Science New Zealand 2025 Award Winners Announced

The Supreme Winner of this year’s Science New Zealand Awards is Grasslanz Technology, a subsidiary of AgResearch that has made a significant contribution to our economy and environment. 

The Supreme Winner and seven category winners were announced tonight [12 March 2025] at Banquet Hall in Wellington’s Parliament Buildings.

The Science New Zealand Awards celebrate the people whose research and innovation makes a difference for New Zealand – and, often, the world. The finalists and winners represent the best of New Zealand’s scientific talent, growing our economy, looking after our environment and creating a fairer New Zealand.

The theme of this year’s awards was ‘impacts for Aotearoa New Zealand’, recognising the research driving innovation and tangible outcomes that benefit New Zealanders.

Researchers often collaborate across institutes and with industry to tackle important challenges and grow opportunities for New Zealand, pooling their knowledge, expertise, experience and insights. The awards recognise research teams that include partners from communities, business, iwi, and local and central government.

This year's Science New Zealand Awards honoured 40 finalists across five award categories: Collaboration for Impact, Success in Innovation/Commercialisation, Individual/Lifetime Achievement, Early Career Researcher, and Te Tohu Tūhura (Charter a Course for Impact through Partnering with Māori). The Supreme Award winner was chosen from the winners of the five award categories. 

Success in Innovation / Commercialisation

Winner and Supreme Winner: Grasslanz Technology – AgResearch

Grasslanz Technology is a plant technology company turning scientific breakthroughs into solutions for farmers and growers. Alongside its partners, Grasslanz has developed safe methods to enhance plant growth, improve resilience to stresses like drought, and increase resistance to pests and diseases by creating endophytes that protect crops without synthetic chemicals. Grasslanz’s development and commercialisation of new forage technologies and endophytes, based on AgResearch research, boosts farm productivity, on-farm sustainability and animal health. Its AR37 Epichloë endophyte has contributed an estimated $3 billion to New Zealand's economy over 20 years.

Collaboration for Impact

Winner: The Bioresource Processing Alliance – Callaghan Innovation

The Bioresource Processing Alliance (BPA) transforms primary sector by-products into higher-value products, diverting over 100,000 tonnes of waste from landfill annually. It has facilitated more than 20 commercial launches, including biomethane (Ecogas), avocado powders (OVĀVO), pet food (King Salmon), and wood pellets (Nature’s Flame). Its innovations have attracted capital investment, created over 115 jobs, and commercialised projects valued at more than $100 million. Spanning forestry, marine, agriculture, horticulture, dairy, wool and meat, the BPA shows the broad potential of collaborative innovation.

Individual / Lifetime Achievement

Winner: Dr Stuart Henrys – GNS Science

Geophysicist Stuart Henrys leads groundbreaking research on the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand's largest fault line, which poses a 26% chance of a mega-thrust earthquake in the next 50 years. Henrys has transformed this data-poor region into one of the world’s most surveyed subduction zones, using advanced seismological techniques like a 3D “CAT scan” of the Earth’s crust to deepen understanding of the conditions that generate subduction earthquakes. His leadership in international collaborations has helped create foundational datasets that underpin high-profile scientific projects. His work enhances earthquake predictions and preparation, contributing to New Zealand’s reputation as a world leader in geoscience.

Early Career Researcher

Joint Winner: Dr Genevieve Coffey – GNS Science

Genevieve Coffey is an earthquake geologist whose innovative use of paleoseismic data offers vital insights into earthquake behaviour. Her pioneering research on fault biomarkers helps understand seismic hazards, uncovering the history and potential of faults to host large earthquakes. Her work supports critical initiatives like the National Seismic Hazard Model that help us prepare for future seismic risks. Genevieve collaborates widely, engaging with iwi and local communities, fostering public understanding of geohazards, and building strong connections across the scientific community.

Joint Winner: Dr Hilary Ireland – Plant & Food Research

Dr Hilary Ireland is a rising star in plant molecular biology whose research aims to develop innovative products like coreless apples and fruits that don't rely on insect pollinators. This research could lead to fruit varieties that can be grown in a range of environments, including indoors. As a leader in early-career researcher groups, Dr Ireland advocates for her peers. She is a passionate science communicator, and is a host on the Plant & Food Research Scigest podcast.

Te Tohu Tūhura (Charter a Course for Impact through Partnering with Māori)

Joint Winner: Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research with Hikurangi Bioactives Limited Partnership

This five-year partnership found that a new kānuka industry has the potential to create economic and employment opportunities for Māori in remote areas, along with new land use options. The partners developed a new eczema treatment cream with 3% kānuka oil, which a 2022 clinical trial showed significantly reduced eczema severity. It also led to the creation of Hā Kānuka, a national entity that represents all kānuka producers in Aotearoa, and has created a roadmap to help other hapū and iwi develop industries from taonga species. Collaborators include Māori landowners, Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, and Hikurangi Bioactives Limited Partnership.

Joint Winner: It’s Our Fault Takapūwāhia Impact Assessment Project Team – GNS Science

This research partnership has mapped the exposure of Porirua’s Takapūwāhia community to natural hazards, with project outputs already helping to protect people and property. The Takapūwāhia impact assessment team collaborated with tangata whenua and community members to determine how they could help. This ground-up approach led to hazard mapping, a street survey, an assessment of potential emergency supply sites, identification buried river channels, planning sites for community gardens, and assisting their most vulnerable individuals. The community now knows where natural hazards are likely to affect them and where to locate their emergency response containers.

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