Vice-Chancellor’s Prize for Best Doctoral Thesis
This prize is awarded annually to the five most exceptional theses successfully completed during the previous year.
Criteria for nomination include the demonstrable significance, originality, contribution and excellence of the thesis.
Congratulations to the 2024 winners
Dr Sarah Foster-Sproull
Faculty of Arts and Education (Dance Studies Programme)
Thesis: Vibrant Dance Power: Locating Vital Materialist Incantations of Thing-Power in Feminist Choreography
Main supervisor: Professor Ralph Buck
Co-supervisor: Dr Rose Martin
Dr Zongda Li
Faculty of Science (Department of Physics)
Thesis: Temporal Cavity Solitons Driven in the Near-Zero and Normal Dispersion Regimes
Main supervisor: Professor Miro Erkintalo
Co-supervisors: Dr Ray Xu, Professor Stuart Murdoch, Professor Stephane Coen
Dr Kelsey Miller
Faculty of Science (Institute of Marine Science)
Thesis: Evaluating Large-Scale Sea Urchin Removal as a Potential Tool for Restoring Kelp Forests
Main supervisor: Dr Nick Shears
Co-supervisors: Dr Richard Taylor
Dr Justin Sobion
Faculty of Law
Thesis: Earth Trusteeship – A Framework for a More Effective Approach to International Environmental Law and Governance
Main supervisor: Professor Klaus Bosselmann
Co-supervisor: Associate Professor Timothy Kuhner
Dr Xiaofei Yang
Faculty of Engineering and Design (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Thesis: Automated Data Analysis for Bridge Visual Inspection using Deep Learning Techniques
Main supervisor: Dr Enrique del Rey Castillo
Co-supervisors: Professor Liam Wotherspoon, Dr Yang Zou
Congratulations to the 2024 nominees
- Lize Angelo: Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (School of Medicine)
- Dr Leo Baldwin-Ramult: Faculty of Arts and Education (Fine Arts)
- Dr Charles Cayrat: Faculty of Business and Economics (Management and International Business)
- Dr Saahil Chand: Faculty of Engineering and Design (Mechanical Engineering)
- Dr Chuanjie Chen: Faculty of Science (Chemical Sciences)
- Dr Lincoln Dam: Faculty of Arts and Education (Te Puna Wananga)
- Dr Chad Drake: Auckland Bioengineering Institute
- Victor Gambarini: Faculty of Science (Biological Sciences)
- Robin (Sung Tyaek) Go: Faculty of Engineering and Design (Mechanical Engineering)
- Benjamin Lear: Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (Medical Sciences)
- Dr Robin Murphy: Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (Pharmacy)
- Dr Carolina Panico: Faculty of Arts and Education (Social Sciences)
- Dr Juliana Tong: Faculty of Science (Chemical Sciences)