Marsden Fund Council convenors appointed

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today announced the appointment of three new convenors to the Marsden Fund Council.

The Marsden Fund was established by the Government in 1994 to fund excellent fundamental research. It is a contestable fund administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand on behalf of the Marsden Fund Council.

The new appointees are Dr Ian Ferguson, who will convene the Cellular, Molecular and Physiological Biology Panel; Professor Jari Kaipio, who will convene the Mathematical and Information Sciences Panel; and Professor Robert Hannah, as convenor of the Humanities Panel.

The Minister has also appointed Dr Grant Scobie for a second term as Convenor of the Economics and Human and Behavioural Sciences Panel.

“I’m pleased to confirm the appointments of these leading academics, who will provide valuable leadership, governance experience and excellent knowledge of research and evaluation methodologies,” Mr Joyce says.

Council members are appointed for a term of up to three years, and members usually serve a maximum of two, three-year terms.

“I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Convenor of the Mathematical and Information Sciences Panel, Professor Rod Downey, and the outgoing Convenor of the Humanities Panel, Professor James Belich, for their outstanding service to the Council,” Mr Joyce says.

About the new Council members

Dr Ian Ferguson is a Chief Scientist at the New Zealand Institute of Plant & Food Research and a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He has experience in biological science including genomics, biochemistry, and plant physiology; practical experience in science implementation; and extensive experience in reviewing research programmes and organisations. He was Convenor of the Cellular, Molecular and Physiological Biology Panel of the Marsden Fund Council from 1999 to 2003.

Professor Jari Kaipio is Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Auckland. Professor Kaipio has extensive experience in the evaluation and administration of mathematical and scientific research. He is a leading international scientist in the interdisciplinary field of inverse problems, and is respected for his expertise across the areas of applied mathematics, applied analysis, statistics and industrial mathematics.

Professor Robert Hannah is a Professor of Classics at the University of Otago. He has experience as both a researcher and as an administrator in producing and assessing research. Professor Hannah served as a member of the Humanities panel of the Marsden Fund Council from 2002 to 2004 and has acted as an external referee for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.