Warm congratulations to Vincent O’Malley, Nicola Gaston and Mike Joy who have been presented with honours by the Royal Society Te Apārangi in the 2023 Research Honours Aotearoa.
Vincent O’Malley has been awarded the Humanities Aronui Medal for his contribution to the research, knowledge, and public understanding of New Zealand history, particularly the New Zealand Wars and Māori–Pākehā relations throughout the nineteenth century.
Dr O'Malley is the author of a number of books on New Zealand history, including several influential works on the New Zealand Wars. His nominators highlighted that his historical research and publications, especially on the New Zealand Wars, but also more broadly upon the interaction of Māori and Pākehā across the critical years when the balance of authority and control in New Zealand passed from the former to the latter, ‘constitutes a remarkable body of work that deserves recognition at the highest level’.
He has been a strong advocate for the teaching of New Zealand history in all secondary schools, supporting the campaign started by Ōtorohanga College students in 2014. ‘Commitment to public communication has underpinned Dr O'Malley's work on the New Zealand Wars’, note his nominators. ‘Dozens of talks have been delivered since 2016, spanning schools, museums, regional settings, and online festivals.’
Read more here.
Nicola Gaston has been awarded the Thomson Medal for providing transformative leadership for the research, science and innovation sector, in particular through her roles as President of the New Zealand Association of Scientists and Co-Director of the MacDiarmid Institute. The award also recognises Nicola as a ‘driver for change’ to increase equity for women in science, particularly through publishing her BWB Texts title, Why Science is Sexist.
According to her nominator, Nicola ‘shows critical wisdom in her choice of battles, tenacious boldness in speaking truth to power, and a driving ambition for equity and excellence across the whole of the New Zealand science sector to make New Zealand better for everyone’.
As President of the New Zealand Association of Scientists, she navigated a positive course for the science community during a time of critical challenges. These changes included establishment of the National Science Challenges, creation of Callaghan Innovation, disestablishment of Industrial Research Ltd, and incorporation of the Ministry for Science and Innovation into the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Nicola’s advocacy also resulted in the Code of Public Engagement being transformed into guidelines that seek to support scientists rather than restrict them from speaking out on matters of public importance.
Read more here.
Mike Joy has been awarded the Callaghan Medal for his research on the decline of freshwater ecosystems, the quality of drinking water, and sustainable management of our freshwater ecosystems and food production, and for communicating the science to inform public opinion on these issues.
Nominators described Mike as 'undoubtedly the best-known freshwater ecologist in New Zealand'.
'Mike displays a courageous and determined approach to advocate for what is a critical environmental resource – clean water. In doing this he is a role model for other scientists who also stand up against well-resourced industries with a vested interest in continuing practices that compromise our environmental quality and public health.'
Mike’s communication of the science has led to changes in government policy and improved public awareness of options for sustainable management of freshwater sources and food production. His work has helped educate New Zealanders about the crucial role that freshwater ecosystems play in maintaining biodiversity, supporting human health, and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Read more here.