Marsden Fund awards 2000

$9.5 m allocated to new Marsden projects

A total of 73 new research projects at the international cutting edge of their discipline have won Marsden funding in 2000, worth $9.481 million. Younger researchers figure prominently among the successful applicants.

The money is this year's share of a $25.8 million commitment of Government funding to the Marsden Fund - a $3 million increase on the previous year. Each successful project receives funding for two or three years.

The 73 projects receiving funding have been selected in a two-step process. From a total of 756 projects, 136 were asked to submit a full proposal, which amounted to requests for more than $26.7 million.

"A $3 million increase in this year's funding round has allowed the Marsden Fund to again support a significant number of New Zealand's best and brightest, including many younger and emerging researchers. More than a quarter of the principal investigators are within ten years of their PhD," said Professor Diana Hill, chair of the Marsden Fund committee.

Role key: PI=Principal Investigator; AI=Associate Investigator

A summary is available here.

Project	Year 1 funding	Year 2 funding	Year 3 funding	Organisation	Investigator	Role
Proliferation or Differentiation: How does the cell flex its muscles?	$157,000.00	$157,000.00	$157,000.00	AgResearch	Dr R Kambadur	PI
				AgResearch	Dr M Sharma	PI
				AgResearch	Dr J Bass	AI
				AgResearch	Mr B Langley	AI
How can soil-dwelling insects benefit from their microbe-rich environment?	$140,000.00	$140,000.00	$140,000.00	AgResearch	Dr TA Jackson	PI
				AgResearch	Dr M O'Callaghan	AI
				AgResearch	Dr T Glare	AI
Efficient numerical methods for ordinary differential equations	$70,000.00	$88,000.00	$70,000.00	Auckland Mathematics and Computation Ltd	Professor JC Butcher	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr RPK Chan	AI
Nutritional ecology of herbivorous fish	$109,000.00	$109,000.00	$109,000.00	Cawthron Institute	Dr D Mountfort	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr K Clements	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr SJ Turner	AI
				Industrial Research Ltd	Dr R Falshaw	AI
Molecular basis of microbial pathogenicity: full genome analysis of a cellular plant pathogen	$175,000.00	$175,000.00	$175,000.00	Genesis Research and Development Corporation Ltd	Dr RLS Forster	PI
				Landcare Research	Dr RE Beever	AI
Can the Münch Theory account for phloem transport?	$127,000.00	$127,000.00	$127,000.00	Horticulture & Food Research Institute of New Zealand	Dr M Thorpe	PI
				Horticulture & Food Research Institute of New Zealand	Dr P Minchin	PI
				University of Birmingham (UK)	Dr J Pritchard	AI
Understanding High-Temperature Superconductors	$145,000.00	$167,000.00	$131,000.00	Industrial Research Ltd	Dr JL Tallon	PI
				Industrial Research Ltd	Dr GVM Williams	AI
				Cambridge University	Dr JR Cooper	AI
				Cambridge University	Dr C Panagopoulos	AI
				Cambridge University	Dr JW Loram	AI
				Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe Institut fur Technische Physik	Dr WH Fietz	AI
				Max Plank Institut fur Festkorperforschung	Dr C Bernhard	AI
Mathematical Image Transforms by Optics	$155,000.00	$155,000.00	$155,000.00	Industrial Research Ltd	Dr TG Haskell	PI
				University of Auckland	Professor TH Barnes	PI
				Industrial Research Ltd	Dr CY Wu	AI
What controlled past biodiversity?	$140,000.00	$140,000.00	$140,000.00	Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences	Dr JS Crampton	PI
				Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences	Dr AG Beu	PI
				Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences	Dr RA Cooper	AI
				Private Individual	Dr P Maxwell	AI
				Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa	Mr B Marshall	AI
Subduction zone initiation and plate boundary processes	$142,000.00	$142,000.00	$142,000.00	Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences	Dr R Sutherland	PI
				Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences	Ms K Kim	PI
