Tim Naish
Professor Tim Naish, of Lower Hutt, received the New Zealand Antarctic Medal, for services to Antarctic climate science. Professor Naish has contributed to a greater understanding of Antarctic climate science for more than 15 years. He initially went to Antarctica as a stratigrapher-sedimentologist in the 1990s. He participated in the multinational team drilling of Cape Roberts for ice sheet and sea level history for the last 17-34 million years. This work culminated in a scientific paper that was published in Nature. He led the ANDRILL Project team that recorded ice cores from beneath the ice shelf on Ross Island. These cores sample sea floor layers for a history of the climate covering many millions of years. Professor Naish is Professor of Geology and Director of the Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington and continues to provide international leadership as the Chairman of the ANDRILL Science Committee. He works to raise awareness in the wider community of Antarctica and climate science through the media and public speaking.