Hutton Medal
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Annual award given to a New Zealand scientific or technological researcher
The Hutton Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Society Te Apārangi to a researcher who, working within New Zealand, has significantly advanced understanding through work of outstanding scientific or technological merit.
Prior to 2017 it was awarded in rotation for research in animal sciences, earth sciences, or plant sciences. From, and including, 2017, it is awarded to any of the three disciplines but will not normally be awarded in the same discipline two years in a row. The awardee must have received the greater part of his/her education in New Zealand or have resided in New Zealand for not less than 10 years.[1]
The bronze medal has a portrait of Hutton on one side, with a landscape on the reverse featuring a kiwi, a tuatara, New Zealand plants (Celmisia, Phormium, Cordyline) and an active volcano in the background.
Background
The award is named after Frederick Wollaston Hutton FRS (1836–1905). Hutton was the first President of the New Zealand Institute (the forerunner to the Royal Society), serving from 1904 to 1905. In 1909 the Hutton Memorial Fund was established to support the Hutton Medal and also grants for research in New Zealand zoology, botany or geology.
Until 1996 the medal was awarded not more than once every three years, from 1996 to 2008 the medal was awarded biennially and from 2009 it has been awarded annually.
Recipients
There have been the following recipients of the Hutton Medal.[2]
| Year | Recipient(s) | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| 1911 | William Benham | |
| 1914 | Leonard Cockayne | |
| 1917 | Patrick Marshall | |
| 1920 | John Holloway | |
| 1923 | Allan Thomson | |
| 1926 | Charles Chilton | |
| 1929 | George Hudson | |
| 1932 | Arthur Bartrum | |
| 1935 | Gordon Herriot Cunningham | |
| 1938 | David Miller | |
| 1941 | Harry Allan | |
| 1944 | Noel Benson | |
| 1947 | Charles Cotton | |
| 1950 | Walter Oliver | |
| 1953 | John Marwick | |
| 1956 | Charles Fleming | |
| 1959 | Laurence Richardson | |
| 1962 | Barry Fell | |
| 1965 | Lucy Moore | |
| 1968 | Norcott Hornibrook | |
| 1971 | Ray Forster | |
| 1974 | Maxwell Gage | |
| 1977 | William Philipson | |
| 1980 | George Knox | |
| 1983 | Pat Suggate | |
| 1986 | Eric Godley | |
| 1989 | Rufus Wells | |
| 1992 | George Scott | |
| 1995 | Geoff Baylis | |
| 1996 | Richard Norris | "For his major impact on the understanding of geological processes at the continental (New Zealand) plate boundary" |
| 1997 | Alan Mark | |
| 1998 | Alan Kirton | "For his outstanding contribution to meat science and technology" |
| 1999 | Hugh Bibby | "For fundamental contributions to earth sciences in earth deformation analysis and geo-electrical prospecting" |
| 2000 | Henry Connor and Elizabeth Edgar | "For their extremely meritorious contributions to the botanical classification and documentation of New Zealand’s flora" |
| 2002 | Roger Morris | "For his outstanding contribution to the advancement of animal science as a veterinarian and epidemiologist" |
| 2004 | Campbell Nelson | "For major contributions in the fields of sedimentology and paleoclimate research" |
| 2006 | Colin Webb | "For major contributions to plant systematics and evolutionary biology" |
| 2008 | Bryce Buddle | "For his world-leading research into controlling infectious animal diseases" |
| 2009 | Colin Wilson | "For his outstanding work on volcanism" |
| 2010 | David Galloway | "For his significant contributions to understanding the New Zealand environment, particularly through his botanical work on New Zealand lichens" |
| 2011 | Robert Poulin | "For his leading research in the field of parasitic diseases, especially for his work in ecological parasitology, an area of particular relevance to New Zealand’s marine and freshwater ecosystems" |
| 2012 | Ewan Fordyce | "For his seminal contributions in New Zealand vertebrate paleontology, particularly for whales, dolphins and penguins" |
| 2013 | Dave Kelly | "For developing knowledge of native flora in New Zealand and defining the key interactions between plants and animals. He has made long-term studies of South Island ecosystems, including decade-long studies to understand ‘mast seeding’ where plant species synchronise production of an unusually large seed crop" |
| 2014 | Not awarded | |
| 2015 | Lionel Carter | "For his career-long contributions to marine geology in New Zealand through fundamental investigations of sea-floor geological processes and their application to assessment of hazards and resources" |
| 2016 | Wendy Nelson | "For her significant contributions to understanding the diversity, biology and evolution of marine macroalgae"[3] |
| 2017 | Roger Cooper | "For his contributions to understanding the geological foundations and the earliest organisms of Zealandia and beyond and for his role in maintaining and developing paleobiology expertise in New Zealand, which uses rocks to study ancient biology"[4] |
| 2018 | Bruce Hayward | "For outstanding contributions to the knowledge of New Zealand's marine ecology and geology"[5] |
| 2019 | Philip Hulme | "For his outstanding contributions to the knowledge of plant invasions in New Zealand, especially his innovative insights in why and how non-native plants become invasive weeds"[6] |
| 2020 | Neil Gemmell | "For his research that is fundamentally changing our understanding of animal ecology and evolution and is driving the development of new approaches for conservation and management of the world’s rarest species"[7] |
| 2021 | Richard McDowell | "For his work on nutrient flows in soils and water, and informing farm management and environmental policy"[8] |
| 2022 | Rupert Sutherland | "For fundamental discoveries in global plate tectonics, the evolution of Zealandia and the implications for active faulting and large magnitude earthquakes in New Zealand"[9] |
| 2023 | Nicholas Golledge | "for his cutting-edge contributions to modelling of the Antarctic ice sheet, and research on climate change, including his role as a Lead Author for the most recent Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)"[10] |
| 2024 | Andrew Allan | "For world-leading research on plant genomics, in support of New Zealand's plant breeding programmes."[11] |
| 2025 | Dennis Gordon | "For extraordinary contributions to global taxonomy, as the world’s leading authority on bryozoa, and publication of the New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity."[12] |
References
- ↑ "Hutton Medal". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
- ↑ "Recipients". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ↑ "2016 Hutton Medal: Understanding New Zealand's diverse marine flora". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- ↑ "2017 Hutton Medal: Understanding the geological and evolutionary origins of Zealandia". Royal Society Te Apārangi. 10 October 2017. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ↑ "2018 Hutton Medal: What microscopic marine amoeba can tell us about our past climate, sea levels and earthquakes". Royal Society Te Apārangi. 17 October 2018. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ↑ "2019 Hutton Medal: Why New Zealand is one of the weediest nations and what to do about it". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ↑ "2020 Hutton Medal: Understanding the biology of 'mother's curse', sex change in fish and the tuatara genome". Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ↑ "Influential healthy homes research recognised with top honour". The New Zealand Herald. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ↑ "Research Honours Aotearoa winners celebrated in Te Whanganui-a-Tara". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
- ↑ "Linda Tuhiwai Smith receives Rutherford Medal alongside other Research Honours Aotearoa winners". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ↑ "2024 Hutton Medal: Adapting crops to a changing climate". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
- ↑ "2025 Hutton Medal: An inventory of all life in Aotearoa – past and present". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 15 November 2025.