				University of Waikato	Professor PJJ Kamp	AI
				California Institute of Technology	Dr M Gurnis	AI
				California Institute of Technology	Dr M House	AI
An investigation into the prehistoric significance of the bracken rhizome	$128,000.00	$120,000.00	$128,000.00	Landcare Research	Dr M McGlone	PI
				University of Otago	Associate Professor H Leach	PI
				Landcare Research	Dr JM Wilmshurst	AI
				Landcare Research	Dr D Whitehead	AI
				Landcare Research	Mr J Leathwick	AI
Endemic or cosmopolitan? Origins of nitrogen-fixing symbioses in the New Zealand flora	$80,000.00	$80,000.00	$80,000.00	Landcare Research	Dr J Young	PI
				University of Waikato	Professor WB Silvester	PI
Bcl-2 Homologues: A Biochemical Study	$211,000.00	$215,000.00	$215,000.00	Massey University	Dr C Day	PI
				The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research	Dr DCS Huang	AI
				The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research	Dr A Strasser	AI
Gene clusters as functionally discrete compartments of eukaryotic genomes	$153,000.00	$153,000.00	$153,000.00	Massey University	Professor B Scott	PI
				Massey University	Associate Professor GB Jameson	PI
				Massey University	Ms C Young	AI
				Massey University	Dr EJ Parker	AI
				Massey University	Dr BF Anderson	AI
Fungal Infection Structures- Control of the Transcriptional Programme	$126,000.00	$128,000.00	$130,000.00	Massey University	Professor PA Sullivan	PI
				Massey University	Dr PC Farley	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr KM Plummer	AI
				Horticulture & Food Research Institute of New Zealand	Dr M Templeton	AI
Understanding Patterns of Local Extinction	$129,000.00	$119,000.00	$121,000.00	Massey University	Dr DP Armstrong	PI
				University of Adelaide	Professor HP Possingham	PI
				University of Auckland	Associate Professor MN Clout	AI
				Landcare Research	Mr RG Gibb	AI
Stretching the limits of molecular phylogeny	$177,000.00	$177,000.00	$154,000.00	Massey University	Professor D Penny	PI
				Massey University	Professor M Hendy	PI
Group Nine High Oxidation State Transition Metal Chemistry	$164,000.00	$160,000.00	$160,000.00	Massey University	Professor AK Burrell	PI
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of Complex Fluids and Elastomers Under Shear and Extension	$180,000.00	$180,000.00	$180,000.00	Massey University	Professor PT Callaghan	PI
Hydroxyproline: Molecular Hinge and Fine-Tuning Device	$108,000.00	$158,000.00	$109,000.00	Massey University	Dr C Taylor	PI
Enzymes: new tools for organic synthesis	$166,000.00	$166,000.00	$166,000.00	Massey University	Dr EJ Parker	PI
				Massey University	Associate Professor GB Jameson	AI
				Massey University	Dr GE Norris	AI
				Massey University	Dr ML Patchett	AI
Symmetry Breaking as a Key to Hadron Structure	$73,000.00	$73,000.00	$73,000.00	Massey University	Dr T Signal	PI
				Massey University	Dr FG Cao	AI
				University of Adelaide	Professor AW Thomas	AI
Approaches to intelligent material design	$73,000.00	$75,000.00		Massey University	Associate Professor DL Officer	PI
				Massey University	Professor AK Burrell	AI
				Massey University	Dr SB Hall	AI
				University of Wollongong	Professor L Kane-Maguire	AI
				University of Wollongong	Professor G Wallace	AI
Mechanisms of Periodic Intercellular Calcium Waves	$50,000.00	$50,000.00	$50,000.00	Massey University	Associate Professor J Sneyd	PI
Granular surfaces: structure, organisation, memory	$135,000.00	$135,000.00	$135,000.00	National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd	Dr V Nikora	PI
				National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd	Dr D Goring	PI
				University of Aberdeen	Dr I McEwan	AI
Statistical models for the approach to criticality in earthquake occurrence	$107,000.00	$107,000.00	$107,000.00	Statistics Research Associates Limited	Professor D Vere-Jones	PI
				Statistics Research Associates Limited	Dr DS Harte	AI
				Massey University	Dr M Bebbington	AI
				Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences	Dr R Robinson	AI
				Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences	Dr M Kozuch	AI
Pumping Uphill: Electron Crystallography and Interactions of a Membrane Transporter	$168,000.00	$214,000.00	$178,000.00	University of Auckland	Associate Professor DL Christie	PI
				University of Auckland	Professor J Kistler	PI
Lifting the Lid on the Hearing Organ	$164,000.00	$166,000.00	$169,000.00	University of Auckland	Dr G Housley	PI
Keeping Time: Genes that Regulate the Timing of Flowering	$160,000.00	$160,000.00	$160,000.00	University of Auckland	Dr J Putterill	PI
				Scripps Research Institute	Dr SA Kay	PI
Gap junctions:is location everything?	$170,000.00	$170,000.00	$166,000.00	University of Auckland	Dr PJ Donaldson	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr C Soeller	PI
				University of Auckland	Professor M Cannell	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr M Jacobs	AI
Blocking the Gap	$170,000.00	$170,000.00		University of Auckland	Associate Professor C Green	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr JS Lin	AI
A Distinct and Novel Neural Somatotropic Axis in the Brain	$157,000.00	$157,000.00	$157,000.00	University of Auckland	Dr CE Williams	PI
				University of Auckland	Professor RS Gilmour	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr A Scheepens	AI
Winging it - The Role of Development Genes in Cartilage Formation	$192,000.00	$217,000.00	$225,000.00	University of Auckland	Dr NS Stott	PI
Putting Elastin Back into Arterial Wall	$126,000.00	$130,000.00	$130,000.00	University of Auckland	Associate Professor M Merrilees	PI
				University of Washington, Seattle	Professor TN Wight	AI
Identification of Therapeutic and Teratogenic Metabolites of Thalidomide Analogues	$146,000.00	$155,000.00	$157,000.00	University of Auckland	Dr L-M Ching	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr P Kestell	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr BD Palmer	AI
				University of Auckland	Dr MD Tingle	AI
Interhemispheric Integration in the Brain	$137,000.00	$140,000.00	$140,000.00	University of Auckland	Professor M Corballis	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr BW Johnson	PI
				Dartmouth College (USA)	Dr P Corballis	AI
Are Bacteria the Same the World Over? Establishing the Importance of Endemic Bacteria	$125,000.00	$125,000.00		University of Auckland	Dr S Turner	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr AG Rodrigo	AI
				University of Auckland	Dr DJ Saul	AI
				Auckland Zoological Park	Dr R Jakob-Hoff	AI
				University of Washington, Seattle	Professor J T Staley	AI
Robust Survivors: Protective Mechanisms in New Zealand's Liverworts	$120,000.00	$120,000.00	$120,000.00	University of Auckland	Dr K Gould	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr PJ Harris	PI
				Industrial Research Ltd	Dr K Markham	PI
				University of Auckland	Professor BG Murray	PI
Governing the Spaces and Practices of a Globalising Economy	$54,000.00	$60,000.00	$53,000.00	University of Auckland	Professor R Le Heron	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr W Larner	PI
Rape Narratives	$45,000.00	$144,000.00	$103,000.00	University of Auckland	Dr N Gavey	PI
Touchy Subjects: Anxiety, Education and the Sexualisation of Risk	$82,000.00	$82,000.00	$82,000.00	University of Auckland	Dr A Jones	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr H Worth	PI
				Durham University (UK)	Professor S Scott	AI
				Queensland University of Technology	Associate Professor E McWilliam	AI
Supramolecular Fullerene Assemblies	$160,000.00	$162,000.00	$164,000.00	University of Auckland	Associate Professor P Boyd	PI
				University of Auckland	Associate Professor CEF Rickard	AI
				University of California, Riverside	Professor CA Reed	AI
Understanding the Quantum Classical Boundary	$180,000.00	$180,000.00	$180,000.00	University of Auckland	Dr RMF Leonhardt	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr S Parkins	AI
				University of Auckland	Associate Professor SM Tan	AI
				University of Auckland	Professor TH Barnes	AI
