These annual awards recognise the achievements of members across a number of categories:

• Best Masterate Thesis in Geography
• Best Doctoral Thesis in Geography
• Emerging Researcher in Geography
• Collaborative Research Involving Geographers
• Graduate Research Supervision in Geography
• Excellence in Teaching in Geography (all settings).

The procedure and criteria for nomination of candidates. Nominations are due by April 30th of each year.

The judging panel in 2006 made a number of comments which may be useful to consider when putting together a dossier of evidence for a nomination. Judges Comments.

Recipients 2011

Dr Tim Appelhans

Tim Appelhans was awarded his PhD, titled ‘A climatology of particulate pollution in Christchurch’ in 2010 on an environmental topic that has long been of concern to the city of Christchurch. It represents a refreshingly new and innovative approach to a longstanding environmental issue, by integrating advanced statistical techniques with time series analysis, mesoscale atmospheric modelling, and synoptic climatology. This wide-ranging approach has produced important new insights into the relationship between atmospheric processes and particulate air pollution that have significance for air quality management.

Dr Edward Challies

Edward Challies was awarded his PhD in geography in 2010 by Victoria University. The work sought to bring together global value chains work and rural livelihoods in order to analyse the impacts of neoliberal export orientation on small scale farmers in Latin America. It was highly original from two points of view. Conceptually, work marrying the livelihoods and value chain approaches in geography is only in its infancy and the work certainly made important contributions in that regard. Empirically, as the New Zealand external examiner Mike Roche commented the work ‘makes an important contribution with respect to the analysis of the global fresh fruit and vegetables complex’. This work is important for geography as it provides an example of the analysis of the impacts of ‘global’ scale processes on local geographies.Thesis

Best Masterate Thesis

Woodrow Pattinson

Woodrow (Woody) completed his Masters thesis in Geography at the University of Canterbury. His thesis was entitled “Cyclist exposure to traffic pollution: microscale variance, the impact of route choice and comparisons to other modal choices in two New Zealand cities”. The project examined the differential pollution exposure of cyclists to other road users, and also compared cyclists in different cycling environments (on and off road at varying distances). It was a very comprehensive and well produced piece of work, and managed to make sense of a broad array of complex data.

Emerging Researcher in Geography

Dr Gregory Breetzke

Graduate Research Supervision

Simon Kingham

Simon Kingham attracts postgraduate students to work with him because of his open, positive approach, his excellent connections with external agencies that provide both research issues and often scholarship, and his enthusiasm for the research and the individuals in all cases. The striking thing about his profile of supervision is that the students are of high, and often excellent quality, they are all making a contribution after completion in terms of applying their research outside the academy, or in the case of a number of the PhD students, developing it within.

Recipients 2010

Best Doctoral Thesis

Dr Simon Allan

Dr Allan completed his doctorate at the University of Canterbury on the geomorphic hazards associated with glacial change, Aoraki/Mount Cook region. The thesis is a ground-breaking investigation of mountain hazards in the context of climatic change, forming, in the words of the overseas examiner ‘the most complete and integrative ‘most complete and integrative glacial hazard assessment study’ he was aware of.  It makes two internationally significant contributions: revealing the possible links between the spatial and temporal variability of rock temperatures with degrading permafrost and rock mass instability, and a comprehensive modelling of permafrost distribution in a New Zealand alpine setting.

Recipients 2009

Excellence in Graduate Supervision
Professor Harvey Perkins, Faculty of Environment, Society and Design, Lincoln University

Excellence in Teaching
Professor Chris Kissling, Faculty of Environment, Society and Design, Lincoln University

Recipients 2007

Excellence in Teaching
Dr Warwick Murray, School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington

Best Doctoral Thesis
Dr Eugene Rees, School of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science, The University of Auckland

Recipients, 2006

Emerging Researcher
George Perry, School of Geography and Environmental Science, The University of Auckland

Excellence in Teaching
Juliana Mansvelt, School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University

Recipients, 2005

Best PhD Thesis
John Barker, School of Geography and Environmental Science, The University of Auckland

Best Masters Thesis
Julie King (nee Knauf), Institute of Geography, School of Earth Sciences, Victoria University

Excellence in Teaching
Regina Scheyvens, School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University