Marsden Fund awards 2003

$43.8m allocated to new Marsden projects

See media releases on selected projects here

A total of 105 new research projects will receive $43.8 million support over the next three years from the Marsden Fund, administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand. In their first year, the projects will receive $15.2 million, of which $1.4 million has been allocated to 28 "Fast-Start" researchers who are in the early stages of their research careers.

The money for new projects is part of the $33.8 million commitment of Government money for cutting edge research - a $2 million increase on the previous year. Each successful project receives funding for 2 or 3 years.

Applications to the Fund are very competitive. Of the 741 preliminary proposals (612 Standard proposals and 129 Fast-Start proposals), 134 were asked to submit a full proposal. Overall, 14.2% of the total number of applications were successful.

The Chair of the Marsden Committee, Dr Diana Hill, said, "The Council members were pleased with quality and calibre of the funded proposals and we are delighted to be able to fund more proposals than usual. The Marsden funding is extremely important to our researchers and is very competitive. The Fast-Start grants are helping many promising young scientists to establish their careers. As such, they are an important incentive for them to stay in New Zealand. "

A summary is given below. A fuller list containing the main researcher associated with each project can be downloaded for standard proposals and fast-start proposals.

Title	Applicant	Institution	Type	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Exploring the laminal plane	Dr DWR White	AgResearch	STD	$175,000	$175,000	$175,000
Elucidating the physiological actions of the Woodlands mutation (FecX2W) on ovarian development, follicular growth and ovulation rate	Dr K McNatty	AgResearch	STD	$220,000	$200,000	$220,000
Intracellular networks in mammary tissue	Dr SA McCoard	AgResearch	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Fungal toxins and humans: Novel tools to investigate ion channel function	Dr JE Dalziel	AgResearch	STD	$150,000	$150,000	$150,000
Efficient general linear algorithms for ordinary differential equations	Professor JC Butcher	Auckland Mathematics and Computation Ltd	STD	$100,000	$100,000	$100,000
Inhomogeneity and high-temperature superconductors	Professor JL Tallon	Industrial Research Ltd	STD	$200,000	$200,000	$200,000
Vegetation response to climate change during greenhouse worlds	Dr EM Crouch	Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences	FS	$50,000	$50,000
The Chatham Islands: an emergent ark?	Dr HJ Campbell	Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences	STD	$300,000	$320,000	$250,000
Earthquake Clustering over Geological Timescales	Dr A Nicol	Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences	STD	$140,000	$140,000	$140,000
Why fungi like sex	Dr RE Beever	Landcare Research	STD	$140,000	$140,000	$140,000
How long have the New Zealand stick insects gone without sex?	Dr T Buckley	Landcare Research	FS	$50,000
Functional characterization and migration of suppressor T cell in vivo	Dr RS McHugh	Malaghan Institute of Medicine	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Does local government matter and mean anything to citizens? New Zealanders' knowledge about, and interaction with, local government	Dr C Cheyne	Massey University	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Working Hard, Playing Hard: Gender relations and alcohol consumption	Dr A Lyons	Massey University	FS	$50,000	$50,000
How variable are evolutionary rates across vertebrates? An ancient DNA approach	Professor D Lambert	Massey University	STD	$250,000	$250,000	$250,000
The syllogistic basis of Aristotle's science	Dr AA Rini	Massey University	FS	$50,000
Exploring the structure of nucleons	Dr FG Cao	Massey University	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Understanding organised crime in the illicit markets for cannabis, amphetamine and ecstasy in New Zealand.	Dr C Wilkins	Massey University	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Social Capital: How does social connectedness work to benefit all?	Dr C Stephens	Massey University	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Sweet Nothings: Molecular complexity beyond the grasp of the genome	Dr C Taylor	Massey University	STD	$195,000	$195,000	$195,000
