NZMS Awards and prizes
COVID and the Society’s Research Awards
NZMS recognises that the effects of COVID lockdowns and other disruptions on research capacity have been unequally distributed. To ameliorate this, the prize committee determining our research awards will take unequal opportunity loss due to COVID disruption into account. To facilitate this consideration candidates are invited to submit a half page description of the effect that COVID related disruption has had on their research output. Submitting this description is voluntary and, as with all other application materials, the information revealed is protected by our privacy policy.
Policy relating to COVID will be updated as appropriate at the beginning of each calendar year.
NZMS Research Award
This annual Award was instituted in 1990 to foster mathematical research in New Zealand and to recognise excellence in research carried out by mathematicians in New Zealand. This Award is based on mathematical research published in the last five calendar years (2019-2024). This could include research published in books, journals, other peer-reviewed venues, or other types of high quality mathematical research.
Eligibility. To be eligible for the Award, a candidate must be a current member of the NZMS and must have been residing in New Zealand for the last three years.
The five year assessment period may be adjusted to take into account career breaks. Candidates may contact the NZMS President Dr Melissa Tacy in confidence for clarification of how the adjustment of time period applies to the their particular circumstances.
Nominations should include the following:
- preferred name and affiliation of candidate;
- statement of general area of research;
- a CV including: distinctions awarded, full list of graduate students supervised, full list of grants received (including names of co-investigators), full list of publications (including names of coauthors); publications from the 2019-2024 assessment period should be highlighted;
- if appropriate, a justification for an adjustment of the assessment period to take into account an interrupted career pattern;
- if the candidate chooses, a short (no more than half page) statement detailing the effect of COVID related disruption on their research output;
- an electronic copy (pdf) of each of the five most significant publications (selected from within the assessment period);
- a clear statement of how much of any joint work is due to the candidate;
- names of two persons willing to act as referees, though the judging panel may approach referees other than those nominated;
- the referees should be chosen carefully; in particular, they should not have a conflict of interest and they should be able to give scientific insight into the work to be assessed. It may be easier to avoid a conflict of interest by choosing international referees; and
- a citation, of maximum 40 words, summarizing the mathematical research underlying the application.
Unsuccessful applicants from 2023 will be invited to update their application so that it can be reconsidered in 2024.
Nominations should be sent by email to the NZMS President, Dr Melissa Tacy by 31 August 2024. Submissions should state clearly that they are for the NZMS Research Award. Candidates may nominate themselves.
A judging panel will be appointed by the NZMS President, and the panel makes recommendations to the President for the Award. No person shall receive the Award more than once. The Award consists of a certificate including an appropriate citation of the awardee's work, and will be announced and presented at the New Zealand Mathematics Colloquium Dinner in December.
The Research Award for 2023 was presented at the NZMS Colloquium to Michael Plank (University of Canterbury) " For research in stochastic and nonlinear dynamical models that has led to new mathematical advances and novel insights into a range of application areas including cell biology, the dynamics and management of complex ecosystems, and epidemiological modelling."
NZMS Early Career Research Award
This award was instituted in 2006 to foster mathematical research in New Zealand and to recognise excellent research carried out by early-career New Zealand mathematicians. Candidates will be judged on their best three published research outputs and a brief CV. Research outputs could include publications in books, journals, other peer-reviewed venues, or other types of high quality mathematical research.
Eligibility. Candidates may contact the NZMS President Dr Melissa Tacy in confidence for clarification of how the following eligibility criteria apply to their particular circumstances.
- Candidates should be within ten years of confirmation of PhD.
- Candidates most have been residing in NZ for a total of at least two of the previous three years. In the case where a candidate has been prevented from entering New Zealand by COVID restrictions the candidate will be treated as if they entered New Zealand at the time their job/course of study commenced.
- Candidates must be current members of the NZMS.
- No person can receive the award more than once.
- An appropriate adjustment to eligibility conditions can be made to take into account career breaks or periods of reduced workload.
Nominations and applications should include the following:
- name and affiliation of candidate;
- statement of general area of research;
- a brief CV which illustrates the nominee's standing in the community, including: any distinctions awarded, list of any graduate students supervised, list of any grants received (including names of co-investigators), full list of publications (including names of coauthors);
- if the candidate chooses a short (no more than half page) statement detailing the effect of COVID related disruption on their research output;
- if appropriate, a justification for an adjustment of time since confirmation of PhD;
- an electronic copy (pdf) of each of their three best papers (the papers must be published or in press);
- a clear statement of the mathematical contribution of the candidate in cases of joint authorship;
- a citation, of maximum 40 words, summarising the mathematical research underlying the application (it is recommended that self-applicants approach a colleague to write this citation);
- names of two persons willing to act as referees, though the judging panel may approach referees other than those nominated. Referees should be carefully chosen; in particular, they should not have a conflict of interest and they should be able to give scientific insight into the work to be assessed. It may be easier to avoid a conflict of interest by choosing international referees.
