Agriculture & Life Sciences staff

Administration

Name & position* Research expertise

Bruce McKenzie
Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science

Crop science, environmental effects on crop growth, computer simulation modelling, water use of crops and pastures

Chrissy Gibson
Personal Assistant to the Dean

Marianne Duncan
Faculty Research Administrator

Robyn Wilson
Faculty Postgraduate Administrator

Emma Gambles
Secretary
Department of Ecology

Tracey Gibson
Secretary
Department of Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences

Jan Haldane
Secretary
Department of Agricultural Sciences

Gail Harkerss
Office Manager

Amal Torky
Secretary
Department of Soil & Physical Sciences

* not all staff listed are available for supervision

 

Department of Agricultural Sciences

Name & position* Research expertise

Andrew Sykes
Professor
Head of Department

  • Animal nutrition
  • Mineral and vitamin nutrition
  • Modelling of magnesium metabolism in dairy cattle

Jan Haldane
Secretary

Mitchell Andrews
Associate Professor

  • Plant microbial interactions
  • Nitrogen assimilation in plants
  • Plant environmental physiology

Kim Barnes
Technician

Graham Barrell
Associate Professor

  • Mammalian reproduction
  • Endocrinology and its links with immunology
  • Markers of bone growth
  • Deer lactation and antler biology
  • Climate stress in dairy cows
Alistair Black
Lecturer
  • Growth and development of crop plants
  • Pasture growth and management
  • Use of nitrogen fertiliser
  • Grazing systems for beef production in Ireland

Racheal Bryant
Lecturer

  • Pasture ecology
  • Grazing preference
  • Nitrogen use in dairy pastures
Craig Bunt
Senior Lecturer
  • Formulation and veterinary drug delivery
  • Particulate delivery systems
  • Parenteral delivery systems

Tony Bywater
Professor

  • Farming systems
  • Analysis and modelling
  • Information and decision systems
Michael Cripps
Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Pasture grass endophytes
  • Ecosystem function
  • Plant invasion ecology
  • Biological control of weeds
Jeff Curtis
Manager
Farhad Dastgheib
Lecturer
  • Plant science
  • Statistical analysis
Daniel Dash
Field Technical

Grant Edwards
Professor

Roy Edwards
Lecturer

  • Pasture agronomy
  • Horticulture

Freeman Fang
Technician

Vonny Fasi
Technician

Alan Gash
Senior Lecturer
  • Arable crop growth
  • Cereal pests and diseases
  • Arable crop inputs
  • Nutrient applications
  • Postharvest technology

Jim Gibbs
Senior Lecturer

  • Lameness in dairy cattle
  • Rumen function in pasture based ruminants
  • Pasture and supplement feed evaluation
  • Methanogenesis activity in dairy cows on pasture
  • Nematode control in replacement heifers
  • Nutritional manipulation of immunity to endoparasitism in sheep

Andrew Greer

Lecturer
  • Nutritional cost of immunity to parasites in sheep
  • Mucosal tolerance to parasites in sheep
  • Development of anthelmintic resistance in parasite populations
  • Nutritional manipulation of immunity

Don Heffer
Technical Officer

Jon Hickford
Associate Professor

George Hill
Associate Professor

  • Grain legume agronomy
  • Weed control
  • Biological nitrogen fixation

Alison Hind
Flock-Linc Computer Operator

Simon Hodge
Senior Lecturer
  • Positive plant-microbial interactions
  • Plant-insect interactions
  • Insect-vectored plant viruses

Andrea Hogan
Technician

Dave Jack
Technician

Nigel Jay
Senior Technical Officer

Diane Keaney
Senior Research Technician

Currently on parental leave

Judith Kidd
Technician

Chris Logan
Animal Programme Manager

Dick Lucas
Contract Lecturer

  • Pasture science
  • Agronomy and management
  • Pasture ecology

Alan Marshall
Manager

Field Service Centre

Robin McAnulty
Technical Officer

  • Epidemiology
  • Gastro-intestinal parasites
  • Parasite interactions
  • Molecular identification
  • Parasite species
  • Parasitology

Leona Meachen
Nursery Assistant

Anna Mills
Postdoctoral Fellow

  • Effects of temperature water and nitrogen
  • Differences in animal production
  • Differences in pasture

