R OYA L S O C I E T Y T E A PĀ R A N G I
10 YEARS OF ACCELERATED RESEARCH CAREERS WITH
Rutherford Discovery Fellowships Each year on behalf of the government we award Rutherford Discovery Fellowships to leading earlyto-mid-career researchers, supporting them to accelerate their research careers in New Zealand.
“Rutherford Discovery Fellowships mark a career turning point, as they allow the recipients to make a leap forward in their research. They also provide inspiration by witnessing the breakthroughs made by a whole community of fellows.” JASON TYLIANAKIS
In 2020, the 10th year of awarding the fellowships, the awarded Fellows’ rangahau spanned a wide variety of interesting topics, including: › developing greater understanding of the formation and evolution of our planetary system by using observations of distant small worlds to model those that are beyond the sight of telescopes › finding out how viruses evolve to make the jump to a new host species by sequencing RNA from diverse animal species in Aotearoa and analysing any viruses present › understanding to what extent transgender people have autonomy to choose which gender affirmation steps they wish to take in Aotearoa, using surveys and applying principles of selfdetermination and informed consent.
VIEW MORE ABOUT THE 2020 RUTHERFORD DISCOVERY FELLOWS bit.ly/2020HL-52 52
2020 RUTHERFORD DISCOVERY FELLOWS Dr Siautu Alefaio-Tugia, Massey University, for research titled: Redefining the humanitarian landscape: Pacific-diasporic disaster resilience. Dr Michele Bannister, University of Canterbury, for research titled: Emissaries from the darkness: understanding planetary systems through their smallest worlds. Dr Nathaniel Davis, Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka, for research titled: Pushing the limits on renewable energy technology through hybrid organic/inorganic nanomaterials. Dr Jemma Geoghegan, University of Otago, for research titled: Ecological barriers and drivers of virus emergence. Dr Nathan Kenny, University of Otago for research titled: Stretched mussels: tracing the genetic basis of resilience to climate change and ocean acidification in cultured green-lipped mussels (kuku) from genome to embryo. Dr Gabor Kereszturi, Massey University, for research titled: Caught in action - volcano surveillance with hyperspectral remote sensing. Dr Libby Liggins, Massey University, for research titled: Tohu of change for Aotearoa New Zealand’s marine biodiversity. Dr Martino Lupini, Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka, for research titled: Computing the shape of chaos. Dr Jaimie Veale, University of Waikato, for research titled: Health inequities, social determinants of health, and gender affirmation: transgender health research guided by principles of self-determination and informed consent. Dr Adele Williamson, University of Waikato, for research titled: In extremis: how bacteria replicate, repair and diversify their genomes in challenging environments. The Rutherford Discovery Fellowships seek to attract, retain and develop New Zealand’s most talented early-to-mid-career researchers and support their career development by helping them to establish a track record for future research leadership. A few of the awardees returned from overseas to take up these fellowships. Looking back over 10 years of the fellowships, Professor Jason Tylianakis FRSNZ (University of Canterbury, Imperial College London) was one of the inaugural fellows, and his work has now been cited over 12,000 times, placing him among the top international ecologists. His research examines how communities of interacting species respond to environmental changes. He is currently a Principal Investigator for the Bio-Protection Research Centre CoRE (Centre of Research Excellence), which focuses on fundamental research into natural, sustainable ways of protecting New Zealand from plant pests, diseases and weeds. He was elected a Fellow of Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2018.