Pattern formation in higher order differential equations	Dr C Laing	Massey University	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Picornaviral Replication: Structures and interactions of two key viral molecules	Dr SM Pascal	Massey University	STD	$210,000	$210,000	$210,000
Understanding Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes	Professor D Penny	Massey University	STD	$200,000	$200,000	$200,000
Straightening the Spin: The role of political advisors in Cabinet Ministers' offices	Dr R Shaw	Massey University	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Antarctica's subglacial waters - is frazil ice a vital factor?	Dr MJM Williams	National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Suds in Guts: Elucidating the surface - active interface between environmental contaminants and organism tissues.	Dr MJ Ahrens	National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Diminishing distance: New Zealand in a globalising world	Dr B Easton	Private Individual	STD	$100,000	$100,000	$100,000
Te Paeatatu	Mr E Henare	Te Runanga o Ngati Hine for Ngati Hine	STD	$190,000	$190,000	$160,000
An efficient synthesis of Huperzine A, a novel dual action treatment for Alzheimer's disease	Dr V Caprio	University of Auckland	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Quantum stochastic processes for composite systems	Professor HJ Carmichael	University of Auckland	STD	$230,000	$230,000	$230,000
Nanostructures of Gold - from low-dimensional assemblies to heterogeneous catalysis	Professor Peter Schwerdtfeger	University of Auckland	STD	$210,000	$210,000	$210,000
Why are cannabinoid CB1 receptors selectively vulnerable in Huntingdon's disease?	Dr M Glass	University of Auckland	STD	$220,000	$220,000	$220,000
A mathematical foundation for semistructured data	Dr G Dobbie	University of Auckland	STD	$70,000	$70,000	$70,000
Computability, complexity, and randomness	Dr BM Khoussainov	University of Auckland	STD	$120,000	$120,000	$120,000
Stochastic modelling of rat invasions among islands in the New Zealand archipelago	Dr R Fewster	University of Auckland	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Maori-Chinese Encounters: the indigenous and the immigrant	Associate Professor M Ip	University of Auckland	STD	$138,000	$138,000	$138,000
TRP channels and Parkinson's disease	Professor JJ Lipski	University of Auckland	STD	$211,131	$208,383	$209,874
Modelling and analysis of gastrointestinal bioelectric activity	Associate Professor AJ Pullan	University of Auckland	STD	$200,000	$200,000	$200,000
Genetics and fitness consequences of reverse evolution in experimental populations of Pseudomonas fluorescens	Professor P Rainey	University of Auckland	STD	$210,000	$210,000	$210,000
SPRASA, a novel protein, is it essential to fertility?	Dr LW Chamley	University of Auckland	STD	$220,000	$220,000	$220,000
Closing the feedback loop on the cochlear amplifier	Associate Professor G Housley	University of Auckland	STD	$230,000	$230,000	$230,000
A novel drug for control of obesity	Dr K Mountjoy	University of Auckland	STD	$200,000	$200,000
Singing in the Trees: Genealogical models of culturally-inherited traits and the population memetics of bird song	Dr H Ross	University of Auckland	STD	$200,000	$200,000	$200,000
The sexual brain and birdsong	Associate Professor JM Wild	University of Auckland	STD	$275,000	$275,000	$275,000
Insight into fundamentals of membrane protein folding and structure - a protein toxin leads the way	Dr AK Mitra	University of Auckland	STD	$200,000	$200,000	$200,000
Call me Ishmael, Mr. Bayes	Associate Professor CS Baker	University of Auckland	STD	$180,000	$220,000	$180,000
Rediscovering the oldest-known carved Maori house (whare whakairo) and household in Aotearoa / New Zealand	Professor GJ Irwin	University of Auckland	STD	$140,000	$220,000	$207,000
Algebraic and structural graph theory	Associate Professor J Širán	University of Auckland	STD	$110,000	$110,000	$110,000
The archaeology and culture history of Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands	Associate Professor P Sheppard	University of Auckland	STD	$173,000	$210,000	$210,000
