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About us
RACV Solar Australian Synchrotron 0
What we do Benefits of membership Our story Our people Annual reports Contact us Image credits

Synchrotron science
ansto project bright
What are the benefits? How do synchrotrons work? What are they used for?

For our researchers
algae
The Australian Synchrotron Beamlines at the Australian Synchrotron Who is using the Synchrotron? Benefits of access How to get access Networking

Science impact
mars rising
Medical research Primary industries & environment Planetary science Energy, electronics & sustainability

News and events
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Our people

Oversight of the activities of the New Zealand Synchrotron Group is provided by a Board of Directors and an Access Committee, together with secretariat support from the Royal Society Te Apārangi.

Learn more about our Directors, Access Committee members and Executive Officer.

 

Directors

Professor Brett Cowan, Auckland University of Technology – Chair

Elected to the NZSG Board in 2021, Professor Cowan is Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences at the Auckland University of Technology. He has previously held positions at Environmental Science and Research (ESR), where he served as Chief Scientist and General Manager Research, Head of Commercialisation and Māori Economy. His earlier career included roles as an academic, and a research and administrative leader at the University of Auckland, and as an emergency medicine clinician.

Professor Catherine Day, University of Otago

A professor of Biochemistry at the University of Otago and Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, Professor Day has been a Director since 2018. She is a science leader with an extensive background in research, governance, and strategic leadership. Her research group seeks to discover how ubiquitin attachment to proteins is regulated, and how this alters protein function. Professor Day’s research has broad application to disease, including cancer and autoimmune syndromes. She is the former Head of Department of Biochemistry, Research Dean, Health Sciences and Deputy Dean of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Otago.

Emeritus Professor Geoff Jameson, MacDiarmid Institute, Massey University

Our longest serving Director, Professor Jameson was appointed in 2006. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi and has received several research awards, including the Marsden Medal. Professor Jameson has published more than 230 papers and book chapters in a wide range of research topics, spanning solid-state chemistry to enzyme structure and function to biophysical properties of food components and origin of life studies at extremes of pressure and temperature. Although he became Professor Emeritus in 2021, he remains fully active in research, teaching, and science governance.

Professor Roger Reeves University of Canterbury

Professor Reeves’ research focuses on semiconductor thin film growth and characterisation for applications in new electronics. His world-leading expertise in this field has been critical to attract international collaborators and raising the profile of the MacDiarmid Institute, of which he was a founding researcher. Professor Reeves is currently Head of the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences at the University of Canterbury.

Professor Geoff Waterhouse, MacDiarmid Institute, University of Auckland

Professor Waterhouse’s research involves the design, characterisation, and performance optimisation of catalysts for the energy sector. He holds Professorships in the School of Chemical Sciences, University of Auckland, and at leading institutions in China. Professor Waterhouse has received many research awards including the Shorland and MacDiarmid Medals and research awards from China and Japan.

Access committee

Professor Geoff Waterhouse, MacDiarmid Institute, University of Auckland – Chair

Please refer to Professor Waterhouse's information above.
geoff waterhouse
geoff waterhouse

Dr Courtney Ennis, MacDiarmid Institute, University of Otago

Dr Ennis specialises in planetary surface geochemistry. Much of his work uses the Australian synchrotron to study vibrational signatures of crystalline materials, and how these signals are altered under changing environments. Dr Ennis currently leads an international multidisciplinary team exploring how crystals from Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, could generate life’s building blocks.
courtney ennis
courtney ennis

Dr Joanna Hicks, Maurice Wilkins Centre, University of Waikato

Dr Hicks works at the interface of biochemistry and infectious disease, such as tuberculosis and malaria. Her focus is on understanding antimicrobial resistance and identifying new targets for new antimicrobial drugs. Dr Hicks also has a deep interest in how RNA and its regulatory enzymes can be applied to biotechnology applications.
joanna hicks
joanna hicks

Professor Ben Kennedy, University of Canterbury

Professor Kennedy specialises in volcanology and geoscience education. His transdisciplinary research spans Science, Education, Engineering and Arts, to answer questions that derive from the needs of society relating to education and hazard awareness. A Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize and Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award winner, he has a passion for telling compelling science stories.
ben kennedy
ben kennedy

Emeritus Professor Geoff Jameson, MacDiarmid Institute, Massey University

Please refer to Professor Jameson’s information above.
geoff jameson
geoff jameson

Secretariat

Dr Don Smith – Executive Officer (through the Royal Society Te Apārangi)

Dr Smith has a wealth of experience in strategic science management roles and has served as NZSG’s Executive Officer since its inception in 2006. He has held senior management roles at Industrial Research Ltd and the Royal Society Te Apārangi, and was Manager of the Marsden Fund. Dr Smith contributed to the creation of the Centres of Research Excellence (CoRE) scheme and the selection of the original CoREs. He is New Zealand’s representative on the Council of the Asia Oceania Forum for Synchrotron Radiation Research.

Former directors

Professor Tom Barnes (2006-2007)

Dr Garth Carnaby (2006-2023)

Dr Des Darby (2006-2015)

Professor James Metson (2007-2024)

Professor Mike McWilliams (2016-2020)

Professor Ian Shaw (2006-2018)

Directors are elected by the shareholders but are independent and do not represent their employing organisations. The New Zealand Synchrotron Group Limited holds its Annual Meeting in November.