2020 Hutton Medal acceptance speech

I am deeply humbled to receive the 2020 Hutton Medal from Royal Society Te Apārangi.

I thank those that supported my nomination and ultimately selected me for this honour. I also thank my family and friends for their unwavering support over my career to date, and the students, staff, collaborators, colleagues and mentors that I have worked with in New Zealand and across the globe – each of you aided and enhanced my science and my life I thank you for that. I also recognise the privilege I have had to pursue my scientific interest and curiosities and I thank the institutions, notably the University of Otago, and numerous funding bodies, that have supported both me and my work over the course of my career.

In receiving this award, I am mindful of the many accomplishments of the previous winners of this award, the significant strength of biological and geological research undertaken in Aotearoa New Zealand, and the many fine researchers I have learnt from and worked with whose accomplishments in this sphere are also internationally significant.

It is wonderful to receive this recognition, but it is also important to recognise that perhaps more often than not, our work fails to receive the attention it deserves. Perhaps the work is considered too niche or specialised to warrant the attention of the public, media, science funders and award committees. While that work may sit out of the glare of the spotlight, it is important and has impact. Across our country, the collective efforts of many hundreds of researchers working in schools, universities, CRIs, iwi, government and regional bodies, has steadily increased our understanding of the flora, fauna and geology of one of the world’s great treasures – Aotearoa New Zealand. I am proud to be part of that community and to have provided some new insight into our remarkable fauna.

But there remains much to do, so while my award today provides an opportunity to say thank you, it is also an opportunity to highlight the many questions of significance to our nation and our planet that require new knowledge and new tools to address. While our understanding of our nation’s biota continues to grow, we must find new solutions to balance the use and protection of our natural systems and find better ways to protect the species that depend on these. In particular it is vital that we start to actively manage the impacts that climate change and other factors that, left unchecked, will result in a rapid deterioration in our natural systems.

In order to understand the pace and scale of the ecological change we are witnessing we first need to understand the natural diversity and complexity of the systems we seek to maintain and then have the capability to monitor how these change over time. In many instances we have a superficial understanding of the biological complexity that makes up our terrestrial, freshwater and marine systems, and little understanding of how these have altered and are altering. However, with appropriate foresight and funding we have the opportunity to radically and rapidly enhance our understanding of our natural world.

Genetics, my particular area of expertise, has already emerged as an important part of the toolkit for documenting our natural systems, documenting ecological change, and for ameliorating the most pressing effects of the biodiversity crisis. However, as the technology increases in power and portability, while costs decrease, we will see genetics move from the lab to the seashore, riverside, roadside, and kitchen table. Harnessing this revolution in genomic capability with citizen science initiatives will democratise the process of scientific discovery, building a more informed society and future through which we understand, respect, engage and manage our natural systems for the benefit of all. I look forward to a future full of this renewed exploration, led by a team of 5 million, through which I hope we will gain a deeper appreciation for the wonderful complexity of our natural world and, in particular, what makes Aotearoa New Zealand special.

Distinguished Professor Neil Gemmell, November 2020