Dr Jack Parle, Hamilton, ONZM
For services to agricultural science. Dr Parle is one of New Zealand’s most distinguished agricultural scientists and has been Director of the Rukuhia Research Station, Wallaceville Research Station, and Ruakura Animal Research Station. After retiring from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, he became Director of the Food Technology Research Centre at Massey University. Dr Parle has been a board member of the New Zealand National Fieldays Society since 1989 and has occupied a number of additional roles, including that of President from 2001 to 2003, and 2007 to 2010. His research has been highly varied, including sourcing yeasts in New Zealand wines, nitrogen fixation in legumes, and the development of a control for facial eczema in sheep. Dr Parle has also been a President of the Waikato Society of Potters, and was instrumental in co-ordinating and developing Otago Polytechnic’s Diploma of Ceramic Art for students in the Waikato region.