28 February 2000 Academic Quartet Honoured

Tourism, plant genetics, conservation biology and viticulture have come under the spotlight with special Lincoln University appointments for four academics working in these areas.

Tourism specialist Dr Tracy Berno has been appointed an Honorary Research Associate, plant geneticist Dr Tony Conner becomes a Professorial Fellow; botanist Dr David Given has been named an Associate Professor and viticulturist Dr David Jackson becomes a Professorial Fellow.

All four have had lengthy associations with Lincoln and the appointments recognise the special contributions of each to the University.

Dr Tracy Berno is a former Senior Lecturer and Academic Programme Director with Lincoln University's Human Sciences Division. She is now Associate Professor and Coordinator of Tourism Studies at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji.

Her appointment recognises an on-going contribution to Lincoln University through the supervision of postgraduate students, collaborative research with Lincoln staff and liaison and extension work on behalf of Lincoln and Fiji.

Dr Berno's research interests include tourism in the South Pacific; cross-cultural adjustment and cross-cultural research methodologies. Current projects include the socio-cultural and psychological adjustment of Asian university students in New Zealand (Asia 2000 funded) and a Fiji ecotourism survey.

Dr Tony Conner has been a scientist with DSIR Crop Research, now NZ Institute for Crop and Food Research Ltd, since 1983. Over 1979-81 he was a tutor in the Department of Horticulture at the then Lincoln College, and since 1995 he has been contracted part-time from his position at Crop and Food Research to be a Senior Lecturer in plant biotechnology at Lincoln University.

His specialist fields are the genetic manipulation of plant cells, especially via the transformation of foreign genes; the integration of cell and molecular biology into breeding programmes of arable and vegetable crops; and the biosafety of transgenic crops.

Well known as a science communicator and spokesperson in the GM debate, Dr Conner received a Merit Award for the Communication of Science from the NZ Association of Scientists in 1998 and the Sir Arthur Ward Communications Trophy from the NZ Institute of Agricultural Science in 1999.

At Lincoln University Dr David Given teaches landscape ecology, conservation biology, biodiversity, nature conservation, environmental analysis, restoration ecology and ethnobotany.

Dr Given is Manager of Lincoln University's International Centre for Nature Conservation and has long been at the forefront of research and advocacy for the protection and conservation of biodiversity. He is the author of many definitive publications in his field and is in demand throughout the world as an authoritative speaker. Last year, for example, he gave a keynote symposium address at the 16th International Botany Congress in St Louis, USA.

He is also prominent in the world's largest conservation body, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and is currently on the executive of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and Chair of the Commission's global plant conservation programme. In 1996 he received the Loder Cup, New Zealand's major award for plant conservation.

Dr David Jackson is regarded as the pioneer of cool climate grape growing in Canterbury and is a past winner of Lincoln University's Bledisloe Medal for outstanding contributions to New Zealand's interests. A graduate of Lincoln with a PhD in fruit science from the University of Adelaide's Waite Institute, Dr Jackson joined the Department of Horticulture at Lincoln University in 1968. As well as lecturing in all aspects of fruit production he extended his research interests to include grape production for wine, juice and dessert purposes. This research showed that Canterbury could be an ideal wine-producing district and today's thriving commercial industry has emerged as a result of this work.

Dr Jackson is now Director of Lincoln University's Centre for Viticulture and Oenology.

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