Two given Royal Society honour

Two University researchers have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

The election of Professor Barry Scott and Professor Peter Derrick was announced at the annual general meeting of the society’s academy in Wellington.

Professor Scott, head of the Institute of Molecular BioSciences, has made landmark contributions to rhizobium-legume symbiosis, and has produced several cutting edge advances in pasture grasses and fungal-plant interactions.
?Institute of Fundamental Sciences head Professor Derrick is world-renowned as an innovative physical chemist, and is the international leader in the development of instrumentation for mass spectrometry.

Professor Scott and Professor Derrick were two of 12 elected to the position at the meeting. Academy chairman Professor Keith Hunter says the high calibre of the nominees for Fellowship made the selection process challenging.

“Being elected as a Fellow is an honour given to our top researchers for showing distinction in research or in the advancement of science, technology or the humanities,” Professor Hunter says. “The work of these newly-elected Fellows reflects the wide range of work being undertaken by scientists and humanities researchers in New Zealand. I am very pleased to announce their election.”

College of Sciences head Professor Robert Anderson says the recognition is well deserved. “Professor Derrick and Professor Scott have distinguished themselves as outstanding scholars in their respective fields,” he says. “While they both lead teams of world-leading researchers, their election is proof they are academic leaders in their own right.”