Women and health in New Zealand, 1945-2000, with a special emphasis on National Women's Hospital	Associate Professor L Bryder	University of Auckland	STD	$115,000	$115,000	$115,000
Cross-cultural voyaging in the Pacific 1595-1795	Professor Dame Anne Salmond	University of Auckland	STD	$186,000	$186,000	$186,000
The mosquito terminator: Processes underlying selective attention in miniature brains	Professor RR Jackson	University of Canterbury	STD	$210,000	$210,000	$210,000
Fluid dynamics, biogenic adhesives and substrata interactions: Attachment and detachment by macroalgal early life-stages within turbulent boundary layers	Associate Professor D Schiel	University of Canterbury	STD	$220,000	$220,000	$220,000
Critical thresholds for avoiding inbreeding depression in endangered wildlife: Into the ark two by two?	Dr JV Briskie	University of Canterbury	STD	$175,000	$175,000	$175,000
A simultaneous search for microlensing and transiting planets	Dr MD Albrow	University of Canterbury	STD	$100,000	$100,000	$100,000
Untangling the "web of life" with directed graphs	Dr C Semple	University of Canterbury	STD	$120,000	$120,000	$120,000
The pronunciation of Maori and the influence of English: a longitudinal study	Dr M Maclagan	University of Canterbury	STD	$148,000	$148,000	$148,000
Sprouts or seeds? Plant choices after disturbance	Dr AD Sparrow	University of Canterbury	STD	$200,000	$200,000	$200,000
Orbital or thermal causes of glaciations in New Zealand	Dr J Shulmeister	University of Canterbury	STD	$190,000	$200,000	$200,000
Sub-wavelength optics using surface plasmons	Dr R Blaikie	University of Canterbury	STD	$255,000	$255,000	$255,000
Internal conflict in the Asia-Pacific region: Evaluating conflict management strategies and possible responses by New Zealand	Professor J Bercovitch	University of Canterbury	STD	$174,000	$174,000	$174,000
Molecular cages of controlled size and shape	Professor PJ Steel	University of Canterbury	STD	$248,000	$248,000	$248,000
Unravelling the chemistry of a critical step of lysine biosynthesis	Dr JA Gerrard	University of Canterbury	STD	$170,000	$170,000	$170,000
Defining the minimal microsymbiont complement and novel plant genes required to build a root nodule	Dr JT Sullivan	University of Otago	STD	$160,000	$160,000	$160,000
Royal manipulation of worker bee behaviour: pheromone modulation of dopamine receptor function in the honey bee (Apis mellifera L)	Professor AR Mercer	University of Otago	STD	$200,000	$200,000	$200,000
New critical and annotated edition of Jane Austen's Persuasion	Professor J Harris	University of Otago	STD	$90,000
Bose-Einstein condensation and related phase transitions in a two-dimensional trapped Bose gas	Dr DAW Hutchinson	University of Otago	STD	$155,000	$155,000	$70,000
Empires of grass: The reconstruction of the New Zealand grasslands 1850s-1950s	Associate Professor T Brooking	University of Otago	STD	$201,000	$201,000	$201,000
Understanding how a biological turbine controls its direction of rotation: forward or reverse	Dr GM Cook	University of Otago	STD	$200,000	$210,000	$210,000
Soluble-major histocompatibility class II molecules in blood and their interactions with bacterial superantigens	Dr AD McLellan	University of Otago	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Intrinsic hypoxia-tolerance in neurones and neuroprotection	Dr PH Donohoe	University of Otago	FS	$50,000	$50,000
The contribution of the protein environment of the oxygen-evolving complex of photosythesis in the stabilisation of biological water-splitting and oxygen production	Dr JJ Eaton-Rye	University of Otago	STD	$185,000	$185,000	$185,000
Horizontal transfer of genomic islands in the lab and the environment	Professor C Ronson	University of Otago	STD	$170,000	$170,000	$170,000
The emergence of Pakeha culture: historical archaeology of the shore whalers	Dr I Smith	University of Otago	STD	$167,000	$190,000	$145,000
Advances in ocean wave/sea-ice interaction: towards an operational model	Professor V Squire	University of Otago	STD	$240,000	$260,000	$275,000
Why are there so many kinds of alleles? Frequency-dependent selection and genetic variability	Associate Professor HG Spencer	University of Otago	STD	$170,000	$170,000	$190,000
