Victoria success in Royal Society honours
Two Victoria researchers were awarded honours from the Royal Society of New Zealand on Wednesday night.
Professor Rod Downey was awarded the Hector Medal for an outstanding contribution to the advancement of mathematical and information sciences, and Professor Colleen Ward received the inaugural Te Rangi Hiroa Medal for or her outstanding contributions to the advancement of the psychological study of immigration, acculturation, intercultural relations and cultural diversity.
The awards were presented at a dinner at Te Papa.
Victoria Vice-Chancellor Professor Pat Walsh said that the success was a credit to Victoria’s researchers.
"The two medal winners are outstanding researchers. They are leaders in their fields and are making world-class contributions," said Professor Walsh.
Victoria University also underwrote the new MacDiarmid and Callaghan Medals. Both medals are named after Victoria scientists—Victoria alumnus the late Professor Alan MacDiarmid and renowned physicist Professor Paul Callaghan.
The MacDiarmid Medal for outstanding scientific research that demonstrates the potential for application to human benefit was awarded o Dr Gary Evans of Industrial Research Limited and the Callaghan Medal for outstanding contribution to science communication, in particular raising public awareness of the value of science to human progress, was awarded to Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister.
Royal Society Honours citations
Hector Medal—Professor Rod Downey
Professor Rod Downey from the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Operations Research, is internationally recognised for his influential and innovative work in mathematical logic and computer science.
He is acknowledged as one of the world’s foremost experts in recursion theory, a technically difficult branch of mathematical logic dealing with the fundamental limits of computation. He inaugurated research in parameterised complexity. His work attracted the attention and involvement of several leading complexity theorists worldwide, and culminated in the publication of a large monograph in 1999.
In recent years, Professor Downey and his collaborators have made very significant advances in the study of algorithmic randomness and complexity, again culminating in a large monograph, published in 2010. In addition to these two books, he has published more than 220 research articles in leading journals and conference proceedings.
His international standing is highlighted by his invitation to give an address at the 2006 International Congress of Mathematicians, the first New Zealander invited to do so.
In addition, he has presented invited talks at numerous high-level, international meetings around the world, organised several such meetings, supervised many excellent doctoral students, and attracted 19 outstanding mathematicians from around the world to work with him as postdoctoral research fellows.
Te Rangi Hiroa Medal—Professor Colleen Ward
Professor Colleen Ward, from the School of Psychology, is internationally recognised as a leading authority on cultural diversity and how culture affects human behaviour and experience.
Professor Ward’s work with Muslim youth in New Zealand has made a significant contribution to the Alliance of Civilisations Research Network, the United Nations’ collective think tank for the promotion of understanding between Muslim and Western societies.
In 2005-7 Professor Ward was a James Cook Research Fellow in Social Sciences (Identity, Acculturation and Intercultural Relations).
From 2008-10 she led a project, Youth Voices, Youth Choices: Integration and Social Cohesion in Multicultural Aotearoa/New Zealand, which examined the experiences of Chinese, Pacific and Muslim youth.
Her book, The Psychology of Culture Shock, is acknowledged for its state-of-the-art synthesis of theory and research on intercultural contact. Her theory on acculturation and immigrant adaptation has been widely tested and formed the basis of the International Comparative Study of Ethno-cultural Youth, a 13-nation study published as Immigrant Youth in Cultural Transition.
In 2011 she received an inaugural Public Contribution Award from the University for the application of scholarly expertise to resolve the challenges facing multicultural communities.
Professor Ward maintains research collaborations with the NZ Federation of Multicultural Councils and has acted as consultant to government on issues around immigration and social cohesion. She is currently Director of the Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research at Victoria University of Wellington, and immediate Past-President of the International Academy of Intercultural Research.