The Royal Society of New Zealand says this country has lost one of its finest scientists, with the passing of Professor Sir Paul Callaghan.
Sir Paul’s funeral service was held in Wellington on Wednesday, 28 March. The webcast for the funeral can be viewed at http://www.r2.co.nz/20120328/.
Dr Garth Carnaby, President of the Royal Society of New Zealand, says Sir Paul was a truly “exceptional scientist” whose achievements had been recognised at the highest levels both within New Zealand and internationally.
“Paul was undoubtedly one of New Zealand’s most inspirational scientists. His passion for science shone through in everything he did. We will remember him for the excellence of his own personal research, for his inspirational leadership of other scientists, and his ability to communicate about science to one and all.”
Sir Paul was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1991, and of the Royal Society of London in 2001.
He received numerous awards and accolades including New Zealand’s top science award, the Rutherford Medal in 2005, which recognises a lifetime of exceptional contribution to the advancement of science in New Zealand.
Other awards he received included the Hector Medal in 1998, the Cooper Medal in 1991, the Mechaelis Medal in 1994, Doctor of Science from Oxford University in 1995, the ANZMAG Medal in 2002, and the European Union Ampere Prize in 2004.
In 2006 he was appointed a Principal Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. In 2007 he was a winner in the KEA/NZTE World Class New Zealander Awards, and won the Sir Peter Blake Medal. In 2010, he was awarded the Gunther Laukien Prize for Magnetic Resonance and shared the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Science Prize. In 2011 he was named Kiwibank “New Zealander of the Year” and later that year was elected an Honorary Fellow of Corpus Christ College Cambridge.
“The Royal Society of New Zealand has benefited enormously from his talents and energy and particularly through his promotion of science to a wider audience over many years. He will be sorely missed by the science community.”
