Twenty projects led by researchers from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington have been awarded grants in the latest round of Te Pūtea Rangahau a Marsden, the Marsden Fund.
Of the 20 projects, 11 receive standard grants, which provide funding of up to $960,000 over three years. The remaining nine projects receive fast-start grants of $360,000 each.
Recipients of standard grants include Professor Lisa Marriott and Dr Brian Tunui who are leading a project investigating how tax models that recognise Te Tiriti o Waitangi can be used to support a more just and equitable society. The project receives $853,000.
Research led by Associate Professor Ivy Liu and Professor Richard Arnold to develop new methods for analysing surveys and extrapolating findings to the wider population receives $706,000.
Other recipients of standard grants are:
- Astrid An Huef, School of Mathematics and Statistics. Project: Contributing to the debate on the definition of C*-algebras of semigroups, the mathematical foundation of quantum mechanics, $706,000
- Bridget Stocker, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences. Project: A stabilising influence—making MAIT cells work, $941,000
- Luke Liu, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences. Project: A new route to highly selective methane capture materials, $942,000
- Marcus Frean, School of Engineering and Computer Science. Project: Ensuring reputation can be measured in a nuanced way in survey scores, $706,000
- Matt Crawford, School of Psychology. Project: Holding on and letting go—autobiographical memory, fading affect, and emotional wellbeing in older adults, $853,000
- Nicole Moreham, Faculty of Law. Project: Death’s impact on privacy, reputation, and mana—a comparative exploration of Pākehā law and tikanga Māori, $660,000
- Nikki Hessell, School of English, Film, Theatre, Media and Communication, and Art History. Project: How 18th century poetry influenced settlers' treaty making with Indigenous peoples, $660,000
- Paul Hume, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences. Project: Developing a new, flexible, low-cost class of organic solar cells that convert sunlight directly into electricity, $941,000
- Peter Smith, School of Mathematics and Statistics. Projects: Information theory for Gaussian fields, $706,000.
Fast-start grants of $360,000 have been awarded to:
- Abby Sharrock, School of Biological Sciences. Project: Developing enzymatic tools to enable precise ablation of complex cell types within transgenic model organisms
- Alex Beattie, School of English, Film, Theatre, Media and Communication, and Art History. Project: Navigating the digital maze—experiences of people with ADHD in unplugging from the internet
- Amanda Thomas, School of Geography, Environment, and Earth Sciences. Project: Policing protest in a climate of change
- Becky Armstrong, School of Mathematics and Statistics. Project: Collaborating to use a twisted groupoid approach to solve problems in abstract and operator algebra, thus advancing a mathematical framework for quantum mechanics
- Hannah Waddington, School of Education. Project: A difference, not a deficit—exploring the effects of positive framing on attitudes towards autism
- Isabelle Montgomerie, School of Biological Sciences. Project: Protecting infants from infectious disease by amplifying antibody in the breast milk
- Joe Schuyt, Robinson Research Institute. Project: Developing an efficient photonic analogue of an electronic memory resistor that will allow ultra-fast, energy-efficient optical computing
- Rory Little, School of Biological Sciences. Project: Do bacteria from New Zealand insects hold solutions for new anti-microbial drugs?
- Sara Rahmani, School of Social and Cultural Studies. Project: What drives the rise of indigenous nonreligion and how does it connect to broader trends? A comparison between Aotearoa New Zealand and Canada.
Professor Margaret Hyland, deputy vice-chancellor, research, congratulated this year’s recipients on their success and acknowledged the important role of the Marsden Fund in supporting research across a range of disciplines.
The Marsden Fund is administered by the Royal Society Te Apārangi. A full list of projects awarded funding in the 2024 round is available here.