Unsuccessful applicants from 2023 who are still eligible in 2024 will be invited to update their application so that it can be reconsidered in 2024.
Nominations should be sent by email to the NZMS President, Dr Melissa Tacy by 31 August 2024. Submissions should state clearly that they are for the NZMS Early Career Award. Applicants may nominate themselves.
A judging panel will be appointed by the NZMS President, and makes recommendations to the President for the Award. No person shall receive the Award more than once. The Award consists of a certificate including an appropriate citation of the awardee's work, and will be announced and presented at the New Zealand Mathematics Colloquium Dinner in December.
The Early Career Award for 2023 was presented at the NZMS Colloquium to Brendan Harding (Victoria University of Wellington) "For significant contributions to a broad range of fields including fluid dynamics, numerical analysis and fractal geometry. Recent work on inertial particle focusing in curved duct geometries exemplifies his ability to tackle complex problems and extract far-reaching results," and to Rachelle Binny (Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research) "For a blend of application-driven modelling and theoretical advances in spatial moment dynamics. Her work has driven advances in applied mathematics, as well as having impact in real-world applications including New Zealand’s COVID-19 response."
Gillian Thornley Award for outstanding contribution to the cause or profession of mathematics
This annual award was established in 2020 to recognize outstanding contributions to the cause or profession of mathematics in New Zealand. The award will be made to a person or group that has made an outstanding contribution to mathematics within NZ, with the nominations being assessed on the basis of the case made by the nominators. For the purposes of this award, “contribution to the cause or profession or mathematics” could include (but is not limited to) contributions to teaching and education, research leadership, outreach, engagement with government bodies, diversity, service to professional societies, mentoring, and communication of mathematics to a general audience.
Eligibility. Nominees need not be members of the NZMS but the award would normally be given for work that took place in New Zealand and contributed to NZ mathematics.
Nominations should include the following:
- A joint statement of support (at most one page) from two nominators, who must be current members of the NZMS.
- A brief CV (at most three pages) containing: name and affiliation; professional experience including employment history and roles; awards, prizes or other relevant recognition, if any; summary of activities or service relevant to the contribution for which the person is being nominated. If a nomination is for more than one person, CVs should be provided for two of the nominees.
- Any other relevant information, if necessary (at most three pages). This could (but need not) include a letter of support.
Nominations should be sent by email to the NZMS President, Dr Melissa Tacy by 31 August 2024. Submissions should state clearly that they are for the Gillian Thornley Award.
The Gillian Thornley Award for 2023 was presented at the NZMS Colloquium to Sina Greenwood (University of Auckland) "For her demonstrated commitment to improving learning outcomes for Māori and Pacific students for over 20 years, with scores of students having benefited from the programmes and initiatives that Sina has had the determination and perseverance to deliver. She has also demonstrated outstanding leadership in this domain and is currently the Associate Dean Pacific in the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland and led the development of a Pacific Strategy for Science."
Kalman Prize for Best Paper
The Kalman Prize for Best Paper was instituted in 2016 to recognise excellence in research carried out by New Zealand mathematicians. The Prize will normally be awarded annually for an outstanding and innovative piece of research in the mathematical sciences published by a member or members of the NZMS. The Prize is for a single publication of original research, which may be an article, monograph or book, having appeared within the last 5 calendar years: 2019-2024. The value of the Prize is $5000. The Prize is generously funded by the Margaret and John Kalman Charitable Trust, and recognises the significant contributions to mathematics in New Zealand made by Professor John Kalman.
Eligibility. A publication may be nominated for the Prize by any member of the NZMS who is not an author of that publication. To be eligible, the nominated publication must have at least one author who:
| i) is a current member of the NZMS, and was a member in the calendar year of publication of the nominated work; and |
| ii) is a resident of New Zealand, and used a New Zealand address in the publication. |
In the case of publications with multiple eligible authors, the Prize will be shared by all eligible authors. The existence of authors who do not meet the conditions in i) and ii) above will not preclude the award, although the judging panel may take into account whether the NZ author has made a major contribution to the published work. The judging panel may deem a publication ineligible if an author has previously received an award from the NZMS for a body of research that included the nominated publication.
