The University secured its second-highest allocation to date from the Marsden Fund, administered by the Royal Society Te Ap膩rangi, receiving $7.4 million to support ten groundbreaking research projects.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research Professor Gary Wilson says New Zealand faces an increasingly competitive research environment and the successful Marsden funding round recognises the calibre of research happening at the University and the impact it is delivering for people, industry, communities and the environment.
鈥淭he 51萝莉 is committed to research that not only deepens scientific understanding but also contributes to positively changing the economy, society and the environment. "
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research Professor Gary Wilson.
"At Waikato our researchers connect across disciplines and many of these projects recognise the big challenges society faces cannot be solved in isolation."
Waikato researchers will be exploring projects that support biodiversity and food security, help understand how Earth鈥檚 temperature regulates and map how viruses move around the world. Their work will also help support minority and underserved communities, advance Indigenous knowledge including in data sovereignty, explore our connections to culture and place and understand how economic models can support intergenerational wellbeing and sustainability.
鈥淭hese projects reflect the research excellence across all levels of the University from early career researchers to our more experienced staff. Many of the projects, while led by our researchers, are also collaborative, demonstrating the connections we have with industry, other tertiary researchers in New Zealand and throughout the globe.鈥�
Regarded as the hallmark of excellence for research in New Zealand, supports researchers in science, engineering, maths, social sciences and the humanities to explore bold ideas that can have significant impact on the future of their discipline.
will study the genetic and environmental factors that regulate nectar flow and composition, critical for attracting pollinators, in a project that could benefit biodiversity, food security, and conservation efforts.
, mentored by , will advance the understanding of M膩ori cultural embeddedness and how Indigenous people are embedded in their culture by developing a validated M膩ori Cultural Embeddedness Scale, with a focus on wellbeing and identity.
will lead a study looking Earth's climate history over billions of years using geochemical analysis of ancient minerals to explore how Earth鈥檚 natural 鈥渢hermostat鈥� has regulated surface temperatures maintaining conditions suitable for life on Earth.
with will redefine M膩ori historical demography by examining 19th-century M膩ori population data through a lens of Indigenous data and cultural understanding.
will research how viruses are dispersed across the globe through atmospheric movement. His study will focus on Antarctica, where the simplicity of ecosystems offers a 鈥渕icrobial laboratory鈥� ideal for understanding viral movement. He will also mentor who has a Fast Start grant to explore the survival strategies of Cyanobacteria that form the base of the food web in Antarctica.
, with and , will combine te ao M膩ori concepts with contemporary economic methods to create a new model of the New Zealand economy that emphasises intergenerational wellbeing and sustainability.
, mentored by , will explore 19th century M膩ori understandings of colonialism. The project engages modern day descendants with ancestral texts to investigate the 21st century relevance of 19th century whakaaro M膩ori (M膩ori ideas).
and will explore ways to safeguard the human rights of intersex individuals, examining social, legal, and health-related perspectives on bodily autonomy and integrity.
and with and will examine crime causation with an Indigenous approach, focusing on rangatahi t膩ne M膩ori (young M膩ori men) affected by crime. They will use the M膩ori health framework Te Whare Tapa Wh膩 to identify ways of reducing harm within our communities.
has received a Marsden Fund Council Award for a project he co-leads with colleagues from the University of Otago and the University of Auckland. Their project鈥� Kia T墨mata Pai (Best Start study) aims to measure the impact of supporting young children to develop their skills in language and emotional regulation.
The Marsden Fund Council Award supports large interdisciplinary projects with three years' worth of funding, capped at $1 million per year. Read more about Professor Reid's project here.
University staff are also supporting projects led by researchers from other organisations.
is an associate investigator on a project to study the historical drivers and possible futures of global cultural and linguistic diversity, led by Dr Simon Greenhill and Professor Quentin Atkinson of the University of Auckland.
is an associate investigator on a project led by Victoria University of Wellington looking at tools for cell ablation to improve understanding of cell biology.