				Carleton College, Minnesota	Associate Professor NL Christensen	AI
Bringing Together Indigenous Knowledge and Museum Practices	$128,000.00	$128,000.00	$128,000.00	University of Auckland	Dr KL Nero	PI
				Auckland Museum	Professor R Neich	PI
				Auckland Museum	Dr P Tapsell	AI
				University of Auckland	Dr M Kawharu	AI
A Study of Hybridity in the New Literatures of Kanaky/New Caledonia	$80,000.00	$80,000.00	$74,000.00	University of Auckland	Professor R Ramsay	PI
				University of Auckland	Dr B McKay	AI
A Critical Evaluation of Theories of the Nature of Science and its Methods From Karl Popper to the Present	$70,000.00	$70,000.00	$70,000.00	University of Auckland	Associate Professor R Nola	PI
Algebraic Systems: Computability, Complexity and Applications	$50,000.00	$50,000.00	$50,000.00	University of Auckland	Dr BM Khoussainov	PI
				Novosibirsk University	Professor S Goncharov	AI
Design and Synthesis of Shikimate Pathway Inhibitors	$168,000.00	$160,000.00	$148,000.00	University of Canterbury	Dr AD Abell	PI
				Cambridge University	Dr C Abell	PI
Imaging through atmospheric turbulence	$66,000.00	$66,000.00	$66,000.00	University of Canterbury	Dr R Lane	PI
				University of Canterbury	Associate Professor PJ Bones	PI
				University of Canterbury	Professor PT Gough	AI
				University of Canterbury	Associate Professor P Cottrell	AI
Social, Intellectual and International Dimensions of Military Culture in Chinese Imperial History (221 BC Ð AD 1912)	$85,000.00	$85,000.00	$85,000.00	University of Canterbury	Dr N Di Cosmo	PI
Theory of X-trees: Geometric Aspects and their Application to Phylogenetic Analysis	$73,000.00	$73,000.00	$73,000.00	University of Canterbury	Dr M Steel	PI
				University of Canterbury	Dr C Semple	PI
				LIRMM, Montpellier	Dr D Bryant	AI
				Mid Sweden University	Dr VL Moulton	AI
The constructive theory of operators and operator algebras	$119,000.00	$119,000.00		University of Canterbury	Professor D Bridges	PI
				Florida Atlantic University	Professor F Richman	AI
				Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology	Associate Professor H Ishihara	AI
New Zealand divaricate shrubs: a response to the light environment	$159,000.00	$150,000.00	$146,000.00	University of Canterbury	Dr MH Turnbull	PI
				University of Canterbury	Dr D Kelly	PI
The evolution of photosynthesis and parasitism in the extraordinary parasitic angiosperm Cuscuta reflexa	$151,000.00	$148,000.00	$148,000.00	University of Canterbury	Dr RA Bungard	PI
				University of Canterbury	Dr J Heinemann	AI
				University of Canterbury	Dr MH Turnbull	AI
The post-transcriptional regulation of TGF-b2	$178,000.00	$183,000.00	$185,000.00	University of Otago	Dr K Koishi	PI
				University of Otago	Dr I McLennan	AI
STAT5b mediates the prolactin stimulation of hypothalamic dopamine neurons	$155,000.00	$148,000.00	$150,000.00	University of Otago	Dr DR Grattan	PI
				AgResearch	Dr HW Davey	AI
				University of Otago	Dr SJ Bunn	AI
Discovering early atherosclerosis genes	$191,000.00	$191,000.00	$191,000.00	University of Otago	Dr SPA McCormick	PI
				University of Otago	Dr G Jones	AI
				University of Otago	Dr M Legge	AI
Biodiversity maintained by parasites: The community ecology of New Zealand intertidal ecosystems	$156,000.00	$156,000.00	$160,000.00	University of Otago	Dr R Poulin	PI
				University of Otago	Dr D McCurdy	AI
Neural Correlates of Memory	$78,000.00	$81,000.00	$83,000.00	University of Otago	Dr M Colombo	PI
Ice active compounds and the survival of intracellular freezing in an Antarctic nematode	$123,000.00	$123,000.00	$123,000.00	University of Otago	Dr DA Wharton	PI
				University of Otago	Dr C Marshall	PI
				University College of Wales, Aberystwyth	Professor J Barrett	AI
				Roskilde University Centre	Dr H Ramløv	AI
Functional Genomics of the Mesorhizobium Symbiosis Island	$178,000.00	$178,000.00	$194,000.00	University of Otago	Dr JT Sullivan	PI
				University of Otago	Associate Professor C Ronson	PI
				Michigan State University	Professor FJ de Bruijn	AI
