The 2024 Prime Minister’s Science Prize winners

Our Changing World

Each year, five Prime Minister’s Science Prizes are awarded in the most prestigious New Zealand science awards. We explore the AgResearch science that got the top recognition this year and catch up with two of the other winners. Science Communication prizewinner Professor Jemma Geoghegan talks about the hundreds of interviews she’s done about viruses, and Future Scientist prizewinner Rena Misra explains her project exploring how a plant-fungus combination could have the potential to help clean up stormwater.

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

Guests:

• Professor Jemma Geoghegan, University of Otago
• Rena Misra, Epsom Girls’ Grammar School in Auckland
• Dr Linda Johnson, Endophyte Discovery Team, AgResearch

In this episode:

00:06–02:05: The main science prize was awarded to a group who have discovered a way to protect pasture ryegrass from pests.

02:06–02:57: The winners of the Science Teacher Prize and the MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize.

02:58–19:33: Interview with Science Communication prizewinner Professor Jemma Geoghegan of the University of Otago about viruses and pandemics.

19:34–26:10: Interview with Future Scientist prizewinner Rena Misra of Epsom Girls' Grammar School in Auckland about a fungus-plant symbiosis that might help clean up stormwater…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details