Nominations should include the following:
- a brief summary from the nominator(s) of 1-2 pages of what makes the nominated publication important, innovative and outstanding (with appropriate references to prior or subsequent work in the field) as well as a confirmation that the author satisfies the eligibility requirements;
- an electronic copy (pdf) of the publication;
- the names of six possible assessors. The judging panel may approach assessors other than those nominated. Assessors must not have a conflict of interest (see below) and they should be able to give scientific insight into the work to be assessed. It may be easier to avoid a conflict of interest by choosing international assessors.
Unsuccessful applicants from 2023 (whose publication remains within the eligibility period) will be invited to update their application so that it can be reconsidered in 2024.
Nominations should be sent by email to the NZMS President, Dr Melissa Tacy by 31 August 2024. Submissions should state clearly that they are for the Kalman Prize for Best Paper.
A judging panel will be appointed by the NZMS President, and makes recommendations to the President for the Prize. We note that the prize should be awarded solely on the merit of the publication, not on career achievements of the author or authors. The winner(s) of the prize will be announced at the New Zealand Mathematics Colloquium Dinner in December.
The Kalman Prize for Best Paper in 2023 was awarded to Marston Conder (University of Auckland) for the paper `Edge-transitive bi-Cayley graphs’, written jointly with Jin-Xin Zhou, Yan-Quan Feng and Mi-Mi Zhang (Beijing Jiaotong University), and published in 2020 in the Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Series B.
NZMS Teaching Excellence Award
The annual NZMS Award for Teaching Excellence has been established to recognise an outstanding teaching practice of mathematics lecturers in the New Zealand tertiary sector. Each year one Teaching Excellence Award will be presented at the NZMS Colloquium. The awardee will be invited to write a short classroom note for the NZMS Newsletter. A call for nominations will be made each year, and nominations will close on 31 August of the year of the award.
Eligibility criteria
The nominee
- is currently a member of the New Zealand Mathematical Society and was a member for the consecutive twelve-month period immediately prior to the closing date for the nomination
- resides in New Zealand
- has carried out the teaching in the mathematical sciences for which they are being nominated at one or more New Zealand tertiary institution(s) where they held a permanent, fixed term or sessional appointment(s) with a teaching component, on a full-time, fractional or casual basis
- can demonstrate sustained contribution to excellent teaching that supports learning for a period of no less than three years
- is ineligible for the NZMS Award for Teaching Excellence if they have previously won this award
Guidelines.
Nominees are encouraged to select one or more of the five focus areas listed below, and include clear and consistent forms of evidence addressing this focus area. Nominees should demonstrate that their contribution has gained recognition supported by evidence. The focus areas are:
- approaches to teaching and the support of learning of mathematics that influence, motivate and inspire students to learn
- development of curricula, resources or services that reflect a command of the field including current mathematics education research
- evaluation practices that bring about improvements in teaching and learning of mathematics
- innovation, leadership or scholarship that has influenced and enhanced learning and teaching of mathematics and/or the student experience
- excellence in student supervision
Advice to the applicants.
The application should consist of
a) a standard cover sheet.
b) a proposed citation (maximum 100 words) to describe the work of the nominee
c) a statement addressing the selection criteria of no more than two A4 pages, arguing the case for offering the award to the nominee and providing evidence of the contribution in the chosen focus area(s)
d) a Curriculum Vitae of no more than four A4 pages, summarising the nominee’s professional career and highlighting any achievements in learning and teaching of mathematics which add support to the nomination
e) two references of no more than one A4 page each, provided by people able to comment on the applicant’s contribution to student learning in mathematics in the chosen focus area against the selection criteria. One referee should be in a relevant formal role in the nominee’s faculty, department, school or administrative body, who can comment on the nominee’s teaching, such as the Head, Deputy Head, Academic Head, Director of Teaching, Director of First-Year Studies or Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching. The references must be signed, with electronic signatures acceptable.
Some additional pointers.
- There is a range of evidence that can be used to prepare a good application, including peer review by colleagues or students. Applicants might like to consider including their Teaching Profile (or Teaching Portfolio) which is often required for university promotions.
- The citation is a 1-3 sentence summary of your overarching claim for an outstanding contribution, beginning with ‘for … ’.
Applicants self-nominate for the award. All documents must be on A4 pages with margins of at least 2cm, using 11-point font. The application (items a-d) should be submitted as one document (PDF or Word); letters of reference may be submitted separately. Excess pages will not be provided to the Award Committee.
