Four GSNZ Members inducted as RSNZ Fellows
Four GSNZ members were inducted as Fellows of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in February 2020
Dr Philip Barnes, NIWA
Philip Barnes is an internationally recognised marine scientist who uses geophysical and geological methods to unlock the secrets of the Earth beneath the seabed. Over the past three decades, his expansive research into New Zealand’s undersea environment has revolutionised our perspective of the fault lines and active tectonic processes that shape New Zealand and its surrounding seafloor. His insights underpin numerous discoveries regarding the dynamic nature of our tectonic plate boundary. His quantification of natural phenomena such as deformation of Earth’s crust, earthquake variability, fault movements and landslides continue to produce science of international and societal relevance, especially as active plate boundaries dominate the circum-Pacific rim (Ring of Fire) and pose significant geohazards.
Dr Kelvin Berryman, GNS Science
Kelvin Berryman QSO is one of the foremost pioneers and international experts in active tectonics and seismic hazard assessment. His research has increased fundamental understanding of the processes and hazards to society associated with plate boundary zones and he has communicated this knowledge to the public, government agency staff and elected officials. He has played a pivotal role in the response and recovery from the Canterbury earthquakes, bringing research knowledge to the fore in decision-making. He was awarded the Queen’s Service Order in 2012 for services to science and Canterbury earthquake recovery.
Professor James Crampton, GNS Science and Victoria University of Wellington
James Crampton is the leading authority on New Zealand Cretaceous paleobiology, biostratigraphy and paleo-environments. His research informs us about life before the last great extinction. He is internationally recognised for his diverse research including systematic paleontology; morphometrics; physical drivers of evolution; dynamics of diversity; macroecology; biogeography; and biostratigraphy. His work in leading international journals synthesises geological, ecological and macroevolutionary processes, and achieves an impressive level of quantitative and analytical rigour. In addition to his contributions to paleobiological theory, his innovative methodology and analytical techniques are becoming widely adopted. Through presentations, print, and display of fossils, he has increased public understanding and appreciation of New Zealand’s past life and environments. He was elected a Fellow of the US-based Paleontological Society in 2018.
Professor Rewi Newnham, Victoria University of Wellington
Rewi Newnham (Ngāpuhi) is an outstanding researcher and educator in studying past and present environmental and climatic conditions and modern changes, primarily through analyses of pollen records (palynology). His wide-ranging work includes studies of New Zealand’s past climates and their controls and links to global climate change, using pollen analysis to determine human and volcanic impacts on the environment, and contemporary effects of pollen on human health. Rewi has achieved world-wide recognition and has contributed to or co-led international initiatives to determine New Zealand’s past climates, using these findings to answer globally-important questions about environmental change. He also draws on his roots in Ngāpuhi iwi to build links between science and mātauranga Māori and to help New Zealanders understand the factors that affect environmental change.
Article reported by Royal Society Te Apārangi
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