Science/Tech | TechWeb
25 January 2005
Google has hired one of the top programmers who worked on the Firefox project, fueling new speculation that the search giant may enter the browser business. The Mountain View, California-based search company hired 24 year old Auckland…
Medicine/Health | Xinhua News
23 January 2005
NZ has again opened a new path in medicine, this time in the field of bone reconstruction. Dr George Dias of Otago University’s anatomy and structural biology department struck on the idea of using a material based…
Science/Tech | Renewable Energy Access
31 December 2004
NZ utility TrustPower plans to construct what will be the southern hemisphere’s most technologically advanced wind farm in the Tararua Ranges this year. By adding 40 latest model turbines to its facility’s existing 103, TrustPower will increase…
Science/Tech | Club SI
29 December 2004
The American space agency NASA has given Maori names to rocks on Mars, thanks to the influence of the film Whale Rider. The Mars robotic rover Opportunity is exploring near a cliff named after the late…
Science/Tech | Fibre2Fashion
20 December 2004
Douglas Creek Ltd (Bay of Plenty) has spent the last five years developing Cervelt, a groundbreaking luxury fibre made from the down of NZ deer. Cervelt is a strong light-weight textile with a fibre diameter of…
Medicine/Health | Amnesty International | Guardian (The)
15 December 2004
The Guardian pays tribute to Duncan Forrest, NZ born surgeon and renowned anti-torture campaigner. An “outstanding and innovative paediatric surgeon,” Forrest spent his career at the vanguard of surgical developments in spina bifida, hydrocephalus and cleft palate….
Business | Broadcast News | Independent (The) | Lovemarks
13 December 2004
“If you ever wanted to make a feature film about the advertising industry, the adland equivalent of Broadcast News, there would be no contest on who should get the starring role.” Worldwide Saatchi & Saatchi CEO…
Medicine/Health | Medical News Today
12 December 2004
NZ has joined Ireland and Norway in banning the smoking of tobacco in bars, casinos and restaurants. “The 75% of NZers who do not smoke have the right to a smokefree environment, and we congratulate the…
Science/Tech | CBC News
29 November 2004
Sir Edmund Hillary has spoken out against a US-led project to build an “ice highway” in Antarctica, which would allow hundreds of tons of scientific equipment to be transported to the Amundsen-Scott Base. ” spent weeks…
Science/Tech | Xinhua News
24 November 2004
Researchers at the Canterbury District Health Board are developing an alertness monitor for drivers, in the hope of preventing fatigue-related accidents. With the help of Canterbury University’s Canterprise Ltd, the group hopes to have the device ready…
Science/Tech | Time Magazine
21 November 2004
State of the art fruit packaging from NZ, ripeSense, has been named one of 36 Coolest Inventions of 2004 by Time magazine. Co -created by Hort Research and the Jenkins Group, the ripeSense label detects aroma compounds…
Science/Tech | Newkerala.com
18 November 2004
A joint NZ/Japanese exploration of a deep-sea volcano off the NZ mainland has unearthed a mass of fascinating new life forms. According to a statement by Geological and Nuclear Sciences Ltd, who headed the venture, the…
Science/Tech | New Zealand Herald
17 November 2004
Dr Joan Wiffen of Havelock North received the esteemed Morris Skinner Award from the US-based Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology at its 64th annual meeting in Denver, Colorado. According to the SVP website, the award is “for…
Science/Tech | Xinhua News
17 November 2004
Top Kiwi scientist, Dr Peter Barrett, has warned the world “if we continue our present growth path, we are facing extinction … Not in millions of years, or even millennia, but by the end of this…
Business | Amazon | Lovemarks | Tom Peters
12 November 2004
Tom Peters named Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands (written by Edge co-founder Kevin Roberts) his Business Book of the Half-Decade, calling it “just bloody brilliant.” Lovemarks also made Amazon’s top ten business books of 2004, with…
Science/Tech | Earthrace Conservation
9 November 2004
In 2002, Aucklander Pete Bethune launched a bid to break the world record for circumnavigating the globe by powerboat. The difference is Bethune aims to do so using a state-of-the-art biodiesel powered vessel: The Earthrace. Designed by Craig…
Agriculture | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
