Call for nominations: Research Honours Aotearoa 2026

The following medals and awards are being offered in 2026 by Royal Society Te Apārangi. The closing date is 31 March 2026.

• Rutherford Medal – for preeminent research, scholarship or innovation in any field, or fields, of engineering, humanities, mathematics, sciences, social sciences, or technology.
• Te Puāwaitanga Research Excellence Medal – for research that has made an eminent and distinctive contribution to Te Ao Māori, and to Māori and Indigenous knowledge.

Communication, Leadership and Application:

• Thomson Medal – for outstanding contributions to the organisation, support and application of research in science, technology, or the humanities.
• Callaghan Medal – for an outstanding contribution to communicating science and/or technology, in particular raising public awareness of the value of science, technology or both, and raising public awareness of its value.
• Tahunui-a-Rangi Innovation Medal – for excellence in invention and development of new technologies or processes with significant impact.

Early Career Researcher Awards:

• Cooper Award – Early Career Research Excellence Award for Technology, Applied Sciences and Engineering.
• Early Career Research Excellence Award for Humanities – Early Career Research Excellence Award for the Humanities.
• Early Career Research Excellence Award for Social Sciences – Early Career Research Excellence Award for the Social Sciences.
• Hamilton Award – Early Career Research Excellence Award for Science.
• Hatherton Award – for the best paper by a PhD student in physical sciences, earth sciences, mathematics or information sciences.
• Te Kōpūnui Māori Research Award – for an early career Māori researcher, for innovative research with the potential for significant impact.

Humanities and Social Sciences:

• Durie Medal – for New Zealand’s pre-eminent social scientist, recognising research that has both national and international impact.
• Humanities Aronui Medal – for research or innovative work of outstanding merit in the Humanities.
• Metge Medal – for a social scientist who has not only shown excellence in their research area but also in creating connections and opportunities for others in the field.
• Pou Aronui Medal – for distinguished service and sustained contribution to the field of humanities research.

Physical and Biological Sciences:

• Hercus Medal – excellence in molecular and cellular biology, biomedical sciences and technologies, clinical sciences or public health.
• Hutton Medal – for work of outstanding scientific or technological merit on animal sciences, earth sciences, or plant sciences.
• Hector Medal – for outstanding work which has advanced the chemical, physical, mathematical or information sciences.
• Jones Medal – for lifetime achievement in pure or applied mathematics or statistics.

Technology and Applied Sciences:

• Pickering Medal – for innovation and excellence in technology that has generated significant impact and commercial success both nationally and internationally.
• MacDiarmid Medal – for outstanding scientific research that demonstrates the potential for application to human benefit.

Other Academy research funds and awards open for applications:

• Teaching Excellence Award (STEM) – for exemplary and innovative teaching, for qualified teachers working at any level from Years 1-13 or a Kura Kaupapa in New Zealand.
• Charles Fleming Senior Scientist Award – an annual research grant worth up to $10,000 to support the research of a senior scientist in New Zealand.
• Charles Fleming Publishing Award – an annual award worth up to $8,000 to support the preparation of scientific books and relevant publications.
• Skinner Fund – Two grants of $4,000 for research in the study of the history, art, culture, physical and social anthropology of Māori and Polynesian peoples. Supported by the Green Foundation for Polynesian Research.
• Hutton Fund – Funding of $1,000 for research in New Zealand zoology, botany and geology.

Please note: The Academy Executive Committee is focused on increasing the diversity of nominations from under-represented groups, particularly with respect to gender, ethnicity and employment context, from Public Research Organisations and Independent Research Organisations.

See the medal and award winners celebrated in 2025.