The Award committee will make recommendations to the President of the NZMS for approval.
Submission.
Send your application and enquiries to the NZMS President Dr Melissa Tacy. The receipt of applications will be acknowledged via return email.
NZMS Aitken Prize (Student Prize)
The Society offers a prize for the best contributed talk by a student at the annual New Zealand Mathematics Colloquium. This prize is known as the Aitken Prize, in honour of the New Zealand born mathematician Alexander Craig Aitken. The Prize was first offered at the 1995 Colloquium held in conjunction with the Aitken Centenary Conference at the University of Otago. Candidates for the Prize give a talk on a topic in any branch of the mathematical sciences.
Eligibility. To be eligible, a candidate must be enrolled (or have been enrolled) for a degree in Mathematics at a university or other tertiary institution in New Zealand in the year of the award. The prize consists of NZ$500, accompanied by a certificate. Candidates should indicate their willingness to be considered for the Prize on the Colloquium registration form.
A judging panel is appointed by the NZMS President. The panel makes recommendations to the President for the Prize, based on these guidelines. Normally the Prize will be awarded to one person, but in exceptional circumstances the Prize may be shared, or no prize may be awarded.
The prize consists of a cheque for NZ$500, accompanied by a certificate.
The Aitken Prize in 2023 was awarded to Juan Patino-Echeverria (University of Auckland) for the talk "Transitions to wild chaos in a 4D Lorenz-like system".
Privacy Act
All applications and reference letters are to be treated as confidential. They are to be accessed only by the members of the prize committee or accreditation committee and, where necessary, the NZMS president.
The NZMS president and convenor of the committee may keep a secure copy of all applications and reference letters for a maximum of one year following the conclusion of the assessment process. This is solely for the purpose of
- Resolving any disputes
- Allowing applicants to reapply with the same reference letters.
Note that invitations to assessors and referees must make it clear that letters will be retained for these purposes.
All other committee or panel members must delete all application files and reference letters immediately following the conclusion of the assessment process.
Conflict of Interest
(Note: these have been adapted from rules used by the Royal Society for managing conflict of interest with Marsden Panel members.)
An assessor, referee, committee member or convenor has a potential conflict of interest if:
- they are a supervisor, partner, spouse or a family member of any applicant(s)
- they work in the same team or department of any applicant(s)
- they have co-authored publications with the applicant(s) in the past five years
- they have a low level of comfort assessing the application due to their relationship with the applicant(s)
An assessor with a potential conflict of interest will not be asked to evaluate the application.
If a committee member has a potential conflict of interest, they must discuss the conflict with the convenor. The convenor will decide whether or not the committee member can continue with their role.
If the convenor has a potential conflict of interest, they must discuss the conflict with the NZMS president. The president will decide whether the duties of convening be passed to another member. Disputes regarding conflict of interest will be resolved by the convenor and, if necessary, the NZMS president.
Recipients of the Research Award
| 2023 | Michael Plank | For research in stochastic and nonlinear dynamical models that has led to new mathematical advances and novel insights into a range of application areas including cell biology, the dynamics and management of complex ecosystems, and epidemiological modelling. |
| 2022 | Noam Greenberg | For contributions and significant advances in computability theory, proof theory, set theory, computable structure theory and algorithmic information theory. |
| 2021 | Clemency Montelle | Professor Montelle pursues outstanding research in the field of the history of mathematics, employing the rare combination of fluency in ancient languages and an extensive background in mathematics to uncover hitherto unknown profound and diverse mathematical achievements of our predecessors. |
| 2020 | Jeroen Schillewaert | For his outstanding and diverse contributions to a broad range of topics in combinatorics and finite geometry, combining techniques from extremal and probabilistic combinatorics, linear algebra, and group theory. |
| 2019 | David Simpson | This award recognises David Simpson for combining algebra, analysis, combinatorics and traditional dynamical systems to make fundamental advances on the bifurcation theory of piecewise smooth differential equations and maps. |
| 2018 | Alex James | This award recognises Alex James for her contributions in mathematical modelling ranging from the theoretical, such as Lévy walks and complex ecological systems, to the very applied, such as masting and snail dynamics. |