9 November 2004
Massey University scientists have teamed up with the Centre for Environmental Stress and Adaptation Research at the University of Melbourne to decipher the genetic code of the dreaded Aussie blowfly. The study hopes to find a successful…
Business | International Herald Tribune
5 November 2004
The iconic Cardrona Hotel in Central Otago is officially on the market, with a $7 million price tag. Built in 1863, the rustic gold rush-era building features 16 guest rooms, an onsite dwelling for the owner,…
Business | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
2 November 2004
Fonterra has made a formal takeover bid for Australian conglomerate, National Foods, earning it the title “NZ moo-nopolist” in the Sydney Morning Herald. The super-company already owns Australian brands Bega, Western Star, Bodalla, Perfect Italiano and Peters…
Sport General | Ironmanlive.com
2 November 2004
The inspiring story of Napier mother-of-four, Tracey Richardson, has made headlines around the world. Two of Richardson’s children have cystic fibrosis and, in 2002, she decided to create awareness for the disease by competing in the…
Science/Tech | Cordis News | World Bank
28 October 2004
Despite opposition from home, NZ’s method of funding scientific and technological development is being used as a model by EU countries looking to overhaul their outdated research structures. Cordis: “The OECD has declared the country’s framework for…
Business | Guardian (The)
25 October 2004
Research undertaken at Victoria University suggests a positive side to gossiping and whining at work. According to the report, “whingeing to a sympathetic co-worker both reflects and constructs the close relationship between team members, thus consolidating the…
Medicine/Health | New York Times (The)
21 October 2004
Paul Kennett of the NZ Police has founded what is believed to be the first broken leg recovery room online. Entitled ‘My Broken Leg,’ the website was inspired by Kennett’s own biking accident and has quickly caught…
Business | TMCnet
18 October 2004
Christchurch based Nano Cluster Devices Ltd (NCD) has secured a potentially lucrative partnership with American organization and manufacturer, NanoDynamics. NanoDynamics is to take over international sales duties for NCD’s groundbreaking technologies, which include the self-assembly of nanowires in…
Business | Express India | Time Magazine
15 October 2004
Bollywood heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan – recently hailed by Time magazine as the biggest superstar in the world, with an audience share of 3.6 billion people – launched Kevin’s Roberts’ book Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands…
Medicine/Health | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
30 September 2004
Eating kiwifruit can help ward off heart disease, according to new research undertaken in Norway. Polyphenolic compounds in the fruit cut the amount of fat platelets being pumped around the body and thin the blood, thus reducing…
Science/Tech | Mlive.com
27 September 2004
77-year-old Aroha Pearless used the internet to track down her first crush, a US marine stationed in NZ during WW2. Pearless had found photos of her former flame, Carl Leary, while cleaning out an old album. Remembering…
Business | dti.gov.uk
15 September 2004
Christchurch man Ian Fletcher holds a key position in British government as Director of the International Trade Development Group for the British High Commission. Fletcher oversees the promotion of British business around the world; a massive job…
Business | ABC News | World Bank
9 September 2004
NZ ranked first overall in the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ report for 2004, ahead of the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia. The annual survey decides which countries are best for doing business in based on…
Medicine/Health | ABC News
8 September 2004
Doctors at NZ’s Liggins Institute have made a crucial breakthrough in the study of breast cancer. Researchers have discovered a growth hormone in breast cancer cells which determines how quickly the cancer spreads. “We have found a…
Science/Tech | Seattle Post-Intelligencer
8 September 2004
The supercomputer used to create Oscar-winning special effects for the LotR trilogy is now for hire. Weta Digital and Gen-I (a Telecom subsidiary) have established the NZ Supercomputing Center in Wellington, where commercial and scientific research can…
Science/Tech | Scoop
