On 11 August 1997 the Royal Society of New Zealand Act 1997 came into effect, with an Interim Council whose primary responsibility was to ensure that elections were held no later than six months after this date. At the first meeting of the Interim Council on 20 August 1997, Professor Sir John Scott was elected President of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Following his election as President of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Sir John Scott wrote to the President to tender his resignation as President-Elect of the Academy thereby relinquishing his seat on the Academy Council because he did not believe he could undertake both roles. However, at its meeting in September 1997, Council invited Sir John to continue to serve on the Academy Council until the election of the new Academy Council, in spite of resigning as President-Elect, to strengthen the links between the two Councils. At its March meeting Council confirmed Sir John Scott's membership of the Academy Council which is in an individual capacity rather than an ex officio one.

The new Act provides a distinct and effective role and responsibility for the Academy. The object of the Academy Council is to contribute to the achievement of the object of the Society, namely the advancement and promotion of science and technology in New Zealand and, without limiting the generality of this, the Academy Council shall recognise and encourage excellence and outstanding achievements in science and technology and contribute to the intellectual leadership role of the Society.

At the thirty third Annual General Meeting of the Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand held in Wellington on 4 November 1998, the following were elected to the fellowship:

Hugh Mannering BIBBY
Judith Mary Caroline BINNEY
Alan Esmond BOLLARD
Stephen Oliver BRENNAN
Marston Donald Edward CONDER
Garth James Smith COOPER
Clive Eric DAVIES
Richard Lewis Maxwell FAULL
Richard Hubert FURNEAUX
David John GALLOWAY
Edward Lewis GLYNN
John David HARVEY
John HODGSON
Alan Bernard KAISER
Roger Brian KEEY
David Martin LAMBERT
Richard John NORRIS
Erik Newland OLSSEN
Weston James SANDLE
Maxwell Gilbert SHEPHERD
Simon David UPTON
Joyce Mary WATERS
Gregor William YEATES

There were 264 Fellows at 31 December 1998.

On the recommendation of the Fellowship Selection Committee, the Academy Council appointed the following as Honorary Fellows in 1998:

• Mary T Kalin Arroyo, Professor of Biology, University of Chile, Chile
• W James Harper, Professor of Dairy Foods, Ohio State University, USA
• Julian B Jack, Professor of Cellular Neuroscience, Oxford University, UK
• Yoko Ota, Professor of Geography at Senshu University, Japan
• Bruce S Weir, Professor of Statistics and Genetics, North Carolina State University, USA

There were 42 Honorary Fellows at 31 December 1998.

It is noted with regret that Emeritus Professor Brian Marples died on 14 November 1997. His death brought to an end sixty years of professorial association with the University of Otago, thirty years as a Professor of Zoology and the remainder as Professor Emeritus.

Sir Otto Frankel died on 21 November 1998 in his 99^th year. During his 23 years in New Zealand he made an outstanding contribution to the country's wheat industry through his association with the breeding of every variety of wheat grown here at that time and for many years after.

Sir Alan Walsh, former Assistant Chief, CSIRO Division of Chemical Physics and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand died on 3 August 1998.

Obituaries for these scientists will be published in the Academy Yearbook.

The 1998 Hector Medal in Physical Sciences was awarded to two recipients:

Paul T Callaghan FRSNZ for his innovative applications of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging in many areas of physical science, and

Jeffery L Tallon for his contribution to the physical understanding and practical importance of certain phase transitions in condensed matter.

The 1998 Hutton Medal in Animal Sciences was awarded to Alan H Kirton FRSNZ for his outstanding contribution to the growth, development and meat quality of farm animals.

The 1998 Sir Charles Hercus Medal in Biomedical and Health Sciences: biomedical sciences and technologies was awarded to Peter D Gluckman FRSNZ for his pioneering work on the physiology of fetal growth and maturation, and the origins of brain injury at birth.

The 1998 Te Rangi Hiroa Medal in Social Sciences: current issues in cultural diversity and cohesion – no award.

The 1998 R J Scott Medal in Engineering Sciences and Technologies: agricultural, electrical, electronic, information and mechanical engineering was awarded to John T Boys FRSNZ for his outstanding contribution to inductive transfer.

The 1998 Cooper Medal for the encouragement of scientific research in physics or engineering was awarded to D Rodney White, Industrial Research Limited for improvements in temperature measurement by the development of a new technique for calibrating thermometry resistance bridges.

The 1998 Thomson Medal in recognition of outstanding contributions in the fields of the organisation, administration and application of science was award to Associate Professor James H Johnston, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington.

The 1998 Hamilton Memorial Prize for beginners in scientific research was awarded to Timothy R Naish, Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences for his work in the application of the new concept of sequence stratigraphy to sedimentary sections in outcrop.

The 1998 Hatherton Award for the best scientific paper by a student registered for a PhD at a New Zealand University, published or accepted for publication either during their studies or within a year of the receipt of the PhD in Physical Sciences, Earth Sciences and Mathematical and Information Sciences was awarded to Charles R Semple, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Canterbury for making a significant advance in the theory of matroids.

The Royal Society has an Internet Home Page: Gateway to New Zealand Science http://www.rsnz.govt.nz from which information can be obtained on a wide range of the Society's activities. Information on the Academy, its Yearbook, Awards, reports and other matters is available and accessed regularly. Now that the majority of members (including fellows) with email connections has been reached, the Society has embraced a mechanism for keeping in touch with its constituency on a regular basis over the internet. Science Alert, the Society's weekly electronic newsletter, continues to perform a valuable service by keeping members up to date not only with Society activities in science, technology and related areas, but also with information from the science and technology community of general interest. This initiative has been warmly welcomed by the Society's members and is providing a general liaison and information service which has been unavailable due to the changing science and technology structure in New Zealand.

The Society also has a daily electronic news service circulated to those who wish to access it by a password. The full text of news items is only available to members.