University of Auckland
Funding success
Congratulations to Siew-Young Quek, Billy Yang, Paul Kilmartin and Rebecca Deed who, along with their NZ and Singaporean collaborators, were successful in obtaining $3 million from the MBIE New Zealand – Singapore Biotech in Future Foods Research Programme.
Congratulations to Brent Copp and Cameron Weber who were successful in the recent Catalyst: Seeding round ($80,000).
Congratulations to Christian Hartinger for success in a Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) – Accelerator Grant worth USD $100,000.
Awards
Congratulations to Research Fellow Dr Billy Yang for receiving the New Zealand Winegrowers Best Paper Award for Wine Science (2023-2025). The award was presented at the New Zealand Wine Centre Scientific Research Conference held in Marlborough on 9 June. The award is now recorded on a plaque in the lobby of the New Zealand Wine Centre in Blenheim.
The research into New Zealand Pinot Noir wine involved a number of collaborators, typical of Billy’s wide engagement with research and industry partners, including Chemical Sciences and Biological Sciences at Auckland, along with researchers at EIT (Hawkes Bay), the Bragato Research Institute, and Lincoln University.
Inaugural lectures
Congratulations to Professor Viji Sarojini who presented her Inaugural Professorial Lecture, “Click it or stick it: a journey with peptides” on 9 June.
Congratulations to Professor Sally-Ann Harbison who presented her Inaugural Professorial Lecture, “Forensic adventures: a scientist’s journey from evidence to impact” on 10 July.
AUT
Events
The Auckland Branch of NZIC and AUT jointly hosted a chemistry careers evening on 12 August at AUT. This is the sixth annual version of this event, and we had 197 registered attendees!! Several of the company representatives were AUT and University of Auckland graduates from within the past few years. The event was attended by representatives from 11 companies or organisations that employ chemists - AsureQuality, ALS Food and Environmental, Fisher & Paykel, Nilo, Amaea, PHF Science, Mint Innovation, Watercare, Hexion, Hill Laboratories and the NZ Occupational Hygiene Society.
New installation
The foyer in the Science Building at AUT has been brightened considerably thanks to the installation of a Periodic Table. Huge thanks are due to Theodore Gray of periodictable.com for allowing the use of his superb graphics.
Congratulations
Dr Emma Davison (PI) and Associate Professor Yan Li (AI) were awarded an HRC Emerging Researcher First Grant for the project, “Locking up antisense oligonucleotides to advance cancer therapies”. Details of the project can be found at: https://www.hrc.govt.nz/resources/research-repository/locking-antisense-oligonucleotides-advance-cancer-therapies
AUT-based start-up Dot Ingredients received a $133,000 new-to-R&D grant from Callaghan Innovation for the development of CelluspheresTM technology – an innovative surfactant derived sustainably from wood pulp cellulose. Dot Ingredients was founded based on research from AUT by Associate Professor Jack Chen and Dr Andres Tiban, and this news was recently featured on BusinessDesk (Dot Ingredients: A greener way to mix oil and water | BusinessDesk).