Controlled self-assembly of arrays of communicating metal ions: potential nanocomponents	Associate Professor S Brooker	University of Otago	STD	$191,000	$191,000	$190,000
Time in Antiquity	Associate Professor R Hannah	University of Otago	STD	$70,000	$70,000	$70,000
Contaminant transport in fractal media	Dr B Baeumer	University of Otago	FS	$50,000	$50,000
"In transition": How the children of the economic reforms articulate identities at the child/adult border	Dr K Nairn	University of Otago	STD	$200,000	$200,000	$200,000
Growth of previtellogenic oocytes in eel (Anguilla australis): identification of androgen-responsive ovarian genes	Dr PM Lokman	University of Otago	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Why do we forget when we are old?	Dr JM Williams	University of Otago	STD	$210,000	$210,000	$210,000
Prolactin signalling in the brain: uncovering new roles for an old hormone	Dr GM Anderson	University of Otago	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Brain dopamine in reward-related learning	Dr B Hyland	University of Otago	STD	$300,000	$300,000	$300,000
Bcl-w: A model pro-survival Bcl-2 family protein	Dr C Day	University of Otago	STD	$200,000	$200,000	$200,000
Immune and molecular biology of the mouse Idd21.1 autoimmune diabetes locus	Dr T Merriman	University of Otago	STD	$180,000	$180,000	$180,000
Does the location of an external signal influence how a cell responds to it?	Associate Professor I McLennan	University of Otago	STD	$220,000	$220,000	$220,000
Fractional-order dynamics of sensorimotor neurons and the stability of animal and robot movement	Dr MG Paulin	University of Otago	STD	$185,000	$185,000	$185,000
Family strategies involving 'madness' in colonial Australia and New Zealand, 1860-1914	Dr CS Coleborne	University of Waikato	FS	$50,000	$50,000
The Kyoto Protocol as a measure of commitment to principles of sustainability	Dr J Roper	University of Waikato	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Radiocarbon calibration and palaeoclimate during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3:  Testing hypotheses of abrupt change using New Zealand kauri (Agathis Australis)	Dr AG Hogg	University of Waikato	STD	$125,000	$125,000	$125,000
Threatened languages on Malakula: Lessons for linguistic theory?	Associate Professor T Crowley	University of Waikato	STD	$113,000	$110,000	$110,000
Microbial stabilisation or faunal destablisation: Biotic controls on estuarine sediment transport	Dr CA Pilditch	University of Waikato	FS	$50,000	$50,000
The physics of sleep cycles	Dr M Steyn-Ross	University of Waikato	STD	$220,000	$220,000	$220,000
Predicting sets by discovering and exploiting neighbourhood relationships	Dr B Pfahringer	University of Waikato	STD	$95,000	$95,000	$95,000
Moss Sex: The evolution of combined and separate in gametophytes	Professor P Garnock-Jones	Victoria University of Wellington	STD	$150,000	$150,000	$150,000
Understanding the Ecological drivers of adaptive radiation	Dr LK Jesson	Victoria University of Wellington	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Integrating invasion hypotheses—an experimental manipulation of the boundaries of an ecological invader	Dr PJ Lester	Victoria University of Wellington	FS	$50,000	$50,000
Spatial scale and the paradox of the resource concentration hypothesis	Dr S Hartley	Victoria University of Wellington	STD	$150,000	$150,000	$120,000
Molten rock and Strong Seismic Reflectors in the Mantle beneath Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand	Associate Professor T Stern	Victoria University of Wellington	STD	$200,000	$200,000	$200,000
Brahms's song collections: "Bouquets of song" and Cyclic Intent	Dr I Van Rij	Victoria University of Wellington	FS	$50,000
Rheo-NMR, Rheo-optics and complex soft matter	Professor PT Callaghan	Victoria University of Wellington	STD	$240,000	$240,000	$240,000
Non-commutative geometry, Brauer Group Theory and geometric logic	Dr YH Zhang	Victoria University of Wellington	STD	$70,000	$70,000	$70,000
Ownership types for Object-oriented and Aspect-oriented programming	Dr RJ Noble	Victoria University of Wellington	STD	$110,000	$110,000	$110,000
Memory, narrative, identity: Women writers of 1920s Spain	Dr SJ Leggott	Victoria University of Wellington	FS	$50,000	$50,000