Biomedical engineer wins top scientist award

News release from the Royal Society of New Zealand

STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL 10.00pm Wednesday 18 November 2009

Biomedical engineer wins top scientist award

New Zealand’s top science honour, the 2009 Rutherford Medal, has been awarded to internationally renowned biomedical engineer Professor Peter Hunter FRS, FRSNZ, of The University of Auckland.

The Minister of Research, Science and Technology, Hon Dr Wayne Mapp, presented the medal to Professor Hunter at this year’s Royal Society of New Zealand annual Science Honours Dinner in Auckland on Wednesday night.

The President of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Dr Garth Carnaby, says Professor Hunter’s revolutionary approach to modeling the human body has led to new and exciting areas of research, and will eventually help advance treatments for a number of life-threatening diseases.

“He is a true scientific pioneer. His work on modeling the human body uses simulations that span biological levels, all the way from genes to the whole organ.
 
“Professor Hunter has shown outstanding leadership not only of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, but also in promoting biomedical science and engineering in New Zealand.”

Professor Hunter is probably best known for his mathematical model of the human heart. He initiated and led the development of mathematical modeling techniques that are providing the computational basis for a virtual human and made these freely available for academic research around the world.

He co-leads the international Physiome Project which is a worldwide public effort to provide a computational framework for understanding human physiology. As part of the project separate teams from around the world are working on each of the 12 organ systems of the body , to develop integrated models at all levels of biological organisation, from genes through to the whole organism.

Professor Hunter is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of New Zealand and the Royal Society (London) and chair of the Marsden Fund Council.

The Rutherford Medal was instituted in 1991 as the premier New Zealand science award at the request of the New Zealand Government. The award is made by the Council of the Royal Society of New Zealand. The last eight recipients have been Professor David Parry (2008), Professor Richard Faull (2007), Professor Ted Baker (2006), Professor Sir Paul Callaghan (2005), Professor David Penny (2004), Professor George Petersen (2003), Professor Jeffrey Tallon (2002) and Professor Sir Peter Gluckman (2001).

ENDS

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