Science Awards Winners Announced as 10th Festival Launched

SCIENCE AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED AS 10TH FESTIVAL LAUNCHED

The man behind Dunedin’s Healthy Harbour Watchers – retired secondary school science teacher Andrew Innes – was last night recognised for his lifelong dedication to science at an awards ceremony to launch the 10th biennial New Zealand International Science Festival.

The winners of this year’s inaugural Otago Daily Times Community Science Awards – a joint initiative between the ODT and the NZ International Science Festival– are:

· The Mitre 10 Student Award: Charlotte Steel

· The Otago Science in Action non-profit/community Award: Ann Cronin, Gasworks

· The ADInstruments Post-Grad Student Award: Bianca Sawyer

· The Otago Museum Science Communicator/Teacher Award: Amadeo Enriquez-Ballestero

· The Otago Polytechnic Sustainability Award: Andrew Innes, Healthy Harbour Watchers

· The Vodafone Business Award: Peter Fennessy, AbacusBio

· The University of Otago Lifetime Achievement Award: Andrew Innes

Allied Press Chairman Sir Julian Smith says the Otago Daily Times has been an active supporter of the New Zealand International Science Festival since its inception in 1997, when Dame Elizabeth Hanan approached the newspaper for support.

“Over the years, our involvement has grown, particularly as the Festival has developed, and this year the team has delivered another truly exciting and innovative event.

“We've helped the University of Otago and the Festival Trust achieve their goal of reaching young and old in the wider Otago community with news and information about the Science Festival.

“We’re proud that we have supported this event for 20 years and continued to report the great successes that people from our community, university, local businesses and secondary education make in the field of science."

New Zealand International Science Festival Director Chris Green acknowledged the ODT’s contribution to the Community Science Awards.

“What a fantastic way to launch the 10th Festival,” he says.

“The winners of the Awards are all people who have made an important contribution to science in Otago. They are the unsung heroes of our daily lives who bring science to life and remind us through their actions to stay curious and to look for answers to many of the issues facing us today.”

Last night’s awards ceremony followed a special sneak peek for launch guests of the University of Otago’s Science Expo (which officially opens today on the ground floor of the St David Complex at 10am and is open until 4pm on Saturday and 9am-12pm tomorrow).

Tonight, Australian science show performer Dr Graham Walker and Australian DJ Chris Foster (aka DJ sixfootsix) will perform a new live show, The Sounds of Science, at St David Lecture Theatre that merges thrilling science experiments and music. More than 170 science events will be held during this week’s Festival that runs until Saturday July 16. A highlight list of what's on daily will be published in the Otago Daily Times, and a full list of events can be found at www.scifest.org.nz.

ENDS

© Scoop Media