Our environmentally friendly bioadhesives Ligate™ technology made headlines being:

• Named NZBIO Biotechnology of the Year for 2016
• Awarded a commendation in the 2016 NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards
• A finalist in the 2016 NZ Innovators Awards.

Read the story - NZBIO award for new ‘green’ glue for wood products

Value Chain Optimisation researcher Ginny Christians was named NZ Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport’s Young Achiever of the Year 2016. This excellence category award recognises an exemplary under 35 year old individual who is actively involved in the operation or development of transport and/or logistics in New Zealand. The award is assessed on the individual’s impact and contribution to the transport and logistics industry, leadership and organizational skills, creativeness and professionalism.

Ginny was nominated for the International CILT Young Achievers Award 2017 for her work in the Kawerau Container Terminal project that Scion undertook last year. She was third placed for her submission measuring the economic, social and environmental benefits of adding value to commodities to help justify the rail investment needed to ship them.

Dr Gerty Gielen won two awards at the New Zealand Land Treatment Collective (LTC) Conference: Best Technical Paper for her research on pharmaceuticals and other trace organics leaching into the Waipa stream after effluent irrigation in Whakarewarewa forest; and a special award in recognition of outstanding services to the LTC.

Dr Ralf Gommers was one of 52 winners worldwide in the prestigious Google Open Source Peer Bonus Program. Ralf’s project was SciPy - a Python-based ecosystem of open-source software for mathematics, science, and engineering.

Brionny Hooper and Dr Steve Pawson received New Zealand Forest Owners Association awards for the innovation they brought to the sector.

Steve Pawson was recognised for doing “an outstanding job in communicating and engaging with the industry” in his search for alternatives to methyl bromide, the gas used to fumigate export logs and lumber.

A new award this year was for young scientists, with Brionny Hooper the inaugural winner for her success at building relationships at all levels of the industry.

Dr Saad Hussain was a finalist for the Kiwi Innovation Network (Kiwinet) Norman F. B. Barry Foundation Emerging Innovator Award.

Grant Pearce has been on the rural fire research scene since it began in February 2017. His service to rural fire research was recognised at the 5th New Zealand Rural Fire Research Workshop held in March. “As an individual scientist, Grant has a tremendous science impact on the New Zealand and international wildland (rural) fire community. He operates at all levels of the fire sector providing advice and expertise to fire managers up through to principal rural fire officers, senior government staff and Ministers,” said Kevin O’Connor, from the National Rural Fire Authority.

Annual Scion Staff Awards 2016

Roger Newman Science or Engineering Excellence Award
Dr Michael Watt

Science or Engineering Impact Award
Grant Pearce and Dr Warren Grigsby jointly awarded

Customer Engagement Award
Anne Harris and Dr Stefan Hill & Dr Laura Raymond jointly awarded

CEO Award
Dr Eckehard Brockerhoff

Scion Values Award for Ingenuity
Dr Marie Joo Le Guen and Dr Marion Sanglard

Scion Values Award for Collaboration
The WHITE Room team – Dr Bernard Dawson, Marcel Van Leeuwen, Ian McElroy, Dr Saad Hussain, Garth Weinberg, Donna Smith, Bruce Davy, Sam Damesin, Dr Wayne Schou, Dean Christie, Carroll Warbrick, Dr Christine Todoroki, and Lou Sherman.
 
Scion Values Award for Excellence
ThermoChem Lab team – Dr Ferran de Miguel Mercader, Dr Kirk Torr, George Estcourt, Ian McElroy and Ben McDonald.
 
Scion Values Award for Manaakitanga
Nursery Casual Staff – Robeena Poi, Debbie Shann, Trish Moke-Pouwhare, Rob Fraser, Graham Crosby, Rongomai Watson, Don Epapara, Fionnuala Wright and Raniera Mana.