Research projects attract $7.1 million

Twelve projects led by researchers from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington have been awarded funding this year from Te Pūtea Rangahau a Marsden, the Marsden Fund.

The funding will support a range of projects including research on honey bee colony loss, glacier melt due to climate change, and the philosophy of mental health.

Total funding for the projects is $7.1 million over three years.

Six of the 12 receive fast-start grants of $360,000. These grants are designed to support early career researchers. The remaining six receive standard grants, which provide funding of up to $960,000.

The researchers and projects receiving funding this year are:

• Antoine Felden, School of Biological Sciences. Project: Virus-virus interactions: a key to unravel global honey bee colony losses? ($360,000)
• Baptiste Auguié, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences. Project: UV-visible spectroscopy of ultra-small scattering samples and individual micro-particles ($940,000)
• Chloe Parton, School of Health. Project: The invisibility of mothering with chronic illness: Embodied relationships, entangled feelings ($360,000)
• Daniel Berry, Ferrier Research Institute. Project: What transcription factors activate expression of symbiosis-related genes in symbiotic fungi? ($360,000)
• Heitor Gomes, School of Engineering and Computer Science. Project: Exploring disagreement-based learning for partially labelled data stream classification ($360,000)
• Lauren Vargo, Antarctic Research Centre. Project: How much are glaciers melting due to climate change? ($360,000)
• Maja Zonjić, School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences. Project: Big things, complex shadows: investigating intersecting stories of place, identity, and erasure through large roadside sculptures in Aotearoa ($360,000)
• Patricia Hunt, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences. Project: Unravelling the electronic structure of highly charged hydrogen and halogen bonds; rational chemical design and the creation of novel ionic liquid materials ($937,000)
• Rob McKay, Antarctic Research Centre. Project: Past abrupt Antarctic ice sheet melt events and impacts on sea level and climate ($929,000)
• Simon Keller, School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations. Project: Do you have a healthy mind? The philosophy of mental health ($647,000)
• Spencer Lilley, School of Information Management. Project: Empowering Indigenous knowledge: Decolonisation and Indigenisation of gallery, library, archival, museum and records (GLAMR) institutions ($575,000)
• Zhenan Jiang, Robinson Research Institute. Project: Underpinning high temperature superconducting nuclear fusion reactor technology ($932,000).

The Marsden Fund is administered by the Royal Society Te Apārangi on behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. In 2022, total funding awarded nationally was $77,391 million.