Paul Callaghan's Vision For New Zealand

Announcement from the Royal Society of New Zealand
Monday, 15 October, 2007
For immediate release:

Public Talks: Paul Callaghan's Vision For New Zealand

New Zealand's best known living scientist, Professor Paul Callaghan FRS FRSNZ, will give public talks in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin next month as the 2007 Royal Society of New Zealand Distinguished Speaker.

Professor Callaghan will publicise his vision for New Zealand's future, emphasising that we should utilise science and technology to court prosperity and a sustainable future. These lectures will be accessible, and of interest to, anyone who is concerned about sustainability in New Zealand.

The talks will be open to the public and with the exception of Auckland, admission is free, on a first come, first served basis. Details about the lecture, and the tour schedule, are given below. You can make sure you have a seat at any of the lectures by emailing your name and which town you'd like to attend in to speaker@rsnz.org

Indicative of the popularity of Professor Callaghan's monthly interviews about science with Radio New Zealand National presenter Kim Hill, the book based on these interviews has sold out in just over a month. The New Zealand Listener recently ranked him 19th in their list of the country's 50 most powerful individuals.
His most recent of many awards is the Blake Medal for Leadership.

Professor Callaghan puts his ideas into practice as Director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, which is one of seven Centres of Research Excellence funded by the government. He co-founded Magritek, which makes small, portable nuclear magnetic resonance instruments with applications in the petroleum industry, in agriculture and in food technology.

The Royal Society is grateful to the David and Genevieve Becroft Foundation for supporting the Distinguished Speaker programme.

ABSTRACT: BEYOND THE FARM AND THE THEME PARK

Converting most of our forest into greenhouse gas has given us an abundance of grass and a thriving dairy industry. Yet through good fortune and some wise heads, we have, notwithstanding attempts to subdue it, sufficient residual natural environment to claim the label "clean and green".

Our landscape is magnificent and helps define who we are. But this lecture will argue that we have the potential to be a great deal more besides, and that we must be if we are to build the society we want our children to thrive in. It will argue that we can enhance our prosperity through sensible investment in science and technology, coupled with culture change.

The first part is the easy bit. The second requires self-belief and a sense of purpose. David Lange once said New Zealand's destiny was to be a theme park (and Australia's, a quarry). We can surely think and act beyond that. Indeed New Zealand is such an interesting place to live precisely because we are so capable of determining our future.

CHRISTCHURCH, Tuesday, 13 November, 5.30pm
The Great Hall, Arts Centre, cnr Worcester Boulevard and Rolleston Ave

DUNEDIN, Monday, 19 November, 5.30pm
St David's Lecture Theatre, University of Otago, facing Cumberland St
Our grateful thanks to the University for use of this venue.

AUCKLAND, Thursday, 22 November, 7.00pm
The Auditorium, Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland Domain
Cost: $10 or $5 (Auckland Museum Institute and Royal Society of New Zealand members)
Bookings recommended: bookings@aucklandmuseum.com or (09) 306 7048

WELLINGTON, Monday, 26 November, 6.00pm
Soundings Theatre, Te Papa, Cable Street

ends

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