Each year the GSNZ presents a number of awards, and recognises members for their achievements and contribution to the geosciences.
Whether you're a student or early career scientist looking for support for your research, or would like to see a colleague honoured please take the time to browse our awards.
All our awards are considered by our Awards Subcommittee. Members of the Awards Subcommittee are not eligible for any of the awards or prizes under consideration and will ordinarily be chosen so as not to include any author of a paper under consideration. Awards are usually presented at our annual conference towards the end of each year.
A full description and application/nomination criteria and forms are available within the description of each award in the list below.
History of our awards and award winners
A brief history of our awards and details of current and past winners can be found here.
Any questions about awards should be directed to the Society's Vice President who heads the Awards Subcommittee.
If you're not sure about applying and what's involved see our Awards FAQs.
Return to Awards homepage here.
Awards are presented annually, usually at our conference dinner
General Awards
Members can apply to GSNZ for financial support for special initiatives that help to meet the Society’s objectives, especially - but not limited to - initiatives of benefit to students/geoeducation.
There is no deadline or schedule for submitting requests, and each application is reviewed on its merits. A decision on your application may take up to 3 months from the date of submission so please send us you application as early as possible relative to when you require funding (if a deadline exists).
Requests must be submitted using the Special Grant or Sponsorship Request Form.
Information on the criteria, evaluation process, and indicative maximum grant value is provided at the end of the request form.
The GSNZ Honorary Life Member award is presented to an individual who has contributed significantly to the success of the GSNZ and/or its predecessors, and to the advancement of the geosciences in New Zealand.
It is not necessarily about recognising a lifetime contribution to geoscientific research but rather it acknowledges outstanding and sustained contributions made to the successful and continued operations of the GSNZ and the wider geoscience community.
The recipient shall receive a certificate, a suitably inscribed award and Life Membership of the GSNZ, with annual subscriptions paid for by the GSNZ until the passing of the recipient.
The McKay Hammer is the Society’s top award and is given to the author or authors of the most meritorious contribution to geology published in the current or previous three calendar years. Works published in the nomination year or ‘in press’ (unless available online in final version) will not be considered.
For the purposes of the award, a New Zealand contribution is any contribution by a New Zealand‑based author.
Each award shall consist of a certificate and a good quality geological hammer, suitably inscribed, which shall remain the property of the winner.
The Geoscience Lecture Tour is awarded to an Earth scientist who is undertaking or who has recently completed a major study, and who has a reputation as a good, informative speaker. This award was previously known as the Hochstetter Lecturer award.
The Geoscience Lecture shall be delivered to each branch of the Society. Emphasis should be on the dissemination of new concepts or techniques, and/or of important new information which modifies existing interpretations. The topic should be of interest to both a professional and amateur audience.
The lecturer shall be encouraged to present one or more support lectures at each centre with a university geoscience department, as well as any other activity which he/she considers appropriate.
An indication of what is expected of a Geoscience Lecturer is provided here. It is encouraged that any potential nominee is provided with a copy of this prior to them agreeing to be nominated.
The New Zealand Geochemistry Prize recognises the most outstanding geochemistry publication or body of work produced by a NZ-based researcher. This award replaces the Werner F Giggenbach Prize for Geochemistry and the SH Wilson Prize.
The prize will be awarded to the geochemist with the most outstanding publication or body of work in the field of Geochemistry in the current or preceding three years. The work must have been completed when the nominee was a postgraduate student or researcher in New Zealand
The prize will be the financial award, a certificate and a medal.
Link to the NZ Geochemistry Prize nomination form.
More information about the SH Wilson Prize.
More information about the Werner F Giggenbach Prize for Geochemistry.
The New Zealand Geophysics Prize is the Society’s top geophysical award, presented to the author or authors of the most meritorious eligible publication in the field of geophysics.
To be eligible for the prize a publication must meet the following conditions:
- The publication shall describe research in the field of geophysics that has been either carried out in New Zealand, or carried out principally by a New Zealander, temporarily overseas, or pertains to the New Zealand region; and
- The publication must have been published (i.e. available online in final version) in the current or previous three calendar years.
- The prize shall consist of a monetary prize, the amount at the discretion of the National Committee. In the case of papers written by more than one author, the prize will be awarded to the lead author to be further dispersed at their discretion.
Offered for the first time in 2020, the Hayward Geocommunication Award will be awarded to a New Zealand-based geoscientist or geoscientists for the most meritorious contribution to geocommunication in the current or previous 3 calendar years.
Rules
To recognise and promote excellence, innovation and accuracy in “geocommunication” to “public” audiences by a New Zealand “geoscientist” or group of geoscientists. Definitions:
- “Public” audience means any audience other than a geoscience-specific audience (i.e., not a geoscientific conference, workshop, thesis, journal publication or technical report, university or school geoscience course or lecture).
