2019 ACADEMY ANNUAL REPORT CHAIR’S FOREWORD The Academy celebrated the centenary of the Fellowship in 2019 with the induction of 20 new Fellows at a ceremony held in Wellington on 14 February, followed by the New Fellows’ Symposium. The diversity and range of scholarship in the academy was significantly enhanced with these new elections which included 11 women, 2 outstanding Māori scholars and one Fellow internationally recognised for original thinking and influence on the application of the Treaty of Waitangi in our law and society. In addition, three new Honorary Fellows were inducted at the ceremony. All three Honorary Fellows joined the new Fellows and friends of the Academy at a special dinner that evening. Our special guest, Dame Anne Glover, President of the Royal Society Edinburgh, gave the after- dinner address. To recognise the Academy’s centenary a cake was cut at the dinner by the oldest Fellow Dr Eddie Robertson OBE CBE FRSNZ who had turned 100 in January. A geophysicist, he was Director General of the DSIR in the last 10 years before his retirement. He was elected a Fellow in 1963. The following day, 14 February, Dame Anne Glover contributed alongside a number of other distinguished speakers to a hui on how we might better recognise many and diverse forms of excellence in science, technology, the humanities and mātaurangi as we strive to expand the scope and relevance of the Society and Academy to all New Zealanders. This was an extremely important discussion where we could share knowledge and practice across our scholarly communities to continue to improve our processes. We can take some pride in progress to date, but ongoing effort is needed to maintain momentum and ensure processes do not slip into disciplinary homogeneity over time. In addition to the new Fellows, six people were awarded status as Companions of Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2019. Dr Judith Bateup, John Bongard, Dr Ian Griffin, Dr Barbara Hayden and Dr Rob Whitney were inducted at a ceremony in Wellington on 30 July coinciding with Professor Larner's Presidential Address. Tā Tipene O’Regan was honoured at the Research Honours Aotearoa celebration in Ōtepoti Dunedin, Te Waipounamu, in October. The election as a Companion is an honour recognising outstanding leadership or sustained contributions to promoting and advancing science, technology, or the humanities in Aotearoa, and there are now 54 Companions. The election of Fellows for induction in 2020 was also completed, with the Fellowship Selection Committee recommending the election of 19 new Fellows and 1 new Honorary Fellow. The induction ceremony and Fellows’ Forum will take place on 12 and 13 February 2020 in conjunction with the 54th Fellows’ Forum. Changes to the criteria for election to Companionship progressed through the Academy Executive Committee and Council in 2019, to recognise leadership in knowledge holding as a vital part of our research environment, and also to acknowledge the importance of mātauranga and indigenous knowledge in Aotearoa. Companions can now be nominated for their leadership in institutions or communities that hold nationally or internationally significant knowledge sources mātauranga or taongi, such as galleries, libraries, archives, museums, or within iwi communities. Knowledge transfer, including intergenerational transfer through oral traditions, can also be recognised through Companionship. We are looking forward to seeing the size, scope and contributions of the Companionship grow through new nominations under these expanded criteria. One of the highlights of the 2019 calendar, as with most years, was Research Honours Aotearoa, held at the Dunedin Town Hall in October. The scale and prestige of the event and the awards was outstanding again in 2019, with the presentation of Tā Tipene’s Companionship at a place rooted within the heartland of the Kāi Tahu rohe deeply significant. The Rutherford Medal was presented to Distinguished Professor Jane Harding of the University of Auckland as one of our highest awards, and it is our great fortune to have Professor Harding as a new member of the Academy Executive Committee. As with the Fellowship, there was pleasing diversity in the awardees and the areas of disciplinary excellence that were celebrated with medals and awards at the 2019 RHA. One new Royal Society Te Apārangi award was presented for the first time, the Te Rangaunua Hiranga Māori Award to recognise co-created research conducted by Māori, and a new award celebrating excellence in invention and creation was announced, supported by Callaghan Innovation, named Tahunui-a-Rangi which translates as “Great Glowing of the Sky”. Academy-related activities also included contributing to the work of the Society’s Expert Advice and Practice programme, which was highly productive in 2019 with the ongoing and extensive work of the gene editing Deliberative Panel and the production of a Fact Sheet on medical cannabis in the lead up to the 2020 national referendum on the legalisation of cannabis. In coordination