Scientists honoured

Two researchers from The University of Auckland received medals at the annual Science Honours Dinner in Wellington last night. Hosted by the Royal Society of New Zealand, the dinner celebrates achievements by top New Zealand researchers.

Professor David Ryan FRSNZ from the Faculty of Engineering was awarded the Pickering Medal which recognises excellence and innovation in the practical application of technology.

He is New Zealand’s leading authority on operations research and this country’s most influential contributor to the field. Professor Ryan is best known for developing the innovative ‘Ryan-Foster constraint branching’ technology which is now a fundamental component of optimisation software used worldwide for solving complex logistics problems. This technology revolutionised the optimisation landscape by dramatically increasing the range and size of problems to which optimisation could be applied.

Professor Ryan is a strong advocate for the use of mathematical optimisation techniques to solve problems of significant industrial importance. In New Zealand his methods have allowed a new range of practical real-world problems to be solved.

For example, Professor Ryan has collaborated with Air New Zealand for more than 20 years to commercially exploit his technology. He developed pioneering optimisation software that is now used by the airline to optimally schedule flight crews. The savings from these optimisers were estimated in 2000 as being more than NZ$15 million per year. He has recently worked with Air New Zealand to develop robust solutions that can reduce the impact of disruptions, work which is regarded as ground-breaking and possibly the first airline implementation of this new technology.

Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, KNZM, FRS, FRSNZ was awarded the inaugural Callaghan Medal at the Science Honours Dinner, for an outstanding contribution to science communication.

Sir Peter is the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor and was a co-founder of the Liggins Institute at The University of Auckland where he continues to work as a researcher. Sir Peter is one of New Zealand’s best known scientists, renowned for his work on the biology of growth and development in relationship to human health. He is also a passionate advocate for science as an essential part of the country’s economic, social and environmental progress.

President of the Royal Society Dr Garth Carnaby spoke of Sir Peter’s exceptional communication skills based on his extensive experience as a world-leading medical scientist, his scientific knowledge and his national and international networks. In particular the award recognizes his work raising public awareness of the value of science to human progress. “We have seen a shift in New Zealand politics about the value of science and this is largely due to the contributions of Sir Peter,” said Dr Carnaby.

Awarded for the first time this year, the Callaghan medal is named after renowned New Zealand physicist Professor Sir Paul Callaghan, who is himself regarded as a consummate science communicator and who presented the medal last night.