25 August 1997 Top communication award for Lincoln scientist

New Zealand's woman scientist of the year in 1994, Lincoln University's Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, has been named top science communicator of 1997, winning the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural Science's Sir Arthur Ward Prize.

The award was made (p.m. 26.8.97) at the combined annual conference of the NZ Institute of Agricultural Science and NZ Society for Horticultural Science at Lincoln University.

Dr Rowarth, a Senior Lecturer in Lincoln University's Department of Plant Science, is a prolific communicator through newspapers, magazines, radio, television and public speaking. In addition to her own specialty areas of plant physiology, plant nutrition, and seed production, Dr Rowarth writes and speaks regularly on the importance of science education, the value of scientific research to the future of New Zealand, the need for women to be adequately represented in the sciences, and the importance of professionalism in agriculture.

From school students (she is part of Lincoln University 's Adopt A Scientist programme and a committee member for the University's EnviroSchool) to retirement groups, from fellow scientists, to politicians, from undergraduates in her classes to postgraduates she supervises, Dr Rowarth is tireless in promoting the excitement of science and the benefits it offers the world.

A prize-winning public speaker both at school and subsequently, Dr Rowarth is a past member of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority's Communication Unit Standards working group and is a current member of the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee's Scholarships Committee.

After completing a B.Agr.Sc. (Hons) degree at Massey University, Dr Rowarth did her Ph.D with research on phosphate cycling in grazed hill-country pasture and the thesis won a national prize for its ‘exceptional merit’.

In 1994, the year she joined the Lincoln staff, Dr Rowarth won the national Zonta Science Award from a field of 41 nominations. This award acknowledges contributions to New Zealand by women scientists.

Dr Rowarth was born in St Albans, England, and came to New Zealand with her parents in 1976.

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