11 September 2013
Distinguished Professor receives University of Waikato Award
Distinguished Professor of Mathematics Professor Marston Conder will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the
University of Waikato this month.
Professor Conder completed a Masters in Social Sciences, with First Class Honours in mathematics at the University of
Waikato in 1977. He won two scholarships to study for his doctorate at Oxford University in the UK and graduated there
in 1980, winning the Senior Mathematical and Johnson prizes for the best doctoral thesis that year.
Following postdoctoral fellowships in Dunedin and Germany, Professor Conder took up a lectureship at the University of
Auckland – where he remains more than 30 years later. He has served as Head of the Mathematics Department and as Deputy
Vice-Chancellor (Research).
In 1993, aged just 38, he was promoted to full Professor, and in 2011 was bestowed the title of Distinguished Professor
– the first in mathematics at Auckland University.
Professor Conder is an internationally renowned authority on combinatorial group theory, and his research to date has
resulted in more than 120 publications worldwide.
He has received numerous scholarships, awards and grants, and has been a continuous recipient of Marsden grants since
the establishment of the Marsden Fund in 1995.
Professor Conder has overseen some of the most important developments in mathematics and research nationwide. In 2000 he
co-founded and led the New Zealand Institute for Mathematics and its Applications, one of the first five centres of
research excellence, which lifted the performance of mathematics teaching and research across New Zealand.
In 2002 he chaired the government-appointed committee that established New Zealand’s Performance Based Research Fund
(PBRF), the classification system that awards funds to tertiary institutions based on academic research quality.
Professor Conder is held in high regard in New Zealand and overseas, and is a sought-after speaker at international
conferences. In 2012 he was selected as the inaugural Maclaurin lecturer to take part in a lecture tour of American
universities as part of a new joint venture between the New Zealand and American mathematical societies.
The University of Waikato Distinguished Alumni Awards for 2013 will be presented September 20 at the Gallagher Academy
of Performing Arts. The two other recipients this year are Singaporean design-agency owner Edmund Wee and Māori Land
Court Judge Stephanie Milroy.
Professor Conder says he is delighted to win this award. “I was lucky to build a career on top of a first-class
all-round education at Matamata College and the University of Waikato, and I have some great memories of those
experiences.”
University of Waikato Vice-Chancellor Professor Roy Crawford says Professor Conder’s work in mathematics and research
has contributed to an enhanced research community in New Zealand, in turn profiling his outstanding achievements on a
global platform. “Professor Conder exemplifies the qualities of excellence that, as a University, we are committed to
achieving. It is an honour to present Professor Conder with this award.”
Three Distinguished Alumni Awards are presented every year. The awards celebrate and honour Waikato alumni who have made
outstanding contributions in their careers and communities, taking into account excellence in the professional,
cultural, creative and voluntary sectors.
ENDS