Royal recognition for Canterbury computer science lecturer
Professor Tim Bell, a lecturer in Computer Science and Software Engineering at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC), has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for his services to computer science education over the past 40 years.
In the 1990s Professor Bell, who completed his PhD in Computer Science from UC in 1986, helped come up with the data retrieval techniques that are used in current search engines, and co-published books that became required reading for Google employees. He also co-wrote, with Michael Fellows and Ian Witten, Computer Science Unplugged, after he was asked to help teach basic computer science at his child’s primary school.
That book has since been translated into 30 languages including Te Reo Māori, and the website for the Computer Science Unplugged project is sponsored by Google and Microsoft.
Professor Bell says he feels the honour is shared with the many talented and enthusiastic people he has worked with. “It’s particularly meaningful because in the past year my main mentor, co-author and great friend, Ian Witten, passed away, and this is a great memorial to his influence on my life.”
Professor Bell worked with the Ministry of Education to establish computer science in New Zealand schools from 2011. He secured funding from Google for annual Computer Science for High Schools multi-day workshops for New Zealand teachers and created CS-At-Home and CS-At-a-Distance during the Covid-19 pandemic.
His work has influenced the introduction of computer science in school curriculums overseas, including in the United Kingdom, the United States, Norway, South Korea, India and Switzerland.
He is currently working on a project working with rangatahi through local marae to help them discover ways they can influence the digital world they’re growing up in.
Professor Bell is one of 11 University of Canterbury academic staff and alumni recognised for their outstanding contribution across various fields in the New Year Honours List for 2024.
UC Law (Honours) graduate David Beeche, Chief Executive Officer of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand in 2023, has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sports administration. Beeche, who was also CEO for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup tournament in 2015, led delivery of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, a tournament that broke multiple records and attracted huge audiences across New Zealand and Australia.
Other UC alumni to receive high honours include Dr Kevin Trenberth, Bachelor of Science (Honours) graduate, a distinguished scientist and climate change expert who was appointed a CNZM for services to geophysics, and Philip (Pip) Cheshire, Bachelor of Arts graduate, made a CNZM for services to architecture.