Eminent Otago scientists receive BLAKE awards
Emeritus Professor Sir Alan Mark KNZM CBE has been awarded the 2025 BLAKE Medal, alongside three other Otago researchers who received BLAKE Leader awards for their outstanding contributions to environmental leadership.
Emeriti Professors Liz Slooten and Steve Dawson received the Earth Sciences New Zealand Pūtaiao/Science Award, and Dr Sally Carson, Director of the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre, received the Mātauranga/Education Award.
Eminent Otago scientists receive BLAKE awards | University of Otago
2025 BLAKE award recipients, from left, Emeritus Professor Sir Alan Mark, Emeriti Professors Steve Dawson and Liz Slooten, and Dr Sally Carson, Director of the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre. Photo credits for composite image: Brendon O’Hagan
Music graduate wins 2025 SOUNZ Contemporary Award
Ōtepoti Dunedin composer Ihlara McIndoe has won the 2025 SOUNZ Contemporary Award Te Tohu Auaha, announced at the APRA Silver Scrolls ceremony on Wednesday 29 October.
Ihlara is a graduate of Otago’s Music programme and is currently a doctoral fellow in composition and teaching assistant at Columbia University in New York.
Otago music graduate wins 2025 SOUNZ Contemporary Award | University of Otago
Professor Anthony Ritchie, Nathaniel Otley, Ihlara McIndoe, and Emeritus Professor Peter Adams. Ihlara says Anthony and Peter are very important mentors to her and husband Nathaniel.
Otago ecologist Dr Kelvin Lloyd awarded the Loder Cup for conservation
(Since this article was published, Dr Lloyd has sadly passed away, on 12 December 2025. Our thoughts and sympathy are with his family and friends.)
Warmest congratulations to Dr Kelvin Lloyd who has been awarded the Loder Cup by the Director General of the Department of Conservation, Penny Nelson.
Based in Dunedin, Kelvin is an esteemed ecologist and botanist. He graduated from Otago with a BSc (Hons) in 1995 and a PhD in Botany in 2000.
Kelvin’s extensive research on ecosystems across Southland and Otago has shaped the way wetlands are mapped and assessed wetlands nationally.
Over many years, he has helped to safeguard vulnerable habitats by reviewing resource consents for major infrastructure projects and appearing as an expert witness in the Environment Court, before Boards of Inquiry and in Tribunals.
One of Aotearoa New Zealand’s oldest conservation awards, the Loder Cup was donated by avid plant collector and enthusiast Gerald Loder in 1926 to encourage and honour New Zealanders who work to investigate, promote, retain and cherish New Zealand’s indigenous flora.
Fellowships for alumni and staff recognise strength of Otago Law community
Four Otago alumni and staff have been awarded Borrin Foundation Fellowships, and Travel and Learning Awards.
Natalie Coates (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Tūhourangi, Tūhoe, Te Whānau a Apanui) has received a Justice Fellowship, Genevieve Hancock a Women Leaders in Law Fellowship, and Associate Professor Anna High and Mitchell McClenaghan have been awarded Travel and Learning Awards.
The Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation was established in 2018 through a $38 million bequest by the late Judge Ian Borrin. It is a philanthropic organisation that supports legal research, education, and scholarship.
Fellowships for alumni and staff reflect strength of Otago Law community | University of Otago
Otago Law alumni and staff who have recently been awarded Borrin Foundation fellowships and awards, clockwise from top left: Associate Professor Anna High, Genevieve Hancock, Mitchell McClenaghan and Natalie Coates (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Tūhourangi, Tūhoe, Te Whānau a Apanui).