				Max Planck Institut fur Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie	Dr MK Udvardi	AI
The sodium cycle: an uphill or downhill ride?	$133,000.00	$133,000.00	$133,000.00	University of Otago	Dr GM Cook	PI
				University of Waikato	Professor H Morgan	PI
				Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zurich	Professor P Dimroth	AI
Wave Scattering Theory Applied to the Marginal Ice Zone	$189,000.00	$189,000.00	$195,000.00	University of Otago	Professor V Squire	PI
				University of Otago	Dr TW Dixon	AI
				University of Auckland	Dr C Fox	AI
				Massey University	Dr MH Meylan	AI
Gaia at sea: Phytoplankton, feedback and global climate	$180,000.00	$180,000.00	$180,000.00	University of Otago	Dr RD Frew	PI
				University of Otago	Professor KA Hunter	PI
				University of Otago	Dr EW Tan	PI
				National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd	Dr PW Boyd	PI
Interactive Computer Sculpture	$125,000.00	$128,000.00	$128,000.00	University of Otago	Associate Professor G Wyvill	PI
				University of Otago	Dr K Novins	AI
				University of Otago	Dr B McCane	AI
Prospective Remembering	$193,000.00	$193,000.00	$193,000.00	University of Otago	Associate Professor RG Knight	PI
				University of Otago	Professor KG White	PI
				University of Otago	Dr RJ Linscott	AI
				University of Otago	Dr HPD Godfrey	AI
The Origins of the Civilization of Angkor	$140,000.00	$140,000.00	$140,000.00	University of Otago	Professor C Higham	PI
				University of Otago	Dr NG Tayles	AI
Protein dynamics: Correlation with stability and activity	$186,000.00	$186,000.00	$186,000.00	University of Waikato	Professor R Daniel	PI
				Universitaet Heidelberg	Professor J Smith	PI
				University College, London	Professor J Finney	AI
				Institut Laue Langevin (France)	Dr V Reat	AI
Variety trials in two-dimensional layouts	$55,000.00	$51,000.00	$51,000.00	University of Waikato	Professor JA John	PI
				CSIRO	Dr ER Williams	PI
				University of Waikato	Mr D Whitaker	AI
				University of Wollongong	Associate Professor KG Russell	AI
Geometry of high-dimensional structures: dynamical aspects	$46,000.00	$46,000.00	$46,000.00	Victoria University of Wellington	Dr V Pestov	PI
Marketing morality: The campaign to remoralise NZ, 1984-1999	$65,000.00	$65,000.00	$44,000.00	Victoria University of Wellington	Professor P Morris	PI
				Victoria University of Wellington	Dr D Janiewski	PI
Plate boundary deformation and seismic anisotropy	$80,000.00	$115,000.00	$75,000.00	Victoria University of Wellington	Dr M Savage	PI
				Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences	Dr KR Gledhill	AI
				Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Professor P Molnar	AI
				University of Colorado, Boulder	Dr CH Jones	AI
				University of Colorado, Boulder	Dr A Sheehan	AI
The evolution of mating calls, gene flow and species histories in New Zealand cicadas	$105,000.00	$105,000.00	$105,000.00	Victoria University of Wellington	Dr C Simon	PI
				Victoria University of Wellington	Dr G Chambers	PI

 

A summary of the applications for 2000/2001 is given in the following two tables.

Table 1: Number of applications for 2000/2001 funding round.

Number of applications at the preliminary round	756
Number of applications invited to submit a full proposal	136
Number of applications invited to take up a contract	73

Table 2: Analysis of applications by research area for 2000/2001 funding round. Note that some applications were assessed by more than one panel, so the total number of proposals listed by panel exceeds the number of applications shown in the above table.

Panel	Number of Preliminary Proposals received	Number invited to submit a Full Proposal	Number successful
Biochemical and Biomedical Sciences	126	16	10
Cellular, Molecular and Physiological Biology	158	24	12
Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour	189	29	13
Earth Sciences and Astronomy	83	14	6
Humanities	32	8	5
Mathematical and Information Sciences	61	13	9
Physical Sciences and Engineering	103	18	12
Social Sciences	82	15	6
Total	834	137	73