Derrick Moot
Professor

  • Plant species growth
  • Dryland pastures
  • Cereal crops
  • Grain legumes

Warwick Mottram
Technician

Alastair Nicol

Postgraduate Supervisor
  • Animal grazing
  • Behaviour and production systems

Colin Pettigrew
Livestock Manager

Keith Pollock
Technical Officer

Matt Price
Technician

Brent Richards
Technical Officer
  • Nursery

Martin Ridgway
Manager

Richard Sedcole
Consultant in Statistics & Biometrics
  • Consultancy
  • Statistics
  • Biometrics
Amy Smaill
Research Technician

Malcolm Smith
Technician

Rosy Tung
Technician

Jenny Zhao
Technical Officer

Huitong Zhou
Senior Research Officer

  • Polymorphism screening
  • Genotyping of polymorphic genes
  • Gene-marker technology
  • Livestock improvement
  • PCR-based diagnostics
  • Gene-Marker Laboratory

* not all staff listed are available for supervision

 

Department of Wine, Food & Molecular Biosciences

Name & Position* Research Expertise

Jim Morton
Head of Department

  • Biochemistry
  • Proteases
  • Animal models for human health

Tracey Gibson
Secretary

Omega Amoafo
Technician

Roy Bickerstaffe
Professor

Sue Blackmore
Lecturer

  • Oenology

Janette Busch 
Technician

Glen Creasy
Senior Lecturer

  • Viticulture
  • Polyphenols
  • Wine quality

Christopher Dawson
Senior Technical Officer

Lemuel Diamante
Senior Lecturer

  • Vacuum frying of foods (fruits, vegetables and meats)
  • Hot air and vacuum drying of fruits

Karl Gately
Technician

Ravi Gooneratne
Associate Professor

  • Animal science
  • Toxicology
  • Biochemistry
  • Animal and environmental physiology

Roland Harrison
Director
Centre for Viticulture & Oenology

  • Oenology
  • Wine quality

Richard Hider
Research Technician

Rainer Hofmann
Senior Lecturer

  • Plant biology and physiology

Malik A. Hussain
Lecturer

  • Industrial fermentation
  • Proteomics and metabolomics of lactobacilli/probiotics
  • Food safety

Brian Jordan
Professor

  • Plant biochemistry
  • Photobiology
  • Molecular biology

Graham Kay
Senior Research Officer

  • Molecular biology
  • Tissue culture

Don Kulasiri
Professor

  • Simulation and modelling
  • Computational biology / bioinformatics
  • Systems biology
  • Computational stochastic dynamics 

Hannah Lee
Postdoctoral Fellow

Sue Mason
Lecturer

  • Human nutrition
  • Nutritive value
  • Sensory evaluation

Robin McFarlane
Principal Research Officer

  • Animal science
  • Animal health
  • Veterinary microbiology

Victoria Metcalf
Lecturer

  • Molecular biology and functional genomics
  • Genetics
  • Protein biochemistry
  • Physiology
  • Marine biology
  • Environmental adaptation

Nadia Mitchell
Technician

Michael Morley-Bunker
Senior Lecture

  • Horticultural production
  • Viticulture
  • Fruit set

David Palmer
Professorial Fellow

  • Biochemistry
  • Animal models for human health
  • Battens disease

Wendy Parr
Senior Research Officer

  • Sensory evaluation of wine
  • Psychological aspects of flavour perception
  • Flavour and aroma of Sauvignon Blanc wines

Geoffrey Savage
Associate Professor

  • Food biochemistry
  • Nutritive value
  • Food composition

Valerie Saxton
Lecturer

  • Viticulture
  • Vineyard ecology
  • Bird behaviour
  • Coloured netting

Stephen Stilwell
Technician

Leo Vanhanen
Technical Officer 

Wynand Verwoerd
Senior Lecturer

  • Simulation and modelling
  • Applied mathematics
  • Systems biology and metabolic network analysis
  • Theoretical solid state physics

Martin Wellby
Technician

Gilbert Wells
Technical Officer

Chris Winefield
Senior Lecturer

  • Molecular biology
  • Plant secondary metabolism
  • Gene characterisation

* not all staff listed are available for supervision

 

Department of Ecology

Name & position* Research expertise

Nicholas Dickinson
Head of Department
Professor of Ecology 

Ecological restoration; pollution ecology; soil ecology; ecosystem services

Emma Gambles
Secretary

Jamie Ataria
Senior Lecturer in Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Management

Ecotoxicology and community-based environmental research for the sustainability of ecosystems and taonga species

