Massey researchers win Marsden funding

Projects ranging from the study of alien worlds to algal photosynthesis have been awarded a total of $4.08m from the Marsden Fund.

Seven Massey University projects are among the 88 successful projects that have been allocated a total of $53.8 million in this year’s Marsden Fund grants.

The Marsden Fund is regarded as a hallmark of excellence, allowing New Zealand’s best researchers to explore their ideas. It supports projects in the sciences, technology, engineering and maths, social sciences and the humanities. The fund is administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand on behalf of the government.

Applications to the Marsden Fund are extremely competitive. Of the 1078 preliminary proposals received, 250 were asked to submit a full proposal with 88 ultimately funded, giving a success rate of 8.2%. All of the funded proposals are for three years.

Massey University’s successful projects:

Dr Murray Cox – Revealing the mosaic genome structure of spatially admixed populations ($779,000)

Dr Benoit Guieysse – Is algal photosynthesis sustainable? N2O synthesis by microalgae and its consequence for the algae industry ($774,000)

Professor Andy Shilton – Establishing the engineering fundaments of a new algal based phosphorus removal process ($745,000)

Dr Ian Bond – Isolated planetary mass objects in the Galaxy - alien worlds between stars ($715,000)

Dr Philip Steer – Realism, romance, and the settler colony: Literary form, imperial territory and political economy, 1829-1915 ($345,000)

Professor Mick Roberts – Predicting the epidemic curve ($390,000)

Dr Mat Walton – Developing complex evaluation strategies for wicked problems ($336,039)