Hector Medal

The Hector Medal, formerly known as the Hector Memorial Medal,[1] is a science award given by the Royal Society of New Zealand in memory of Sir James Hector to researchers working in New Zealand. It is awarded annually in rotation for different sciences – currently there are three: chemical sciences; physical sciences; mathematical and information sciences. It is given to a researcher who "has undertaken work of great scientific or technological merit and has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the particular branch of science."[2] It was previously rotated through more fields of science – in 1918 they were: botany, chemistry, ethnology, geology, physics (including mathematics and astronomy), zoology (including animal physiology).[1] For a few years it was awarded biennially – it was not awarded in 2000, 2002 or 2004.[3]

In 1991 it was overtaken by the Rutherford Medal as the highest award given by the Royal Society of New Zealand.[4]

The obverse of the medal bears the head of James Hector and the reverse a Māori snaring a huia.[5][6] The last confirmed sighting of a living huia predates the award of the medal by three years.[7]

Recipients
Year Recipient[8] Field
1912 Leonard Cockayne Botany
1913 Thomas Easterfield Chemistry
1914 Elsdon Best Ethnology
1915 Patrick Marshall Geology
1916 Ernest Rutherford Physics
1917 Charles Chilton Zoology
1918 Thomas Frederic Cheeseman Botany
1919 Philip Robertson Chemistry
1920 Percy Smith Ethnology
1921 Robert Speight Geology
1922 Coleridge Farr Physics
1923 George Hudson Zoology
1924 Donald Petrie Botany
1925 Bernard Aston Chemistry
1926 Harry Skinner Ethnology
1927 Charles Cotton Geology
1928 Duncan Sommerville Mathematics
1929 G. M. Thomson Zoology
1930 John Holloway Botany
1931 William Percival Evans Chemistry
1932 Te Rangi Hiroa (Peter H. Buck) Ethnology
1933 John Marwick, William Noel Benson Geology
1934 Charles Ernest Weatherburn Mathematics
1935 William Benham Zoology
1936 Walter Oliver Botany
1937 John Reader Hosking Chemistry
1938 Herbert Williams Ethnology
1939 John Arthur Bartrum Geology
1940 Donald Bannerman Macleod Physics
1941 Harold John Finlay Zoology
1942 Harry Allan Botany
1943 Bob Briggs Chemistry
1944 Johannes Andersen Ethnology
1945 John Henderson Geology
1946 Henry Forder Mathematics
1947 Baden Powell Zoology
1948 G. H. Cunningham Botany
1949 Robert Anthony Robinson Chemistry
1950 Ernest Beaglehole Ethnology
1951 Francis John Turner Geology
1952 Keith Edward Bullen Geophysics
1953 Lance Richdale Zoology
1954 Lucy Cranwell Botany
1955 Brian Shorland Chemistry
1956 Roger Duff Ethnology
1957 Harold Wellman Geology
1958 Alister McLellan Mathematics
1959 Barry Fell Zoology
1960 Ted Chamberlain Botany
1961 Harry Bloom Chemistry
1962 Ralph Piddington Ethnology
1963 Charles Fleming Geology
1964 Derek Frank Lawden Mathematics
1965 Richard Dell Zoology
1966 Jack Holloway Botany
1967 Con Cambie Chemistry
1968 Gilbert Archey Ethnology
1969 Doug Coombs Geology
1970 Brian Wybourne Physics
1971 Ira James Cunningham Zoology
1972 Ted Bollard Botany
1973 Michael Hartshorn Chemistry
1974 Herbert Dudley Purves Medicine
1975 Robert Hayes Geology
1976 Jack Dodd Physics
1977 Cam Reid Zoology
1978 Richard Matthews Botany
1979 Leon Phillips Chemistry
1980 Graham Liggins Medicine
1981 Trevor Hatherton Geology
1982 Roy Kerr Mathematics
1983 Ray Forster Zoology
1984 Rod Bieleski Botany
1985 Peter de la Mare Chemistry
1986 Robin Carrell Medicine
1987 Jim Ellis Chemistry
1988 Dan Walls Physics
1989 Patricia Bergquist Zoology
1990 Peter Wardle Botany
1991 Warren Roper Chemistry
1992 Roger Curtis Green Ethnology
1993 Dick Walcott Geology
1994 Geoff Stedman Physics
1995 Bob Jolly Zoology
1996 John C. Butcher Mathematics
1997 Ted Baker Chemistry
1998 Paul Callaghan, Jeff Tallon Physics
1999 George Seber Statistics
2000 No award
2001 Peter Schwerdtfeger Chemistry
2002 No award
2003 Kenneth John Dallas MacKenzie Materials science
2004 No award
2005 Ian H. Witten Computer science
2006 Richard Furneaux Chemistry
2007 Timothy Haskell Physics
2008 Gaven Martin Mathematics
2009 Peter Steel Chemistry
2010 Grant Williams Physics
2011 Rod Downey Mathematics
2012 Margaret Brimble Chemistry
2013 Richard Blaikie Physics
2014 Marston Conder[9] Mathematics
2015 Ian Brown[10] Chemistry
2016 Stéphane Coen Physics
2017 Sally Brooker[11] Chemistry
2018 Matt Visser[12] Mathematical physics
2019 Jadranka Travaš-Sejdić[13] Polymers and nanomaterials
2020 Eamonn O’Brien[14] Mathematical theory of groups

See also

References
  1. "Hector Memorial Research Fund". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 50. 1918. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  2. "Hector Medal". Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  3. "Background of the Medal". Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  4. "Rutherford Medal « Medals & Awards « Funds, Medals & Competitions « Royal Society of New Zealand". Royalsociety.org.nz. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  5. "Papers Past — Press — 20 December 1912 — NEWS OF THE DAY". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1912-12-20. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  6. "Design « Hector Medal « Medals & Awards « Funds, Medals & Competitions « Royal Society of New Zealand". Royalsociety.org.nz. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  7. Barrie, Heather; Robertson, Hugh (2005). The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand (Revised Edition). Viking. ISBN 978-0-14-302040-0.
  8. "Recipients". Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  9. "Royal Society of New Zealand recognises achievements of researchers". Royal Society of New Zealand. 26 November 2014. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  10. "Spotlight on top New Zealand researchers" (Press release). Royal Society of New Zealand. 10 November 2015. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  11. "2017 Hector Medal: Designing chemical computers and molecular magnets". Royal Society of New Zealand. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  12. "2018 Hector Medal: wormholes, black holes and other subjects of gravity". Royal Society of New Zealand. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  13. "2019 Hector Medal: Building bionic – biosensing, biomedicine, bioelectronics". Royal Society Te Apārangi. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  14. "2020 Hector Medal: the algebra of algorithms". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
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