Science graduates urged to make a difference
massey-university
Tue May 11 2010 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Science graduates urged to make a difference
Tuesday, 11 May 2010, 4:33 pm
Press Release: Massey University
Science graduates urged to make a difference
Massey’s science graduates are well placed to lead New Zealand’s economic recovery, according to Bill Falconer, who spoke to the morning’s graduating cohort in Palmerston North this morning.
Mr Falconer chairs the Meat Industry Association, the Primary Growth Partnership Advisory Panel and the Maurice Wilkins Institute for Molecular Biodiversity.
He said the panel, the government’s new agricultural funding initiative, gave new scientists the opportunity to forge a productive and rewarding career in New Zealand.
“The initial projects, which are being progressed, are exciting – some involve new science, some perfecting a value chain for new products,” he said. “Others involve harnessing and upgrading known science and technology so as to establish better productivity on the farm, in processing, logistics and marketing. All are market led. But much of the innovation, and the excitement, involves new ways of approaching old problems. Thinking outside the square, if you like.”
He said today’s graduates had the opportunity to join the ranks of those who will make New Zealand a nation of which we can be enduringly proud.
The afternoon ceremony’s speaker, chief executive of the Institute of Environmental Science and Research, Dr John Hay, reiterated the sentiment that scientists were needed to solve many of the problems facing the nation and the world.
“Over the next 100 years the Earth could lose its glaciers, both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets could radically melt down, and up to half of this planet’s wealth of species could become extinct,” he said. “You could also experience the onrush – evidently already underway – of ever more extreme weather patterns. There will be massive environmental disasters such as the current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, as we continue, unabated, to exploit the earth’s resources. Solutions to these issues will be dependent on science.”
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Nelson chartered accountant and company director Bronwyn Monopoli received an honorary doctorate in commerce from the University for services to business at the morning ceremony.
Ms Monopoli has a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (1969) and a Bachelor of Business Studies (1975) from Massey and was an alumni representative on the University Council from 1991-94.
She is a current director of the Animal Health Board, Port Nelson Ltd, NZ Forest Research Ltd, the Visitor Information Network, the International Arts Festival Trust, the Wearable Arts Development Charitable Trust and chairs the Nelson Millennium Centre Trust. She has a wide range of previous directorships, particularly in the agricultural sector, in which her accountancy business specialises, but also in tourism, trade, financial services, and education.
She received a Women's Suffrage Centennial Medal in 1993 and was made a member of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1996 for services to business management.
More than 460 graduates from the University’s College of Science received their qualifications at today’s ceremonies at the Regent on Broadway – among them 22 new doctorates.
ENDS
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