Victoria physicist named top science communicator
Professor Shaun Hendy from our School of Chemical and Physical Sciences has been announced as the winner of the 2012 Prime Minister’s Science Media Communication Prize.
Professor Shaun Hendy from Victoria University’s School of Chemical and Physical Sciences has been announced as the winner of the 2012 Prime Minister’s Science Media Communication Prize.
He is a Professor of Computational Physics at Victoria University, Deputy Director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, and an Industry and Outreach Fellow for Industrial Research Limited.
Victoria University Vice-Chancellor Professor Pat Walsh says Professor Hendy’s contribution to public discussions about research and innovation in New Zealand is considerable.
“The awarding of the Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize to Professor Hendy recognises his exceptional commitment to promoting the importance of science in New Zealand’s future.”
Professor Hendy is regarded as a leading physicist with an outstanding ability to communicate a broad range of scientific ideas. His blog, A Measure of Science, attracts a readership of more than 1,000 readers per month, and he is the physics correspondent on Radio New Zealand’s Nights programme.
He has also recently completed Get off the Grass, a sequel to the late Professor Sir Paul Callaghan’s book Wool to Weta. Get off the Grass will be published in 2013, and discusses the links between innovation and economic growth.
Professor Hendy’s accomplishments as a leading science communicator were also recognised by the Royal Society of New Zealand recently, when he was awarded the Society’s Callaghan Medal.