Ten PhD students win scholarships

Ten of the University of Otago's best doctoral students have gained Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarships to pursue their studies. The prestigious scholarships recognise and reward excellent postgraduate New Zealand students, and support research at PhD level in all disciplines, in New Zealand or overseas.

The University of Otago winners are:

* Kate Amore (Public Health) for "Counting for Something: Conceptualising and Counting Homelessness in Aotearoa New Zealand", $88,960.00.
* Samuel Lind (Chemistry) for "Theoretically Driven, Rational Design of Photosensitive Dyes for Energy Capture", $99,385.92.
* Kirsten Dawson (Theology and Religious Studies) for "Divine Violence in the Book of Job", $97,329.00.
* Matthew McNeil (Microbiology and Immunology) for "Characterisation of a Putative Novel Bacterial 'Two-Component' Regulatory System Conserved in a Wide Range of Bacteria." $102,960.00.
* Deane Galbraith (Theology and Religious Studies) for "Giant Stories in Biblical Conquest Narratives: Nature, Function, Development", $86,767.00.
* Jamie Howarth (Geography) for "Reconstructing the Landscape Response to High Magnitude Disturbance in Active Mountain Belts", $73,737.00.
* Morgan Bruce for "An Investigation of the Wide-Ranging Effects of Internet Usage on Reading-Linked Cognition and Behaviour", $98,316.00.
* Rowan Herridge (Biochemistry) for "Molecular Genetic Approaches for Understanding and Manipulating Seed Development", $101,788.42.
* Philippa Struthers (Psychology) for "Developing Methods to Increase Home-School Collaborative Practices in the Area of Early Literacy", $99,816.00.
* Richard Souness (Chemistry) for "Spectroscopic and Computational Study of the Enzyme Cysteine Dioxygenase", $98,316.00.

Students who win the award receive $25,000 per year for up to three years, if they are studying in New Zealand, as well as up to $3,000 per year to cover the cost of attending conferences. They also receive tuition fees for three years.

Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarships (TADS) are administered by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC).The stated aims of the awards are to signal the value of high-level intellectual skills and their importance to New Zealand's future, to give doctoral scholars the choice of studying in New Zealand or at overseas universities, and to increase the supply of highly trained researchers and highly skilled graduates by supporting the top 10 per cent of doctoral candidates.