Scholarships news and notices
10 September 2009
Two PhD students from The University of Auckland have received Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarships from the Tertiary Education Commission. Both will receive more than $90,000 to support their research over three years.
Mr Brendan Harvey of the Department of Chemistry received the award for his work developing catalysts for green chemistry. Green chemistry is a rapidly growing area of research that aims to invent new industrial processes to prevent pollution. The goal is to reduce or eliminate the use or creation of hazardous substances by industry. Mr Harvey’s research will be supervised by Associate Professor L. James Wright, who specialises in the field.
Ms Amy Smith of the Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology was given the award to investigate the role the immune system plays in controlling the formation of new brain cells. Recent research has shown that new neurons can be generated by the adult brain, and scientists are racing to discover how the process is controlled. There is some evidence that immune cells found in the brain and blood are involved and Ms Smith will investigate their influence on cells that have the potential to become neurons. Her work will be supervised by Professor Mike Dragunow who is well-known for his research into human neurodegeneration and repair.
“The University of Auckland congratulates these two outstanding students on the award of these prestigious scholarships,” says Professor Jane Harding, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research. “We are delighted to have them join our research effort in collaboration with their supervisors, and wish them well with their very exciting research projects.”
The current round of awards is the last to be made under the Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarship scheme. The scholarships were designed to support the top ten percent of doctoral students in New Zealand. Among other aims they recognised intellectual excellence and its importance to New Zealand’s future, and were intended to increase the numbers of highly trained and skilled researchers and graduates.
6 August 2009
Two outstanding students from Elam School of Fine Arts at the National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries at The University of Auckland have jointly received the largest scholarship given to young artists in New Zealand.
Postgraduate student Saskia Leek and second-year student Eunji Park have been awarded the Lola Anne Tunbridge Scholarship, a $10,000 prize given annually to an artist who excels in the exploration of contemporary themes in watercolour. This is awarded by the Henrietta and Lola Anne Tunbridge Charitable Trust, which is administered by trustee and wealth management company Guardian Trust. Lola Anne Tunbridge, who died in 1999, was an avid watercolourist who wished to support aspiring artists in this medium.
Guest judge for this year’s award was Michael Harrison, one of New Zealand’s finest watercolourists and a masters graduate with first class honours from Elam. Fellow judges were Associate Professor Nuala Gregory from Elam School of Fine Arts and Brien Mahoney from the Guardian Trust.
Michael Harrison and Nuala Gregory will lead a “Judges’ talk” at 1pm on Saturday 8 August at the George Fraser Gallery, 25a Princes Street, where the work of the nine finalists for the award are on display.
Saskia Leek, says Michael Harrison, is very sensitive to the medium, showing imagination and humour in creating works with “a lightness of touch and a quiet glow.
“She shows an extensive knowledge of contemporary and historical painting, which she is able to draw on while sustaining her own unique style.”
“In an environment awash with visual images”, adds Nuala Gregory, “Saskia creates a space for work that is very much her own.”
Strongly in contrast with Leek’s work is that of Eunji Park, whose paintings Michael Harrison describes as “more illustrative, more detailed, more closely aligned to photography”. The judges also praise it as showing high competence in the traditional techniques of watercolour.
Entitled “Trip to Japan” Eunji Park’s paintings invite a first interpretation as “a series of snapshots”, says Harrison. “However, the longer you spend with them, the more they reward your attention. With their precise detail and subtle changes of mood, they are works that (even more than most others) need to be seen in the original.
“The test of a work of art is if you can imagine taking it home and seeing new things in it a year from now. With both these winners, the more you look the more there is to think about.”
Henrietta and Lola Anne Tunbridge Scholarship Exhibition
6-15 August
George Fraser Gallery, 25a Princes Street
Thursdays to Saturdays: 11am-4pm
Free entry
Judges’ Talk: 1pm, Saturday 8 August.
For more information or to join the mailing list, visit www.georgefraser.auckland.ac.nz
The University of Auckland’s National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries comprises the School of Architecture and Planning, Elam School of Fine Arts, the Centre for New Zealand Art Research and Discovery (CNZARD), the School of Music and the Dance Studies Programme.
Three outstanding University of Auckland postgraduate students have been awarded William Georgetti Scholarships out of a total of six offered nationwide.
The awards, managed by Public Trust and administered by the NZVCC, total $330,000 for 2009.
The William Georgetti Scholarship is awarded to encourage postgraduate study and research in a field which, in the opinion of the scholarship board, is important to the social, cultural and economic development of New Zealand. The scholarship was established from the residue of the estate of William Georgetti who died in 1943. Mr Georgetti desired “that the best brains available shall receive the benefit of this trust”.
The University of Auckland winners for 2009 are:
• Avinash Sunil Sharma, Epsom Auckland
- Oxford University
- $45,000 for one year
- Avinash will work towards a Masters of Global Health Science. The year-long programme will focus on understanding current challenges in global health and building understanding of health policy and key areas of public health.
• Sunita Ashwin Patel, Parnell Auckland
- New York University Faculty of Law for and LLM
- $45,000 for one year
- Sunita has accepted a position in the Master of Laws programme. The focus of her study will be on public international law and the law of armed conflict in particular.
• Leron Postelnik, Onehunga Auckland
- University of Auckland for a PhD in mechanical engineering
- $10,000 for three years
- Field of study is the area of dynamics and control, conducting research in applications related to robotics.
Bonded Merit, Step Up and Top Achiever Doctoral scholarships cease from June 2009. All existing recipients continue to receive their scholarships for their remaining tenure.
Broad-based support is already offered through student achievement funding which is considered more effective than scholarship funding.
Scholarships affected include:
- NZ International Doctoral Research Scholarships - reduced from 38 to 10 new scholarships each year. Existing students will continue to receive support until their scholarship terms and conditions expire
- NZ Study Abroad Awards - phased out from the beginning of the 2010 academic year
- NZ International Undergraduate Fees Scholarships - phased out from the beginning of the 2010 academic year. Existing students will continue to receive support until their scholarship terms and conditions expire.