Candice Barclay 
Teaching Technician

Regina Billones-Baaijens

Tutor - Plant Pathology

Helen Blackie
Post Doctoral Fellow

Stephane Boyer
Lecturer

Ecology, earthworms, carnivorous snails

Mike Bowie
Senior Technical Officer

Ecological restoration and invertebrate conservation

Hannah Buckley
Senior Lecturer in Ecology

Processes that structure biological communities; spatial patterns in species diversity; community assembly rules

Bradley Case
Research Officer

Spatial ecology, geographic information systems

Robert Cruickshank
Lecturer in Entomology

Molecular ecology of New Zealand/s native land animals, particularly insects and mites

Timothy Curran
Lecturer in Ecology

Ecology, restoration ecology, plant functional ecology

Nathan Curtis

Tutor - Ecology 

Charles Eason
Professor of Wildlife Management

Conservation and wildlife management; effective and humane tools for controlling introduced predators and other animal pests

Roddy Hale
Lecturer in Agro-Ecology

Agro-Ecology; pollination biology; insect conservation; sustainable agriculture

John Hampton
Professor of Seed Technology

Sandy Hammond
Technician

Marlene Jaspers
Senior Lecturer in Plant Pathology

Mechanisms of pathogen infection and spread in fruit crops, to facilitate the development of sustainable control methods

Eirian Jones
Senior Lecturer in Plant Pathology and Mycology

Plant pathology and microbial ecology, in particular interactions between beneficial microbes and plant pathogens in relation to soil health

Myles Mackintosh
Technician

John Marris
Curator

Beetle systematics and the insect fauna of New Zealand

Laura Molles
Lecturer

Behavioural ecology, particularly animal communication (bird song), and conservation applications

Adrian Paterson
Senior Lecturer in Biology

Evolutionary patterns in biogeography, coevolution, systematics and behavioural ecology; behavioural interactions with conservation and wildlife management

Hayley Ridgway
Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology

Molecular microbiology; microbial symbionts and their use as biofertilizers; microbial functionality; plant-pathogen interactions; microbial ecology; molecular taxonomy

James Ross
Senior Lecturer in Biometrics and Wildlife Management

Applied Ecology; techniques for monitoring animal pests and advanced statistical analysis of field research

Jon Sullivan
Senior Lecturer

Kelly Walker
Senior Tutor


Honorary Research Associate

Ecology and wildlife management, conservation biology, bird ecology

Sue Unsworth
Science Outreach Coordinator

Susan Worner
Associate Professor

Steve Wratten
Professor of Ecology

* not all staff listed are available for supervision
 

Department of Soil and Physical Sciences

 
Name & position* Research expertise
Rob Sherlock
Head of Department
Soil science, gaseous emissions from soils
Amal Torky
Secretary

Peter Almond

Senior Lecturer

Soil science, quaternary geology and paleoclimate
Roger Atkinson
Technician
Carole Barlow
Research Technician
Nigel Beale
Technician

Janet Bertram
Tutor

Chemistry & Environmental Biogeoscience
Jason Breitmeyer
Technical Officer

Barbara Brown
Research Assistant

Graeme Buchan
Associate Professor
Soil science, environmental physics
Keith Cameron
Professor
Soil science, soil and environmental quality, dairy farming and the environment.
Tim Clough
Professor
Soil science, Biogeochemistry & Environmental science, Stable isotope science & methodology
Lynne Clucas
Research Technician
Leo Condron
Professor
Soil science, nutrient cycling, forest soil processes

Roger Cresswell
Analytical Services Manager

Hong Di
Professor

Soil science, transformations of nutrients, organic waste application

Victoria Flynn
Tutor

Chemistry

Kuan Goh
Emeritus Professor

Soil science, nutrient cycling
Kelly Hamonts
Postdoctoral Fellow

Leanne Hassall
Technical Officer

Joy Jiao
Analytical Technician

Gavin Lear
Senior Lecturer

Soil and freshwater microbiology

Jie Lei

Technician

Qian Liang

Technician

Roger McLenaghen
Senior Tutor
Soil science, soil patterns and variability

Jim Moir
Senior Lecturer

Soil science, soil and environmental quality, nutrient transformations
Stephen Moore
Technical Officer
Manjula Premaratne
Technician

Angela Reid
Technician

Brett Robinson
Associate Professor
Trace elements, Phyto management

Carol Smith
Senior Lecturer

Geomorphology,quaternary geology and soil remediation.

Neil Smith
Technical Officer

Judith van Dijk
Tutor

Soil Science, earth science and environmental Physics.

Vicky Zhang
Technician

* not all staff listed are available for supervision

 

Page last updated on: 18/04/2012