2002 Annual Report Of The Royal Society of New Zealand

Incorporating the 2002 Academy Council Yearbook

President's Foreword

In November 2002, the Fellows' Annual General meeting was held in Wellington. It was one of the best attended ever, with 61 Fellows present. For the second year we held a New Fellows' Seminar with 15-minute presentations from eight of those elected the previous year. They covered topics as diverse as perinatal physiology, volcanism, artificial intelligence, anticancer drug action and design, ceramics and zeolites, child behaviour disorders, materials engineering, and the use of synthetic chemistry to reproduce natural products. It is during these seminars that the Academy reveals its diversity. And it is through the process of making science the focal point of our major annual event that we remind ourselves what we stand for, the recognition of excellence in science and technology, and the association of the leaders in science and technology research into an active and supportive Fellowship.

But, having asserted that role, we need also to acknowledge a wider function. The standing that derives from the achievements of our Fellows should provide a platform from which we can engage in a wider dialogue and from which we can promote science as a way of looking at the world. Science and technology issues now lie at the heart of our public and political life. Individual scientists possess no greater moral or ethical insight than any other citizen. Our certainties are severely circumscribed. On the matter of the second law of thermodynamics we can be fairly confident. On the risks associated with horizontal gene transfer we may be less certain. But we can provide a process by which ideas can be tested and we do present a rational basis for discussion.

In the spirit of that second role, the AGM was followed by the conference "Being Human: Science, Culture and Fear". This one-day meeting was held in the Soundings Theatre in Te Papa, and was the sixth in a series of conferences on topics linking science and society. Although Academy-initiated, the organisation for the meeting was undertaken by our partners at Te Papa and at the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies at Victoria University. Under several sub-themes, the conference examined pressure points between science and culture, especially as these give rise to conflicting views on truth, value, and meaning, for example where science and traditional knowledge systems meet. There was a diversity of perspectives represented and despite some obvious disagreement at times, the discussion was lively and illuminating. The conference was a bold venture and a successful experiment in partnership.

The theme of science and the wider debate concerning the impact of new knowledge and new technologies was emphatically addressed by Lord May of Oxford, the President of the Royal Society of London who visited New Zealand at the start of 2002. His visit was of great assistance to the Academy, and to me as President in helping clarify our role. Bob May's razor-sharp mind, his insight and his unique experience of the political process, not only stimulated and entertained us, but helped us all see the potential for lifting the level of "science and society" discussion within New Zealand, to a higher plane.

During 2002 I carried out the usual round of President's activities, presenting medals and Fellowship certificates, speaking on a number of occasions, inter alia, at a Science Communicators meeting in Wellington, at the FiRST awards in Auckland, and at the IUPAC conference in Christchurch. I met with the Minister of Research, Science and Technology informally on a number of occasions and formally in his office to discuss some concerns over "career start" postdoctoral fellows and the matter of apparent

funding upheavals in some parts of the CRI sector. I also attended a MoRST one-day conference on Vote RS&T and pre-budget planning.

A sad duty of the President is to acknowledge the passing of Academy members. TheExecutive Officer and I sent letters of condolence to the families of two Fellows who died during 2002. These were Professor Richard Dell, former Director of the National Museum and a former RSNZ President, and Professor Dennis Brown, Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of Auckland. We also lost two of our Honorary Fellows, Professor Sir Raymond Firth, Emeritus Professor at the University of London and Professor Henryk Szarski, Jagiellonian University, Poland.

This year the election process resulted in 14 new Fellows, three of whom were women. Our Fellowship now stands at 306, with a maximum set at 350 by the Royal Society of New Zealand Council. We also elected three new Honorary Fellows: Mark Warner, Professor of Physics, University of Cambridge; Warwick Vincent, Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystem Studies, Université Laval, Canada; and Jillian Evans, Director, Merck/MRL, New Jersey, United States of America. Our Honorary Fellowship numbers 46. These colleagues abroad with strong links with New Zealand science, are an important resource for us and help ensure that we maintain a continuing international perspective.

During 2002 the Academy has enjoyed a productive relationship with the Royal Society of New Zealand, this unusual organisation that blends the role of a federation of scientific societies and regional science groups with that of a contracting agency funding scientific research on behalf of Government with that of an Academy. The Academy has been represented on the RSNZ Council by me, by President Elect Professor Carolyn Burns and by Professor David Elms. The RSNZ Presidency of Sir Gil Simpson will end during 2003. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge his leadership and its legacy. Sir Gil has helped us broaden our role and our influence during a period when there has been a high degree of cooperation and dialogue between the various agencies of Science and Technology policy and funding, a cooperation assisted by the intelligence and diligence of the Minister responsible, Pete Hodgson. In my view, the Society is more influential in the New Zealand Science and Technology scene than it has ever been.

In concluding, I would like to acknowledge with pleasure the award of the Rutherford Medal to Professor Jeff Tallon of Victoria University of Wellington and IRL Ltd. Jeff's work on high temperature superconductors has brought him international prominence and has underpinned a major technology initiative and commercial partnership for IRL. The medal award ceremony, held at Te Papa in November, was a delightful occasion, capping a highly successful year for the Society .

The Academy's affairs have been again superbly managed by Gill Sutherland. During the period of Gill's much-deserved long service leave in the middle of the year, Judy Lyons made a major contribution and as a result of the experience gained, has been able to help Gill a great deal since. Glenda Lewis has also been of great assistance to us, helping always to turn every public event into a class act.

I would like to express my thanks to Professor Jim Coxon who retired from Council at the end of 2002. The new Council member for 2003 is Professor Anne Smith from the University of Otago. Finally, I am personally very grateful to both President Elect Carolyn Burns, and Past President, George Petersen, for their timely and wise advice to me on many occasions.

Paul Callaghan

President, Academy Council