21 July 2000 Top communications award to Lincoln University seed scientist

Lincoln University scientists continue to say it right! For the second time in three years the top agricultural communications award presented by the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural Science has gone to a Lincoln University staff member.            

Murray Hill, Director of the New Zealand Seed Technology Institute at Lincoln University and Professor of Seed and Crop Science, has won the Sir Arthur Ward prize for outstanding contributions to communication in agriculture.

Professor Hill joins plant physiologist Professor Jacqueline Rowarth who won the same award in 1997 when she was on the staff at Lincoln University. (Professor Rowarth is now Director of Research and Development at UNITEC, Auckland.)

The presentation was made to Professor Hill at the annual combined conference of the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural Science and New Zealand Society for Horticultural Science, held at Massey University.

It was not the only award made to him at the conference. He was also appointed a Fellow of the Agronomy Society of New Zealand in recognition of his outstanding contribution to agronomy.

Other honours also came Lincoln University's way at the conference. The Research Director and Wrightson Professor of Seed Technology at the NZ Seed Technology Institute, John Hampton, received the Yates Award which will help him attend the 26th Conference of the International Seed Testing Association, in France next year.

In addition, Lincoln student Tracey Reddecliffe who is doing a Master of Science degree in agronomy with research on durum wheat, won the award for the best student paper presented to the NZ Agronomy Society section of the programme. Her paper was entitled Grain yield and quality of two durum wheat cultivars grown at three locations in Canterbury.

Two other Lincoln students featured in the honours as well. Doctoral candidate in agroforestry Pablo Peri of Argentina won the Agronomy Society Student Travel Award to attend the conference itself, and fellow PhD student Adam Friend, studying viticulture, won the Institute of Agricultural Science Student Travel Award.

The Community Diary is produced by the Strategic Communications Centre, Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand