Prime Minister’s $1 million science prizes presented

Media Release EMBARGOED: 4.30PM, 21 March, 2017

Prime Minister’s $1 million science prizes presented

The 2016 Prime Minister’s Science Prizes, which provide a total of $1 million across five categories, have been presented in Wellington today.

The Prizes recognise the impact of science on New Zealanders’ lives, celebrate the achievements of current scientists and encourage those of the future.

The top prize of $500,000 has been awarded to a team of University of Otago researchers, led by Professor Richie Poulton, which is behind the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, credited with providing the most detailed data on human development ever amassed.

The study, based on researching the lives of about 1,000 children born in Dunedin in 1972 and 1973, has enabled evidence-based health and social policy-making and changed the way policy makers, clinicians and practitioners think and act, both in New Zealand and overseas.

The raft of changes that have resulted from the 44-year-old Dunedin Study include the introduction of safety matting to prevent playground injuries, shortening the length of electric jug cords to reduce scalds and burns, influencing judicial practices by identifying antisocial behaviour stemming from childhood and understanding the later-life effects of adolescent cannabis use.

Other prize winners are:

The Prime Minister’s 2016 MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize goes to Professor Brendon Bradley from the University of Canterbury, who is leading worldwide research into the effects of ground shaking caused by earthquakes. Brendon’s research is being used to set new building design codes internationally, putting emphasis on more robust designs for buildings and infrastructure of critical importance, such as hospitals, telecommunications headquarters and office blocks occupied by large numbers of workers. The Prize recognises Brendon’s sophisticated seismic hazard analysis and assessment modelling, and his pioneering ground motion simulation to identify and mitigate earthquake impacts.

The Prime Minister’s 2016 Science Teacher Prize has, for the first time, been won by a primary school teacher—Dianne Christenson, who is the curriculum leader for science at Koraunui School in Stokes Valley, in the Hutt Valley. Under Dianne’s leadership, students at Koraunui School work in the garden, the river, the ocean and the kitchen, getting the opportunity to explore, take risks, get used to failure and have fun while they’re doing it.

Among the projects initiated under Dianne’s leadership are installing beehives at the school, making and selling natural balms and creams, students building a shed to store garden tools, supporting the establishment of a school taro patch and cleaning rubbish from local waterways.

The Prime Minister’s 2016 Science Communication Prize has been presented to Dr Rebecca Priestley who is committed to communicating science in a way that helps people make informed decisions about important issues facing society. Dr Priestley is a senior lecturer in the Science in Society Group at Victoria University of Wellington and a well-known writer of books and articles about science. She says the role of science communication in democracy is crucial because people need to be able to understand, discuss and ask informed questions about issues such as climate change, water quality and emerging technologies to make decisions about their future. Rebecca’s career in science communication spans more than 20 years and includes having written more than 200 science articles and features for the weekly magazine the New Zealand Listener.

The Prime Minister’s 2016 Future Scientist Prize has been won by former Onslow College student Catherine Pot who tackled a problem that no other New Zealand student competing in the 2016 International Young Physicists’ Tournament wanted to take on. Catherine investigated the van der Pauw method, which is used in experimental semiconductor physics in many university labs, and came up with an experimentally-verified way of improving the technique so it can be more widely applied. Catherine becomes the third person from Onslow College to win a Prime Minister’s Science Prize—Stanley Roache won the inaugural Future Scientist Prize in 2009 and Terry Burrell, Learning Area Leader for Science at Onslow, won the Prime Minister’s Science Teacher Prize in 2015.

The Prime Minister’s Science Prizes have previously been presented in November of the year for which they are awarded but the 2016 round marks a shift to presenting them in the early months of the following year.

The 2016 Prime Minister’s Science Prizes were presented to winners on March 21, at Parliament Building, Wellington. To find out more about the Prime Minister’s Science Prizes visit: www.pmscienceprizes.org.nz

About the Prime Minister’s Science Prizes:

The Prime Minister’s Science Prizes combine recognition and reward, with total prize money of $1 million. Presented annually, they are New Zealand’s most valuable science awards and were introduced to raise the profile and prestige of science. The prizes celebrate scientific achievement, highlight the impact science has on New Zealanders’ lives and aim to attract more young people into science careers. The Prime Minister awards five prizes with the top award, valued at $500,000, recognising a transformational science discovery or achievement which has had a significant impact on New Zealand or internationally.

The prizes are:

• The Prime Minister’s Science Prize: $500,000

• The Prime Minister’s MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize: $200,000

• The Prime Minister’s Science Teacher Prize: $150,000

• The Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize: $100,000

• The Prime Minister’s Future Scientist Prize: $50,000

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