with the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor (PMCSA) significant work was undertaken to produce an evidence-based summary on plastics in the environment, which has had strong uptake from schools as an education resource as well as sitting alongside the PMCSA’s policy- and industry-facing work that has led to changes in the way we allow many single-use plastic products to be deployed in Aotearoa. With all of these activities being undertaken with a degree of oversight by a part-time and voluntary Academy Executive Committee, many thanks are necessary to those who have helped to keep the work progressing. Firstly, thanks to my Deputy Chair, Tony Connor, for his help and guidance and to all the members of the newly constituted AEC. The change to six Domain Convenors from three Vice-Presidents has proven successful with the ability for voices to be heard from the wide range of disciplines in the Academy now more clearly embedded. This structure and the effectiveness of our operation as a broad academy was reinforced during a visit to a number of the separate academies in Australia early in the year, where a separate Council (ACOLA – the Australian Council of Learned Academies) is required to foster the interdisciplinary cooperation we gain naturally in our Academy. To help promote good practice across the Tasman, one of the tangible outcomes from this visit was the inclusion of relevant representatives of the Australian academies as contributing members of our Fellowship Selection Committee in 2019, a practice that will hopefully continue in future years. Unreserved thanks must also go to the staff of Royal Society Te Apārangi for the wisdom, knowledge and hard-working dedication to the advancement of the Society’s objectives. After many years of dedicated service we were sad to receive the news late in 2019 that we will lose the outstanding management and strategic expertise of Gill Sutherland, Director – Academy Operation, from March 2020. Gill has decided to move to a well-earned retirement status, to travel and have more time to commit to whanau, and we wish her every joy in the many years of happiness that lie ahead. Māku te ra e tō ana; kei a koe te urunga ake o te rā. Richard Blaikie FRSNZ Chair, Academy of Royal Society Te Apārangi ACADEMY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND ACADEMY REPRESENTATIVES ON ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW 2 2019 Academy Annual Report ZEALAND TE APĀRANGI COUNCIL Until June 2019 Chair: Professor Richard Blaikie FRSNZ Members Professor Wendy Larner FRSNZ Dr Ian Brown FRSNZ Dr Tony Conner FRSNZ Professor Catherine Day FRSNZ Professor Margaret Tennant FRSNZ Professor Phillippa Howden-Chapman FRSNZ Professor Ken Strongman FRSNZ From 30 June 2019 Chair: Professor Richard Blaikie FRSNZ Members Professor Wendy Larner FRSNZ Dr Tony Conner FRSNZ Professor David Schiel FRSNZ Professor Jane Harding ONZM FRSNZ Professor Charlotte Macdonald FRSNZ Professor Gaven Martin FRSNZ Professor Stephen May FRSNZ Professor Geoff Chase FRSNZ FELLOWSHIP AND HONORARY FELLOWSHIP There were 439 Fellows and 56 Honorary Fellows as at 31 December 2019. DEATHS The deaths of the following were noted during the year: Dr George Grindley FRSNZ, formerly of New Zealand Geological Survey, died on 2 February; Professor Brian Halton FRSNZ, formerly of Victoria University of Wellington, died on 23 February; Dr David Kear FRSNZ, formerly of DSIR, died on 5 March; Professor Warren Moran FRSNZ, formerly of the University of Auckland, died on 13 August 2019; Dr Lawrie Creamer FRSNZ, formerly of the Dairy Research Institute, died on 7 September 2019; Professor Ken Strongman FRSNZ, formerly of the University of Canterbury, died on 29 December. Dr Diana Martin, formerly of ESR, died on 31 December. Obituaries have been, or will be lodged on the Royal Society website as they are provided. PUBLIC HONOURS New Year Honours 2019 Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM) Distinguished Professor Margaret Anne Brimble, CNZM, of Auckland, for services to science. 2018 Academy Annual Report 3 Queen’s Birthday Honours 2019 Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) Professor Charles Ninian McGhee, of Auckland, for services to ophthalmology. NATIONAL AWARDS AND APPOINTMENTS Royal Society of New Zealand Medals and Awards Awarded at Research Honours Dinner Hosted by Royal Society Te Apārangi, the achievements and contributions of innovators, kairangahau Māori, researchers and scholars were recognised at this year's Research Honours Aotearoa at the Dunedin Town Hall in Ōtepoti Dunedin on 17 Whiringa-ā-nuku October. During this ceremony, the Society presented 17 medals and awards and the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) presented three medals and awards. Tā Tipene O'Regan was also made a Companion. The Rutherford Medal was awarded to Distinguished Professor Jane Harding ONZM FRSNZ for her pre- eminent work determining the causes of newborn conditions and long-term consequences of interventions around the time of birth.