Dr Phillip Yock, of Orakei
Dr Phillip Yock received the Insignia of a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to astronomy. Dr Yock has contributed to astrophysics and astronomy in New Zealand for more than 20 years. He was one of the lead scientists with the Japan and New Zealand Observation of Supernova Project at Black Birch in Marlborough, New Zealand’s first significant international collaboration in astrophysical research. He co-formed the Micro-lensing Observations in Astrophysics Project in 1995, located at Mt John Observatory in the South Island. Under his leadership, the project was among the first to realise the potential of gravitational micro-lensing as a method for detecting distant planets. He helped to set up the Yock-Allen robotic telescope in Blenheim, the which is used to study gamma ray bursts. He has written features for The New Zealand Astronomical Yearbook, New Zealand Geographic, and the Rutherford Journal. Dr Yock was the government appointed board member of the Carter Observatory and has served as a council member of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand, of which he is a fellow.