Royal Fellowship for classics expert

2 December 2013

Royal Fellowship for classics expert

A Waikato University Dean and Greek and Roman archaeology and art expert Professor Robert Hannah has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in Wellington last week.

Made up of representatives of the sciences and other areas of endeavour, the Royal Society is an independent body that acknowledges those who have made particular contributions in their field.

Professor Hannah is the current leading international authority on the measurement of time and calendar systems in ancient Greece and Rome.

He currently holds a Marsden Grant (2011-2013) to work on a project entitled Myth, Cult and Cosmos: astronomy in ancient Greek religion and from 2004-2006 held a Marsden grant for a project called Time in Antiquity.

Professor Hannah says that it is humbling to be elected a Fellow, but also gratifying to have his research acknowledged. “Since coming to Waikato new doors have opened. The ASAANZ Conference in Raglan has provided me with the opportunity to bring together scholars from Maori and Pakeha traditions to share ideas about the cultural uses of astronomy.”

Joining the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Waikato in July 2013, Professor Hannah left Otago University where he taught courses in Greek and Roman art and Greek and Latin. He gained a BA Hons in Greek from Otago University and holds a Master of Philosophy in Classical Archaeology from Oxford University.

Boasting an impressive research resume, Robert’s interests include archaeoastronomy, the Classical Collections of the Otago Museum (of which he is Honorary Curator), the iconography of Greek mythology, and the Classical Tradition in art.

Thirteen top New Zealand researchers and scholars in basic and applied science and the humanities were elected as well as two Honorary Fellows at the Annual General Meeting of the Society’s Academy.

Academy Chairperson Professor Geoff Austin says “Being elected as a Fellow is an honour given to our top researchers for showing exceptional distinction in research or in the advancement of science, technology or the humanities.”
“These newly elected Fellows are leaders in fields as diverse as linguistics, mathematics, computer interfaces, housing and health, and anthropology. They reflect the wide range of work being undertaken by researchers in science, the social sciences and humanities in New Zealand. It gives me great pleasure to announce their election today.”

The Royal Society of New Zealand now has 391 Fellows and 60 Honorary Fellows. Fellows are involved in providing expert advice, promoting best research practice and disseminating science and humanities information.

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