- “Geocommunication” means communication of geoscience topics at a level that can be understood by the public audience. The communication may be in any field of geoscience. The mode of communication may be by any means, which may include (but not be limited to) oral, written, video, web-based, social media, digital applications, games, field trips, artistic media etc.
- “Geoscientist” is to be interpreted liberally to include anyone involved in geoscience (scientist, technician, graduate student) or with a geoscience background, but excludes career reporters. Professional geoscience lecturers, geoscience communicators or teachers are eligible for this award if it recognises contributions outside the normal communication duties of such positions.
- The Society shall award the Hayward Geocommunication Award for the most meritorious contribution to public communication by a New Zealand-based geoscientist or geoscientists in the current or previous three calendar years. No award shall be made if, in the opinion of the Awards Subcommittee or the Committee of the Society, no sufficiently meritorious contribution has been made or nominated in the field of geocommunication within the specified time frame.
- In judging, the main criteria of this award should be excellence, clarity of message, accuracy and possibly innovation. The societal importance of the geocommunication topic or the size of the audience should not be of primary consideration. The award will be judged by the Awards subcommittee of the Geoscience Society of New Zealand
- The Award. The award shall consist of an inscribed certificate and a monetary prize. The amount of the monetary prize is to be determined by the national committee of the Geoscience Society of New Zealand. Funds shall be invested and each year up to two thirds of the interest may be used for the award with the balance reinvested.
- Nominations shall be called for annually along with other general awards of the Society. Where possible the nomination should include copies of, or links to, the outstanding communication/s being considered.
- The Award shall be presented or announced at the Annual General Meeting or Annual Conference of the Society.
- The awardee shall be invited to share their geocommunication or insight into geocommunication with members of the society through the most appropriate forum.
The Tohu Kaitautoko Award replaces the Kingma Award, to recognise the important contributions made by technicians and people in other support roles in the Geosciences in New Zealand.
To be eligible applicants/nominees must be employed in technical or support roles in New Zealand in the field of Geoscience for at least two years, and who have shown marked ability in their field of employment, and who have made a notable contribution to the work of their institution or field team.
Link to the Tohu Kaitautoko Award nomination form.
More information on the Tohu Kaitautoko Award/Kingma Award.
The Wellman Paleontology Prize shall be awarded biennially in recognition of the recent discovery of important fossil material within New Zealand. Each recorded fossil discovery must have been recorded in the New Zealand Fossil Record File, and an account of each rewarded fossil discovery and its significance shall be written for the Society Newsletter.
The Prize shall include an inscribed certificate and a monetary sum.
The Pullar-Vucetich Tephrochronology Prize shall be awarded to the author or co-authors of the most meritorious contribution to tephrochronological research in the New Zealand region published (i.e. available online in final form) in the current and previous three years.
Tephrochronological research shall be deemed to include its applications in any field of science, such as archaeology, geomorphology, oceanography, palaeobotany, petrology, soil science, stratigraphy, neotectonics, wherein tephra studies are used to elucidate past events.
The Prize shall consist of an inscribed certificate together with a monetary prize.
Link to the Pullar-Vucetich Tephrochronology Prize nomination form.
More information about the Pullar-Vucetich Tephrochronology Prize
Student and Early Career Awards
Eligible members can apply to GSNZ for a grant of up to $2,200 to help with living costs following PhD thesis submission and PhD via (oral defense) to encourage members to publish their thesis chapters.
To be eligible to apply for this grant at the time of application, you must:
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Be a current financial member of the GSNZ;
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Be either: within 3 months of submitting your PhD thesis; or have submitted your thesis and are awaiting viva (oral defense); or have successfully sat your viva within the past 3 months;
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Have a thesis chapter or other thesis material that you are able to prepare as a viable manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed journal article.
There are three rounds per year, closing 1 April, 1 August and 1 December.
This funding is possible thanks to the generous bequest from Jack Grant-Mackie, and with support from the Royal Society of New Zealand.
The Student and Early Career Research Award is a premier research award for and replaces the previous Hornibrook Award, Wellman Research Award, Jim Ansell Scholarship and the Alan Mason Historical Studies Fund.
The award is to support research on any Geoscience topic including historical studies. The decision on making the Research Award and the award value shall be based on the calibre of the applicant and on the merits of the proposed research. The value of the award is determined by available annual funds and is typically up to $5,000.
Link to the Student and Early Career Research Award nomination form.
More information about the Wellman Research Award.
More information about the Hornibrook Award.
More information about the Jim Ansell Scholarship.
More information about the Alan Mason Historical Studies Fund.
Two rounds of applications will be called for in 2025 with closing dates of 15 March and 1 September 2025
The Student and Early Career (ECR) Travel Grant is to provide funding assistance for New Zealand early career Earth science researchers and PhD students to attend and present a talk or poster at a major conference or workshop. The grant will fund or contribute to funding of registration, travel and accommodation costs.