| 2018 | Carlo Laing | This award recognises Carlo Laing for his sustained contributions to the field of mathematical neuroscience, and pioneering work in the study of coupled oscillator networks. |
| 2017 | Igor Klep | This award recognises Igor Klep for deep and fundamental advances in real algebraic geometry and its application to diverse fields including operator theory, optimization, free analysis, convexity, and von Neumann algebras. |
| 2016 | David Bryant | This award recognises David Bryant for work developing mathematical, statistical and computational tools for evolutionary biology, and work drawing on evolutionary biology to develop new theories in mathematics. |
| 2016 | Bernd Krauskopf | This award recognises Bernd Krauskopf for outstanding contributions to dynamical systems, especially bifurcation theory and its application to diverse physical phenomena. |
| 2015 | Hinke Osinga | This award recognises Hinke Osinga for pioneering work on theory and computational methods in dynamical systems and its applications in biology and engineering. |
| 2014 | Dimitri Leemans | This award recognises Dimitri Leemans for his striking contributions to algebraic combinatorics that combine techniques from algebra, graph theory, combinatorics and number theory for the exploration and classification of highly symmetric geometric structures. |
| 2013 | Steven Galbraith | This award recognises Steven Galbraith for applying deep ideas from number theory and algebraic geometry to Public Key Cryptography to achieve world leading processing speeds without compromising security. |
| 2012 | Ben Martin | This award recognises Ben Martin's outstanding and broad contributions to algebra including the application of geometric invariant theory to algebraic groups, the geometry of spherical buildings, and the representation growth of groups. |
| 2012 | Tom ter Elst | This award recognises Tom ter Elst for his deep and sustained contributions to the analysis and understanding of elliptic operators, and associated evolution processes. |
| 2011 | Shaun Cooper | This award recognises Shaun's sustained generation of significant and original contributions to number theory, particularly in the areas of elliptic functions, theta functions, and modular forms. |
| 2010 | Charles Semple | This award recognises Charles Semple’s landmark contributions to combinatorics, and in particular matroid theory, as well as leading work in phylogenetics and computational biology. |
| 2009 | André Nies | This award recognises André Nies’s special creativity and highly influential contributions in the area of mathematical logic and in particular its application to questions of computability, complexity, and randomness. |
| 2008 | Mike Hendy | For his innovative mathematical approach to molecular ecology and evolution which has transformed the field. His seminal work on the Hadamard transform—used to separate out pertinent signals in evolutionary data—is now an integral part of phylogenetic software internationally and has contributed to the solution of several fundamental problems |
| 2007 | Ernie Kalnins | For his wide ranging, prolific and significant contributions to mathematics, especially in his research on symmetries of partial differential equations, separable coordinates and superintegrable systems. |
| 2006 | Robert Aldred | For his leading work in Combinatorics and Graph Theory. In particular his near complete solution of the vertex colouring/edge partition problem, the characterisation of regular graphs which admit at most one 2-factor as well as his recent work on the Path Partition Conjecture from the early 80s by resolving (in the negative) a strong form of this conjecture. |
| 2006 | Mick Roberts | For his pioneering and practical work in Mathematical Epidemiology, his development of realistic physiologically based models of the incidence and spread of infectious diseases and his work on parasite transmission on pasture, all of which has attracted international recognition. |
| 2005 | Robert McLachlan | For creative, pioneering work leading to deep advances in the theory of geometric numerical integration, and its application in the study of dynamical systems. |
| 2005 | James Sneyd | For extensive and celebrated contributions in mathematical biology, demonstrating approaches that combine originality with biological realism. |
| 2004 | Eamonn O'Brien | For outstanding achievements in using computation, backed up by deep algebraic theory, to solve long-standing and difficult problems in group theory. |
| 2003 | Rod Gover | For highly original contributions in conformal differential geometry, that has led to the solution of some outstanding and difficult problems. |
| 2002 | Bakhadyr Khoussainov | For his contributions to computable model theory and the theory of automatic structures. |
| 2001 | Warren Moors | For his impressive body of interconnected research work on the geometry and topology of Banach spaces, related questions of set-theoretic topology and especially non-smooth analysis and optimization where a number of deep insights of a foundational nature have been achieved. |
| 2000 | Graham Weir | For his wide-ranging in-depth contributions to applied mathematical modelling covering a diverse range of phenomena including geosciences, structure of materials, corrosion theory, and the flow of granular material. |
