Neil Cherry

Associate Professor Neil Cherry, Lincoln University Staff Member 1974-2003.

Motor neuron disease cut short the life of Associate Professor Neil Cherry of the Natural Resources Engineering Group and only 18 months after diagnosis of the complaint the long- serving Lincoln staff member died at his Riccarton home on 24 May 2003 aged 56. The high profile Lincoln University meteorologist and environmental scientist was a three-term Environment Canter- bury Councilor and in the New Year Honours List of 2002 he had been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. The award was for services to science, education and the community. Climate change, human biometeorology, air quality, the health effects of electro magnetic radiation and the use of renewable energy (eg. solar power and wind turbines for electricity generation) were all key areas of his research. He had been a firm advocate of Environment Canterbury's Clean Heat Project and in September 2002 he was presented with an Environment Canterbury Outstanding Contribution Award in recognition of his services to environmental science, local government and the community. ”The noticeable improvement in the air quality of Christchurch is I think the most easily-seen legacy of Dr Neil Cherry’s work," says climatologist and former Lincoln University staff member Dr Stuart Larsen. Awarded his doctorate in 1999, Stuart was the last PhD candidate supervised by Dr Cherry. "Neil was world-recognised for his scientific research on air quality, and he worked very, very hard to reduce the air pollution caused by open fires, and he was instrumental in creating the Regional Council (Environment Canterbury) subsidies available to convert and insulate older homes,” says Dr Larsen. After his election to Environment Canterbury in 1992, Dr Cherry became a leading personality in Christchurch local body politics, for his forceful and reasoned advocacy of air quality issues and sustainable management of Canterbury's natural resources. Christchurch’s first wind power generator site has been named after Dr Cherry, and only a week before his death he visited the area at Gebbies Pass on the Fort Hills. Although his illness forced him to retire prematurely from Lincoln University and Environment Canterbury, Neil had retained his directorship of Wind flow Technology. The managing director of the company, Geoff Henderson, described him as a man of ”tremendous intelligence and courage, including the courage to speak his views even when they were unpopular.” Neil Cherry began his science career at Lincoln University, specialising in weather and climate research and contributing to major re- search in wind and solar energy, climate change and seasonal fore- casting. ”Seasonal forecasting for the benefit of farmers and growers was very important to Neil. He had done quite a bit of work looking at the water balance in Canterbury over time, analysing and reconstructing changes in the soil moisture balance with records that went back to the 19405. From memory, there were about 50 dry soil days per year back then, but this has increased to about 120 dry soil days to- day. The combination of warmer conditions means more evaporation and less rainfall, and the two combined mean that period of time is now much longer, hence the requirement for irrigation is much greater,” says Dr Larsen. Human biometeorology was another of Neil's long-standing interests, especially the effect of the nor-westerly winds, which cause changes in the ionisation of the atmosphere. He linked this with hormonal changes in humans, particularly in the levels of serotonin and melatonin, vital chemicals affecting the function of the brain. Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) or ”electronic smog” which he blamed for his illness was the topic of Dr Cherry’s last 177 page research paper. It summarized the research linking radiation from cell phones, radio towers, and microwaves to health impacts like heart disease, cancer, and his own motor neuron disease. This work resulted in Environment Canterbury voting to take up the contentious issue. "I think Neil's EMR work was probably ahead of its time," says Dr Larsen. ”He achieved a lot of recognition for this research internationally, more than he did in New Zealand, and this led to international collaboration with universities in Europe and Scandinavia. ”Neil’s research was pretty leading-edge stuff, collating together thousands of studies, and the massive amount of data he collected certainly raised some questions his international colleagues will be able to further.” Neil Cherry was a determined campaigner with very wide-ranging fields of interest: "There are scientists and scientists. Neil was the type of scientist who looked for the interconnections between all sorts of different disciplines, which doesn't always happen. ”For example, Neil was interested in the effect of climate change on wind resource, and the effect of using the wind to help balance hydro schemes, and how the hydro schemes were changing the climate, and the interconnections between more wind and less rain, goes, and connecting that through Council policies.” Assoc. Professor Cherry is survived by his wife, Gae, and daughters Jo and Carla. Source: Obituray