Dr Ron McDowall, ONZM, Auckland
For services to science. Dr Ron McDowall is an internationally recognised authority in dangerous, hazardous and toxic chemical waste. He is one of only a handful of experts in the field worldwide. For more than a decade Dr McDowall was a popular, award-winning lecturer at Auckland University, teaching sustainability and management. He currently teaches in Waikato University’s MBA programme. He is also involved in a number of voluntary activities in the music sector, including as past Chair of the South Auckland Music Scholarship Trust. He is a highly respected professional engineer who has worked as an advisor to the United Nations Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisation. He wrote the international standards for the decontamination and deconstruction of highly toxic industrial chemicals and persistent organic pollutants, which are present in many undeveloped countries, such as Agent Orange in Vietnam. The work that Dr McDowall undertakes is dirty, hazardous, and highly challenging. The awards that Dr McDowall has received are numerous and include the SGS International Green Dove Award in 1997, the University of Auckland, Top Twenty Teacher Award in 2001, the Faculty of Engineering, University of Auckland, Environmental Engineering Teacher of the Year Award 2003 and the IPENZ Supreme Award for Technical Achievement in 2010.