| 1999 | Mike Steel | For his fundamental contributions to the mathematical understanding of phylogeny, demonstrating a capacity for hard creative work in combinatorics and statistics and an excellent understanding of the biological implications of his results. |
| 1998 | Jianbei An | For his contributions to the study of modular representations of groups, in which he has established his leading expertise through a combination of deep understanding, ingenuity and technical skill. |
| 1997 | Peter Lorimer | For a lifetime of achievements in mathematical research, especially for his contributions to the application of group theory in geometry and combinatorics, and to the structure and classification of finite projective planes. |
| 1996 | Mavina Vamanamurthy | For his prolific and far-reaching work in analysis and topology, especially for his contributions to the theory of quasiconformal mappings and special functions; contributions that are characterized by both analytic ingenuity and geometric insight. |
| 1996 | Geoff Whittle | For his work on matroids and other combinatorial structures, in which he has contributed fruitful ideas and found beautiful new results; placing him in the forefront of recent workers on difficult problems of matroid representation. |
| 1995 | Vladimir Pestov | For his creative and ingenious research in areas ranging from topological groups and Lie theory to the nonstandard analysis of superspace, in which he has solved long-standing open problems as well as demonstrating his breadth and depth of understanding and a gift for elegant and colourful exposition. |
| 1995 | Neil Watson | For an outstanding series of research articles on harmonic functions and potential theory, in which he has introduced new ideas and tools, and deep analyses, that have resulted in new and improved approaches to classical theorems and led to their generalisation to more abstract situations. |
| 1994 | Gaven Martin | For fundamental contributions in analysis, especially in complex analysis, requiring a careful and inventive blending of algebraic, analytic, and topological ideas, with applications in diverse areas ranging from differential equations, through hyperbolic geometric to low-dimensional topology. |
| 1993 | Marston Conder | For research exhibiting insight and originality in solving problems in algebra and combinatorics, in which, by his outstanding skills in machine computation, he has demonstrated the effectiveness of the computer when guided by real intelligence. |
| 1992 | Rod Downey | For penetrating and prolific investigations that have made him a leading expert in many aspects of recursion theory, effective algebra and complexity. |
| 1992 | Vernon Squire | For major contributions to the science of ocean wave-ice interaction, ranging from the theoretical and mathematical to the experimental and practical aspects, that have made him the leading consultant in this field |
| 1991 | John Butcher | For establishing new fundamental connections between analytic stability properties and algebraic properties of numerical methods for the solution of nonlinear differential equations; for implementing new methods; and for an outstanding monograph on Runge-Kutta and general linear methods. |
| 1991 | Rob Goldblatt | For outstanding work in generalisations and applications of modal logic, including four books displaying a remarkable mastery of diverse aspects of mathematics from programming to space-time geometry. |
Recipients of the Early Career Research Award
| 2023 | Brendan Harding | For significant contributions to a broad range of fields including fluid dynamics, numerical analysis and fractal geometry. Recent work on inertial particle focusing in curved duct geometries exemplifies his ability to tackle complex problems and extract far-reaching results. |
| 2023 | Rachelle Binny | For a blend of application-driven modelling and theoretical advances in spatial moment dynamics. Her work has driven advances in applied mathematics, as well as having impact in real-world applications including New Zealand’s COVID-19 response. |
| 2022 | Priya Subramanian | For her insightful contributions to the analysis of pattern-forming systems via the development of models, theory and numerical methods for the characterisation and classification of emerging complex spatiotemporal patterns, including in thermoacoustics and soft matter crystallisation. |
| 2021 | Martino Lupini | Dr Lupini pursues research in disparate areas of mathematics including functional analysis, dynamical systems, algebraic topology, combinatorics, and mathematical logic. He has made unique contributions to many fields by making connections between them. |
| 2020 | Geertrui Van de Voorde | For profound contributions to finite geometry, particularly creative and foundational analyses of linear sets and their applications to coding theory. |
| 2020 | Gabriel Verret | For contributions to discrete mathematics and group theory, including the introduction of new approaches that have led to many new discoveries and the answers to long-standing questions. |
