Andrea Soanes is an innovative education leader and mentor, with 15 years experience in science and sustainability education. As Project Manager for the Science Learning Hub, she has positioned the Hub as the ‘go to’ place for quality science education resources and has strengthened relationships with key players in the sector. She has been instrumental…
Using ‘bugs to tackle bugs’ Plant & Food Research have fought off some serious threats to our fruit and wine industries. When the bacterial disease Psa struck our iconic kiwifruit, Ruakura Plant Pathology Team developed screening tests and a new bio-control yeast, which is being launched to market this spring. In 2017, a Prime Minister’s…
The world took a while to catch up with Dr Michael Kaplan’s evidence of adult nerve cell development. His trailblazing research in the 1970s challenged prevailing belief by suggesting that adults can grow new nerve cells. His theory is now one of the fundamental principles underlying rehabilitation programmes for those who have experienced a stroke…
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.…
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’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’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…
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 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…
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…