freshwater fish communities face a legacy of habitat modification, species introductions and overfishing, which are compounded by climate change and new invasions. There is an urgent need to understand how fish and human communities alike are responding to these changes.   This special issue will be guest-edited by Finnbar Lee from Cawthron Institute, Kiely McFarlane from Cawthron Institute, Lauren Hitt from the University of Canterbury, Siobhan Nuri from The University of Waikato, Olivier Raven from The University of Waikato, and Marc Tadaki from Lincoln University (NZ). Find out more here https://lnkd.in/d5-HeHWt

Yesterday evening, in the final 2024 Research Honours Aotearoa event in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, medals and awards were presented by the Royal Society Te Apārangi and the Health Research Council of New Zealand to recognise researchers who have achieved excellence in scholarship or innovation or who have made a significant contribution to Aotearoa New Zealand through their research careers.    Professor Richard Beasley CNZM FRSNZ has been awarded the Rutherford Medal by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for revolutionising the treatment of asthma worldwide. Distinguished Professor Harjinder Singh FRSNZ, of the Riddet Institute at Te Kunenga Ki Pūrehuroa Massey University, has been awarded the Pickering Medal by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for pioneering research and development. He created a food ingredient to combat iron deficiency and other innovative food technologies that have bridged the gap between scientific discovery and commercial applications. Dr Kay Saville-Smith, of the Centre for Research, Evaluation and Social Assessment, has been awarded the Metge Medal by Royal Society Te Apārangi for her three decades of work at the forefront of housing research in Aotearoa New Zealand. Professor Vicki Karaminas, of Te Kunenga Ki Pūrehuroa Massey University, has been awarded the Humanities Aronui Medal by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for advancing the discipline of fashion studies and for significant contributions to global understanding of masculinities, gender, and sexualities. Dr Bella Duncan, of Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, has been awarded the Hamilton Award by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for investigating how ocean temperatures in Antarctica have changed over 45 million years, including the historical temperature thresholds for ice sheet retreat. Her research indicates that the future effects of climate change will be stark. Dr Dr Luke Fitzmaurice-Brown-Brown (Te Aupōuri), of Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, has been awarded the Royal Society Te Apārangi Early Career Research Excellence Award for Humanities for his work to decolonise the child protection system in Aotearoa New Zealand. In addition, the Health Research Council of New Zealand awarded the Te Tohu Rapuora Medal for leadership, excellence, and contributions to advancing Māori health to Cheryl Davies from Tu Kotahi Māori Asthma and Research Trust. Find out more here https://lnkd.in/gjVvwXvz 📸 Rebecca McMillan

It is with sadness that the Royal Society Te Apārangi acknowledges the passing of Professor Angus Hikairo Macfarlane (Ngāti Whakaue, Te Arawa) CNZM FRSNZ.  Professor Macfarlane was a leading scholar, based at Te Whare Wananga Waitaha University of Canterbury, who not only earned an international reputation for advancing knowledge within his specialist fields, but also generated significant impact in both education and research. His career included vast experience as an educator, a lecturer, and an advisor in the education system. He investigated and implemented culturally responsive pedagogies, including ways to reconceptualise structures and engagement in schools to include and support Māori students. Read more here https://lnkd.in/gjnQgFkd

From November 4-6, 2024, we joined the traditional, unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations in Canada for the Research Summit on Cultural Heritage in an Era of Reconciliation. Hosted by The Royal Society of Canada | La Société royale du Canada in collaboration with The Australian Academy of Science and us at the Royal Society Te Apārangi, this event launched a three-year series of summits across partner countries as part of the Tri-Academy Partnership on Indigenous Engagement. The Royal Society Te Apārangi will host next year's gathering in November.