Celebrating success
Fiordland sunset. Image – Fiona Thomson.
Prestigious honours
David Whitehead and Miko Kirschbaum contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with the former US Vice President Al Gore, for efforts in raising awareness of climate change. David and Miko both received certificates acknowledging their contribution to the IPCC’s prestigious win.
The IPCC was established to provide decision–makers in climate change with an objective source of information. Its role is to assess the latest scientific, technical and socio–economic literature about the risk of human–induced climate change, the observed and projected impacts, and options for adaptation and mitigation. The IPCC is charged to undertake this task in an objective, open and transparent manner to provide decision makers with the best possible basis for understanding current climate change issues and assist them in developing optimal response strategies.
Both David and Miko have extensive involvement in global–change issues, and have worked with the IPCC, in particular. David was Lead Author for a chapter on the Regional Impacts of Climate Change in Australasia (1998). Miko’s involvement with the IPCC goes back about 15 years when he was Convening Lead Author of two chapters of the Second Assessment Report in 1996 and also as Lead Author of two chapters of a special report on Land Use, Land–Use Change and Forestry in 2000. Miko’s role as Convening Lead Author was particularly challenging as he had the responsibility to collate, summarise and prioritise the information from hundreds of scientists from around the world.
Alison Collins was recognised by the New Zealand Institute of Management as the Southern Region Young Executive of the Year. This is the first time a scientist has won the award. Alison leads a team of 45 staff and manages a science portfolio worth $8m per annum. Judged criteria included innovative approaches to problem–solving, outstanding team leadership, technology utilisation, and contribution to profit and turnover of the business.
Peter Johnson was selected by the Society of Wetland Scientists as this year’s recipient of their International Fellow Award in recognition of his extensive contribution to wetland science throughout a long career with Landcare Research and predecessor organisations. Accordingly, Peter attended the SWS Conference in Washington DC in May. Peter continues to work on wetlands as a Research Associate based in Dunedin.
Gregor Yeates was made a Fellow of the Society of Nematologists, at their annual awards ceremony in San Diego, California, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of nematology. Gregor has been an extremely productive scientist with over 260 scientific papers and a similar number of conference papers and reports. His studies have contributed to greater understanding of the role of nematodes in soil ecosystems in environments ranging from Antarctica to northern Europe and in habitats that include sand dunes, pastures, forests, agricultural fields and invertebrate intestines. He has described 105 new species in a number of unrelated genera.