Dr. Brendon Gill

Just five years since completing his doctorate, Dr. Brendon Gill is recognised as a global expert for his efforts supporting the quality of nutritional formulas relied upon by society’s most vulnerable. His work proving the vitamin and nutrient content of Fonterra’s infant formula has been critical to success in a number of highly regulated markets.…

Dr. Tim Edwards

From HeroRATs to cancer-detecting canines, Dr. Tim Edwards is using the super-sniffing power of animals to save lives. While working for humanitarian organisation APOPO, Dr Edwards was responsible for the research behind the organisation’s HeroRATs – pouched African rats capable of smelling out landmines and tuberculosis. Now at the University of Waikato, he is continuing…

Kathleen Dabell

Kathleen Dabell’s precise work helped develop the internationally recognised Southern Hemisphere calibration curve, which converts radiocarbon measurements into real time. As Technical Coordinator of the University of Waikato’s Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, Kathleen’s attention to detail means the quality of the lab’s small radiocarbon analyses (AMS) match the world’s best. Her innovative methods helped revise the…

Dr. James Carson

Dr. James Carson’s findings on the behaviour of heat are the biggest research breakthroughs in this field since 1866. By developing new models for the way heat moves through like and unlike materials (such as you might find in various parts of a machine) as well as through food, Dr. Carson has made a massive…

Dr. Richard Bulmer

Dr. Richard Bulmer’s research has advanced methods for managing mangroves and clarified how the gnarly estuarine plants could help us meet CO2reduction targets. The impact of rising carbon emissions on global warming has increased interest in identifying ecosystems with high carbon storage capacity. Richard’s initial research focused on how much carbon is stored in healthy…

Aydin Berenjian and Mostafa Seifan

Self-healing bio-concrete technology sounds like it has stepped straight out of a sci-fi movie. University of Waikato researchers Aydin Berenjian and Mostafa Seifan have cracked a problem that has been plaguing scientists and the construction industry worldwide. Concrete is a versatile and widely used building material but it is vulnerable to damage and requires monitoring…

Dr. Jason Catchpole & BCS Team, LIC

LIC   The Body Condition Score (BCS) of a dairy cow is a critical measure of its productive and reproductive potential. Currently, BCS scores are assigned by a trained assessor. These human judgements can be subjective or perceived as such by the farmer. With large herds, stamina and time become factors and a sample may…

Antahi Innovations, Cambridge

Antahi Innovations, Cambridge   Aware of the benefits and fears associated with tube feeding, veterinarian Ursula Haywood launched into a two-year research and development programme that resulted in Antahi Tubers. The flexible tube and distinctively shaped tip make the Tubers easy for calves to swallow, without pain or risk of tissue trauma. Studies showed a…

Dr. Reece Hill

Waikato Regional Council   Dr Hill led development of a framework which uses data from a variety of existing sources – including land use capability models, biodiversity information and sediment and water quality monitoring data – to identify priority areas for soil conservation. The framework can be applied at a variety of scales to compare…

Dr. Richard Spelman

LIC   Dr Spelman’s leadership qualities surfaced early in his career through his development of LIC’s fledgling Biotechnology Research Programme into a multimillion-dollar dairy genetics research collaboration with Fonterra. In 2007, Dr Spelman became LIC’s R&D Science Leader, responsible for a multimillion-dollar budget, a staff that has approximately doubled to more than 40 in 2016…