14 July 1995 Student Achievements Keep Lincoln On The Map

As Lincoln reaches the halfway mark of its first decade as a fully autonomous university, it reflects with pride that the achievements of the foundation generation of Lincoln University students matches equally the legendary record of those who attended the institution when it was Lincoln College.

Those adding lustre to the Lincoln name in the past year or more include...

JASON SMITH – B.Hort.Sc.(Hons); Ph.D candidate. Awarded ENZA New Zealand (International) Don Sinclair Research Fellowship to support postgraduate research benefitting the New Zealand pipfruit industry.

Jason, from Nelson, completed a B.Hort.Sc (Hons) degree at Lincoln in 1994 is using the ENZA Fellowship for Ph.D study on the ecology and management of the Apple Leafcurling Midge, an increasingly common pest in NZ commercial apple orchards. Through increased knowledge of the ecology and phenology of ALM it will be possible to develop management strategies to reduce the pest's impact on export produce.

ANTHONY WHITE – B.Agr.Sc.(Hons). Won the NZ Crop and Food Research Institute's Environmental Science Award at a convention of the NZ Institute of Agricultural Science/NZ Society of Horticultural Science. The prize carried with it the chance to represent New Zealand at an Australian competition along the same lines.

From a Marlborough farming family, Anthony has been researching the biological control of brassica pests by planting border paddocks of tansy leaf (Phacelia tanacetifolia). Tansy leaf is an excellent source of pollen for hoverflies and the larvae of these flies are major predators of brassica pests. Anthony has been working specifically with crops of cabbage.

HAYLEY RIDGEWAY – B.Sc.(Hons) student. Hayley, from Geraldine, won the Best Student Poster award at the 4th Queenstown Molecular Meeting in 1994. She was the only undergraduate competing and won the award against masterate and PhD competition from Australia and New Zealand.

Hayley's paper concerned an internationally significant scientific discovery she has made while still an undergraduate. While working on her Lincoln biochemistry honours project at Christchurch School of Medicine Hayley discovered a previously unrecorded genetic mutation related to a blood clotting disorder. The project, a joint one between Lincoln University's Animal and Veterinary Sciences Group and the Christchurch School of Medicine, is being supervised by Dr Jonathan Hickford of Lincoln and Dr Steve Brennan of the School of Medicine.

KATRINA SIMON – MLA candidate. Katrina, from Christchurch, won the 1994 Telecom National Art Award, worth $15,000. The competition, recognized as New Zealand's largest art award programme, drew more than 3000 entries, and from these 18 regional winners emerged. Katrina was Canterbury's regional winner and her finely detailed, black and white, pen and ink design, was featured on the cover of the 1994 Christchurch Telephone Directory.

The distinctive grid pattern of Christchurch's streets and the Canterbury Plains, viewed from the air, provided the inspiration for the work. The design appealed to the judges because it was simple yet symbolic of communities, nature and the importance of communication.

Katrina who already has an honours degree in Architecture, was presented with the Telecom award by Cultural Affairs Minister Doug Graham.

JACKY BOWRING, LISA ATKINSON, KATRINA SIMON, ADRIAN MORTON, MATT STEELE & RICHARD DENNY – BLA, MLA, Ph.D students. This group of Landscape Architecture students scooped the prize pool in national competitions associated with the inaugural Ellerslie Flower Show. They won gold and silver medals and other awards, taking all but one of the major prizes on offer.

In the Visionary Garden Design category, Jacky Bowring won the gold medal and Lisa Atkinson the silver. In the Student Only category for Domestic Garden Designs, Richard Denny won the gold, Matt Steele the silver, Katrina Simon received a Merit award and Adrian Morton was highly commended.

These awards were won against competition from students and professional landscape architects from around New Zealand.

DAVID FORSYTH – Ph.D candidate. A doctoral student in Lincoln's Department of Entomology and Animal Ecology, David won the best student Paper award at the Conference of the NZ Ecological Society. The paper dealt with seasonal population trends among thar in a localised area of Canterbury. The research concluded that recreational hunters were maintaining thar at low densities.

ROB WAYNE, PHILIP COOK, PHILIP WONG TOO, ANDREW ROOZEN – all B.E. (Natural Resources) students. This team won two Merit Awards at the BHP New Zealand Steel University Design Competition run jointly with the Institution of Professional Engineers, New Zealand. One of the awards was for a simple, robust, low cost tap with automatic valve for use in gravity-fed water supply systems in developing countries. The other award was for a bicycle joint. The Lincoln team of ANNETTE SWEENEY, DOUGLAS BARTLETT, JONATHAN THORPE and TIMOTHY McLEOD also won a Merit Award for the design of a double hinge adaptor.

TEVITA VAIKONA – BCM student. Tevita, from Tonga, has been one of Lincoln's sporting stars over the past two years. He played rugby league for Lincoln University, and was selected to represent Canterbury, New Zealand Universities and New Zealand. He played for the Junior Kiwis on their tour to Britain and was subsequently offered a contract by Hull. He has now interrupted his studies to play professionally for that club.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.