The Hector Medal, formerly known as the Hector Memorial Medal, is a science award given by the Royal Society Te Apārangi in memory of Sir James Hector to researchers working in New Zealand. It is awarded annually in rotation for different sciences – currently there are three: chemical sciences; physical sciences; mathematical and information sciences. It is given to a researcher who "has undertaken work of great scientific or technological merit and has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the particular branch of science."[1] It was previously rotated through more fields of science – in 1918 they were: botany, chemistry, ethnology, geology, physics (including mathematics and astronomy), zoology (including animal physiology).[2] For a few years it was awarded biennially – it was not awarded in 2000, 2002 or 2004.[3]
In 1991 it was overtaken by the Rutherford Medal as the highest award given by the Royal Society of New Zealand.[4]
The obverse of the medal bears the head of James Hector and the reverse a Māori snaring a huia.[5] [6] The last confirmed sighting of a living huia predates the award of the medal by three years.[7]
| Year | Recipient[8] | Field | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | Leonard Cockayne | Botany | |
| 1913 | Thomas Easterfield | Chemistry | |
| 1914 | Elsdon Best | Ethnology | |
| 1915 | Patrick Marshall | Geology | |
| 1916 | Ernest Rutherford | Physics | |
| 1917 | Charles Chilton | Zoology | |
| 1918 | Thomas Cheeseman | Botany | |
| 1919 | Philip Robertson | Chemistry | |
| 1920 | Percy Smith | Ethnology | |
| 1921 | Robert Speight | Geology | |
| 1922 | Coleridge Farr | Physics | |
| 1923 | George Hudson | Zoology | |
| 1924 | Donald Petrie | Botany | |
| 1925 | Bernard Aston | Chemistry | |
| 1926 | Harry Skinner | Ethnology | |
| 1927 | Charles Cotton | Geology | |
| 1928 | Duncan Sommerville | Mathematics | |
| 1929 | G. M. Thomson | Zoology | |
| 1930 | John Holloway | Botany | |
| 1931 | William Percival Evans | Chemistry | |
| 1932 | Te Rangi Hiroa (Peter H. Buck) | Ethnology | |
| 1933 | John Marwick, Noel Benson | Geology | |
| 1934 | Charles Ernest Weatherburn | Mathematics | |
| 1935 | William Benham | Zoology | |
| 1936 | Walter Oliver | Botany | |
| 1937 | John Reader Hosking | Chemistry | |
| 1938 | Herbert Williams | Ethnology | |
| 1939 | Arthur Bartrum | Geology | |
| 1940 | Donald Bannerman Macleod | Physics | |
| 1941 | Harold John Finlay | Zoology | |
| 1942 | Harry Allan | Botany | |
| 1943 | Bob Briggs | Chemistry | |
| 1944 | Johannes Andersen | Ethnology | |
| 1945 | John Henderson | Geology | |
| 1946 | Henry Forder | Mathematics | |
| 1947 | Baden Powell | Zoology | |
| 1948 | G. H. Cunningham | Botany | |
| 1949 | Robert Anthony Robinson | Chemistry | |
| 1950 | Ernest Beaglehole | Ethnology | |
| 1951 | Francis John Turner | Geology | |
| 1952 | Keith Bullen | Geophysics | |
| 1953 | Lance Richdale | Zoology | |
| 1954 | Lucy Cranwell | Botany | |
| 1955 | Brian Shorland | Chemistry | |
| 1956 | Roger Duff | Ethnology | |
| 1957 | Harold Wellman | Geology | |
| 1958 | Alister McLellan | Mathematics | |
| 1959 | Barry Fell | Zoology | |
| 1960 | Ted Chamberlain | Botany | |
| 1961 | Harry Bloom | Chemistry | |
| 1962 | Ralph Piddington | Ethnology | |
| 1963 | Charles Fleming | Geology | |
| 1964 | Derek Frank Lawden | Mathematics | |
| 1965 | Richard Dell | Zoology | |
| 1966 | Jack Holloway | Botany | |
| 1967 | Con Cambie | Chemistry | |
| 1968 | Gilbert Archey | Ethnology | |
| 1969 | Doug Coombs | Geology | |
| 1970 | Brian Wybourne | Physics | |
| 1971 | Ira Cunningham | Zoology | |
| 1972 | Ted Bollard | Botany | |
| 1973 | Michael Hartshorn | Chemistry | |
| 1974 | Herbert Dudley Purves | Medicine | |
| 1975 | Robert Hayes | Geology | |
| 1976 | Jack Dodd | Physics | |
| 1977 | Cam Reid | Zoology | |
| 1978 | Richard Matthews | Botany | |
| 1979 | Leon Phillips | Chemistry | |
| 1980 | Graham Liggins | Medicine | |
| 1981 | Trevor Hatherton | Geology | |
| 1982 | Roy Kerr | Mathematics | |
| 1983 | Ray Forster | Zoology | |
| 1984 | Rod Bieleski | Botany | |
| 1985 | Peter de la Mare | Chemistry | |
| 1986 | Robin Carrell | Medicine | |
| 1987 | Jim Ellis | Chemistry | |
| 1988 | Dan Walls | Physics | |
| 1989 | Patricia Bergquist | Zoology | |
| 1990 | Peter Wardle | Botany | |
| 1991 | Warren Roper | Chemistry | |
| 1992 | Roger Green | Ethnology | |
| 1993 | Dick Walcott | Geology | |
| 1994 | Geoff Stedman | Physics | |
| 1995 | Bob Jolly | Zoology | |
| 1996 | John C. Butcher | Mathematics | |
| 1997 | Ted Baker | Chemistry | |
| 1998 | Paul Callaghan, Jeff Tallon | Physics | |
| 1999 | George Seber | Statistics | |
| 2000 | No award | ||
| 2001 | Peter Schwerdtfeger | Chemistry | |
| 2002 | No award | ||
| 2003 | Ken MacKenzie | Materials science | |
| 2004 | No award | ||
| 2005 | Ian H. Witten | Computer science | |
| 2006 | Richard Furneaux | Chemistry | |
| 2007 | Timothy Haskell | Physics | |
| 2008 | Gaven Martin | Mathematics | |
| 2009 | Peter Steel | Chemistry | |
| 2010 | Grant Williams | Physics | |
| 2011 | Rod Downey | Mathematics | |
| 2012 | Margaret Brimble | Chemistry | |
| 2013 | Richard Blaikie | Physics | |
| 2014 | Marston Conder[9] | Mathematics | |
| 2015 | Ian Brown[10] | Chemistry | |
| 2016 | Stéphane Coen | Physics | |
| 2017 | Sally Brooker[11] | Chemistry | |
| 2018 | Matt Visser[12] | Mathematical physics | |
| 2019 | Jadranka Travaš-Sejdić[13] | Polymers and nanomaterials | |
| 2020 | Eamonn O’Brien[14] | Mathematical theory of groups | |
| 2021 | Eric Le Ru[15] | Chemical physics | |
| 2022 | Murray Cox[16] | Population genetic theory | |
| 2023 | Niels Kjærgaard[17] | Physics | |