A ‘major conference’ or ‘major workshop’ is defined as an internationally recognised geoscience conference or meeting, held overseas or in New Zealand. A person who has previously attended conferences or workshops prior to starting their PhD or employment in New Zealand is eligible to apply.
To be eligible to apply for the grant, applicants must:
- Be current financial Student or Early Career members of the Geoscience Society of New Zealand
- Be currently undertaking, or have recently completed, their PhD on a geoscience topic at a New Zealand university or research institute, OR
- Be currently employed in a post-doctoral, lecturer/researcher or similar position in the field of geosciences at a New Zealand university or research institute
A maximum of $10,000 will be awarded annually (approx. $5,000 in each round); applicants should not expect to have the full costs of their travel funded.
The amount awarded cannot be negotiated or increased (for example, in the situation that costs associated with travel increase). A Student and ECR Travel Grant can be awarded only once however there is no limit on the number of times the award is applied for.
Travel needs to be completed within 12 months of the application closing date. Applicants looking to attend a conference in the first part of a year should apply in the second round of the previous year.
Link to the Student and Early Career Travel Grant application form
More information about Student and Early Career Travel Grants
The John Beavan Geodetic Fieldwork Fund seeks to support students involved with geodetic research to undertake or participate in associated fieldwork in New Zealand or the southwest Pacific region (including Antarctica). Awards can be made either directly to the student to undertake his or her own fieldwork associated with a research project, or to a more senior researcher, to reimburse the expenses associated with including the student in the fieldwork. The latter is intended to encourage experienced fieldworkers to take along students who might not otherwise get a chance to work with them.
To be eligible for this award, the student must be engaged in geodetic research based at a New Zealand university. For this purpose, the term "geodetic" is to be interpreted broadly to include global, regional and local scale measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field and geodynamical phenomena such as crustal stresses and motions, tides, and polar motion. Preference will be given to students with strong quantitative skills.
The aim of the award is to cover or contribute to the expenses of the fieldwork. This would cover such things as travel, food, and accommodation costs, as well as equipment hire, the cost of permits, insurance, and other incidentals. An indicative budget might be on the order of $1,000-$3,000 for New Zealand based projects or $4,000 for the wider SW Pacific or Antarctica.
Applications can be submitted at any time in the year, acknowledging fieldwork occurs year round, and the involvement of students in that fieldwork often occurs at short notice. Applications can be submitted by the student or a lead researcher.
No student may receive more than one award.
Within 12 months of receiving the award, the student is responsible for submitting a short report on the research undertaken for inclusion in the Society newsletter.
Link to the John Beavan Geodetic Fieldwork Fund application form.
More information about the John Beavan Geodetic Fieldwork Fund
The Summer of Applied Geophysical Experience (SAGE), is a unique ‘hands-on' geophysical educational programme held over a two-week period in June/July in New Mexico. It aims to enhance the experience and knowledge of students of geophysics in an intense course of geophysical exploration and research that goes beyond the classroom. There are online classroom activities to complete both before and after the on-site two-week camp.
To be eligible for the Scholarship, an applicant must have:
- completed undergraduate qualifications sufficient for post-graduate study in geophysics
- arranged to undertake a postgraduate degree at a New Zealand university embodying geophysical study of relevance to New Zealand
- either completed or arranged to complete a significant amount of degree study in New Zealand.
Please note one place is held for a New Zealand student, you do not need to apply directly to SAGE.
For more information about the programme see the SAGE website.
The Postgraduate Prize seeks to fund educational scholarships for Masters or Honours research in the field of geosciences. Recipients must be New Zealand residents who are planning to undertake research in New Zealand Geoscience.
The scholarships shall be primarily to assist with research expenses and shall normally be awarded at the time that research work is about to commence.
One award per year shall be offered to each of the University of Auckland, University of Waikato, Massey University, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Canterbury and University of Otago with Heads of Department responsible for nominating suitable student candidates in February each year.
Each award shall be given to the geoscience student who, in the opinion of university staff, is most deserving of the distinction taking into account proven academic and research ability, and the likelihood of significant expenses accruing during practical work.
A Head of Department from any New Zealand university not named above may forward a recommendation for the nomination of a suitable student to the Convenor of the Awards Subcommittee, together with supporting information, and this nomination shall be considered by the Awards Subcommittee.
Each award shall consist of an inscribed certificate and a monetary sum. Half the scholarship money shall be paid at the time the award is made. The other half shall be paid not earlier than five months later on application from the winner of the scholarship, supported by a letter from his/her supervisor certifying that satisfactory progress has been made; the application shall include a one-page summary of the research for publication in the Geoscience Society of New Zealand Newsletter.
Nominations are solicited from Heads of Department in February each year. HODs can access the nomination form here.
More information about the Postgraduate Prize (formerly the SJ Hastie Scholarships).