| 2019 | No award. | |
| 2018 | Fabien Montiel | For outstanding contributions to the development of mathematical and computational methods in wave scattering theory and his innovative approach to modelling the propagation of ocean waves in ice-covered seas. |
| 2017 | Brendan Creutz | For his outstanding work on local-global questions on diophantine equations, in particular his resolution of a 50 year old question of Cassels and the development of novel computational techniques to study the arithmetic of algebraic curves and surfaces. |
| 2016 | Alexander Melnikov | For highly original contributions to the theory of computability in algebra and topology. |
| 2015 | Adam Day | For fundamental contributions to the theory of algorithmic randomness and computability including the solution of the random covering problem. |
| 2014 | David Simpson | For his contributions to the analysis of the effects of randomness and uncertainties in nonsmooth dynamical systems. |
| 2013 | Florian Beyer | For his contributions to the understanding of the global structure of cosmological solutions of Einstein’s equations using numerical and analytical methods, and, in particular, for the proof of the wellposedness of the singular initial-value-problem for Fuchsian PDEs. |
| 2012 | Mark Holmes | For rapidly becoming a world expert in the theory of random walks, and in the analysis of high-dimensional models in statistical physics. |
| 2011 | Claire Postlethwaite | The award recognises Claire's enormous progress in applying mathematics to the study of animal movement, and for her development of fundamental ideas in applied dynamical systems. |
| 2010 | Mihály Kovács | For his innovative research in the field of stochastic partial differential equations, particularly their numerical approximation. |
| 2009 | Stephen Marsland | For outstanding work in many areas of computational and applied mathematics, including self-organizing networks, machine learning, image registration, and generalized Euler equations. |
| 2008 | Barbara Holland | For her groundbreaking work in interpreting information of historical and biological importance in comparisons of genetic sequence data, and for her pioneering development of phylogenetic networks that succeeded where simple optimisation models failed in identifying conflicts and in unmasking the more interesting biological evidence. |
| 2007 | Noam Greenberg | For his discovery of new natural definable classes which capture the dynamics of constructions arising from computability theory, his studies of real-valued measures on the continuum and his use of delicate inductive arguments to exhibit links between high compressibility and low computational power. |
| 2007 | Catherine McCartin | For her fundamental contributions to the development of efficient algorithms for computational problems in a variety of areas, and for her development of theoretical frameworks for parameterized counting problems and for parameterized approximation problems. |
Recipients of the Gillian Thornley Award
| 2023 | Sina Greenwood | For her demonstrated commitment to improving learning outcomes for Māori and Pacific students for over 20 years, with scores of students having benefited from the programmes and initiatives that Sina has had the determination and perseverance to deliver. She has also demonstrated outstanding leadership in this domain and is currently the Associate Dean Pacific in the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland and led the development of a Pacific Strategy for Science. |
| 2022 | Jeanette McLeod and Philip Wilson | For their outstanding contributions to mathematics and science communication. Jeanette and Phil are the brains and hands behind the highly successful Maths Craft initiative, which has reached thousands of people of all ages at its public events and workshops since 2016 and through the Maths Craft in a Box project in 2021 and 2022. Jeanette and Phil’s dedication and brilliant communication of mathematics to the general public have had demonstrable effects in promoting mathematics and in making the wider public aware of its beauty and usefulness for everyone. |
| 2021 | Ross Atkins | For outstanding service in support mathematics in Aotearoa NZ through his work with the NZ Mathematical Olympiad Committee. Ross has volunteered with the NZMOC since 2017. In that time, he has introduced innovations in the training programme, initiated a NZ Mathematical Olympiad competition, and provided strong leadership as team leader or deputy team leader for four International Mathematical Olympiads. |
| 2020 | Liz Ackerley | For her work with mathematically-promising secondary school students. Liz has taught, mentored, inspired, guided, and cared for over a thousand young mathematics students over almost a quarter of a century through the University of Canterbury’s Maths 199 course, providing a bridge for these students to university mathematics. |
| 2020 | Rachel Passmore | For sustained and impactful contributions to improving access to mathematics and the quality of mathematics teaching at secondary school level in New Zealand. Rachel has been the driving force behind numerous initiatives to provide continuing education opportunities for mathematics school teachers and to improve access to study opportunities involving mathematics and statistics for students from a wide range of backgrounds. |
