The 2024 round of the Marsden Fund sees 20 Te Herenga Waka projects receive funding.
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 $706,00.
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 Health. 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.