Recipients of the Kalman Prize for Best Paper
| 2023 | Marston Conder, Jin-Xin Zhou, Yan-Quan Feng and Mi-Mi Zhang | Edge-transitive bi-Cayley graphs, Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Series B. 145 (2020), 264--306. |
| 2022 | C.M. Postlethwaite and A.M. Rucklidge. | Stability of cycling behaviour near a heteroclinic network model of Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock. Nonlinearity, 35, 1702, 2022. |
| 2021 | Robert M. Guralnick, Martin W. Liebeck, E.A. O’Brien, Aner Shalev and Pham Huu Tiep. | Surjective word maps and Burnside’s paqb theorem. Inventiones Mathematicae 213 (2018), 589–695. |
| 2020 | Melissa Tacy | Lp estimates for joint quasimodes of semiclassical pseudo-differential operators. Israel Journal of Mathematics 232 (2019), 401–425. |
| 2019 | Alexander Melnikov and Keng Meng Ng. | Computable torsion abelian groups. Advances in Mathematics 325 (2018), 864-907. |
| 2018 | Laurent Bienvenu, Noam Greenberg, Antonin Kucera, Andre Nies and Dan Turetsky. | Coherent randomness tests and computing the K-trivial sets. J. European Math. Society 18 (2016), 773-812. |
| 2017 | Jonathan H. Brown, Lisa Orloff Clark, Cynthia Farthing and Aidan Sims. | Simplicity of algebras associated to etale groupoids. Semigroup Forum 88 (2014), 433-452. |
| 2016 | Timothy H. Marshall and Gaven J. Martin. | Minimal co-volume hyperbolic lattices II: Simple torsion in a Kleinian group. Annals of Mathematics 176 (2012), 261-301. |
Recipients of the Aitken Prize
| 2023 | Juan Patino-Echeverria | Auckland | Transitions to wild chaos in a 4D Lorenz-like system |
| 2022 | Emma Hogan | Canterbury | The intersection of bicircular and lattice path matroids |
| 2022 | Pedro Rossetto | Otago | Magnetically confined mountains on neutron stars |
| 2021 | No award. | ||
| 2020 | Pedro Henrique Barboza Rossetto | Otago | Chaos in Plane Fronted Gravitational Waves |
| 2019 | Martin Bachraty | Auckland | Skew morphisms of finite groups |
| 2018 | Pascal Eun Sig Cheon | Auckland | Domain truncation in pipeline monitoring problems |
| 2017 | Jesse Hart | Auckland | Notions of transfinite diameter on affine algebraic varieties |
| 2016 | Naomi Gendler | Auckland | Pulse Dynamics of Fibre Lasers with Saturable Absorbers |
| 2015 | Andrew Keane | Auckland | Bifurcation analysis of a model for the El Niño Southern Oscillation |
| 2014 | Timm Treskatis | Canterbury | Accelerated gradient vs. primal-dual methods in nonsmooth optimisation |
| 2013 | Chris Stevens | Otago | The Friedrich-Nagy gauge for colliding plane gravitational waves |
| 2013 | Timm Treskatis | Canterbury | Trust-region SQP methods for numerical simulations of viscoplastic flows |
| 2012 | Stefanie Hittmeyer | Auckland | Untangling Wild Chaos |
| 2012 | Jennifer Creaser | Auckland | The Lorenz System Near the Loss of the Foliation Condition |
| 2011 | Edoardo Persichetti | Auckland | Coding theory and cryptography: New perspectives |
| 2010 | Rachael Tappenden | Canterbury | Extensions of compressed sensors |
| 2009 | Michael Smith | Auckland | Vibration of floating and submerged elastic plates |
| 2009 | Shannon Ezzat | Canterbury | Representation growth of the Heisenberg group over quadratic integers |
| 2008 | Mareike Fischer | Canterbury | Curious properties of Maximum Parsimony in estimating evolutionary trees and ancestral sequence states |
| 2007 | Peter Humphries | Canterbury | A basis exchange property for matroids |
| 2007 | Ratneesh Suri | Massey | A real options approach to fisheries |
| 2006 | Kevin Byard | Massey | Applications of qualified residue difference sets |
| 2005 | Amanda Elvin | Massey | The role of gap junctions in a neural field model |
| 2005 | Elan Gin | Auckland | Calcium waves and buffers |
| 2004 | Joanne Mann | Massey | To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? |
| 2003 | Cynthia Wang | Massey | Modelling a plate of arbitrary shape in infinitely deep water using a higher order method |
| 2002 | Sivajah Somasundaram | Waikato | Some recent results concerning weak Asplund spaces |
| 2001 | Brian van Dam | Auckland | The construction method of resolutions and Dowker spaces |
| 2000 | Patrick Rynhart | Massey | Static liquid bridges |
| 2000 | Barbara Holland | Massey | Median networks: A visual representation of ancient Adelie penguin DNA |
| 2000 | Sivajah Somasundaram | Waikato | Cover semi-complete topological groups |
| 1999 | Britta Basse | Canterbury | Mathematical modelling for conservation: predator control via secondary poisoning |
| 1999 | Jamie Sneddon | Auckland | Domination conditions for tournaments |
| 1998 | Charles Semple | Victoria | Excluded minors for matroid representability |
| 1997 | Robyn Curtis | Auckland | Subgraphs of hypercubes with no small cycles |
| 1997 | Louise Parsons | Auckland | |
| 1996 | Anton Raviraj | Massey | Gauss's equation and Backlund transformations |
| 1996 | Thomasin Smith | Massey | On arithmetic degree theory |
| 1995 | Chris Stephens | Canterbury | Global optimisation requires global information |