6 September 2004
Professor Paul Callaghan of Wellington has won the prestigious Ampere Prize. The biannual award – one of the most esteemed in the international science community – recognises outstanding work in the field of magnetic resonance. It is…
Business | News Corp | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
4 September 2004
New Zealand-born media supremo Sam Chisholm has resigned as a Director of Telstra to join Kerry Packer’s media group PBL. Chisholm, 64, retains his chairmanship of Foxtel. He was head of Nine in Australia…
Business | News.com.au
2 September 2004
Al Baldwin, 74, has sprayed his last beachgoer. Over the past 30 years, New Zealand-born Baldwin had become a fixture in Surfers’ Paradise beach, spraying an estimated three million beachgoers with suntan lotion. His business was a…
Science/Tech | BBC News | Guardian (The)
24 August 2004
Metra, the commercial sector of NZ’s government-owned meteorological service, is helping the BBC propel its TV weather reports into the 21st century. Thanks to cutting edge technology used in video games and the LotR trilogy, viewers will…
Business | BRW
19 August 2004
Business Review Weekly dubs Matthew Slatter “Australia’s most admired new chief executive,” thanks to his remarkable transformation of Tabcorp from “a Victorian-centric pokies and wagering minnow to what will soon be the world’s fourth-largest gambling company.” The NZer…
Business | The Conference Board of Canada
11 August 2004
Christchurch businesswoman Elizabeth Deuchrass has won the International Partnership Network’s 7th biannual Global Best Award for the Pacific Ocean region – the first NZer ever to do so. Her company – Elizabeth Deuchrass & Associates Ltd –…
Science/Tech | Guardian (The)
10 August 2004
Guardian writer Giles Smith test drives the Gibbs Aquada and pronounces it “the most fun thing that has ever happened to cars.” A shining example of Kiwi ingenuity, the Aquada is the world’s first high-speed amphibian (HSA)…
Business | New Zealand Herald | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
9 August 2004
The Herald profiles NZ’s master business tactician, Burns Philip head Graeme Hart. “Were it not for Mr Hart’s charm and reputation for ego-free business dealings, it would be easy to mistake that supreme confidence for arrogance. He…
Business | Berkeley Daily Planet (The)
6 August 2004
Berkeley Planet profiles David Teece, the man dubbed an “economics rock star” by the NZ government and one of the world’s top 50 business intellectuals by global management giant Accenture. As well as advising PM Tony Blair…
Business | Age (The)
26 July 2004
Age profiles Paul Hakes of Wellington’s Hakes Marine: the man behind super-maxi yacht, Zana. Hakes’ latest project is a 12m racing boat, which he hopes to successfully export to Australia. “It is a modern design, a fast…
Science/Tech | Nature Magazine | Science Magazine | TRN Magazine
14 July 2004
Otago University’s Dr Murray Barrett joined a team of scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado examining teleportation via quantum information processes. The group’s groundbreaking findings – which proved that it is possible to…
Business | Yahoo! News
1 July 2004
NZ company Designer Textiles has won a contract with sports apparel company Nike. Nike has agreed to use Designer Textiles’ merino advanced performance program (MAPP) in manufacturing its ACG range of outdoor sports shoes. The AGC range will…
Science/Tech | Scotsman (The)
26 June 2004
The NZ Antarctic Society has bestowed a belated but heartfelt honour on Scotsman Harry McNeish, who was the carpenter aboard Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance on its ill-fated Antarctic voyage. A life-size sculpture of McNeish’s pet cat – Mrs…
Education | Age (The)
22 June 2004
Waikato University graduate Craig Nevill-Manning is Director, New York & Senior Staff Research Scientist for the world’s leading search engine company, Google. Nevill-Manning completed a PhD in computer science at Waikato before taking up a post-doctoral fellowship…
Science/Tech | National Geographic | New York Times (The)
8 June 2004
Groundbreaking research into the origins of Polynesian people by Auckland University’s Lisa Matisoo-Smith has been published in the New York Times, National Geographic, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Matisoo-Smith used the DNA of Pacific…
Medicine/Health | BBC News
8 June 2004
Professor Peter Molan of Waikato University’s Honey Research Unit was the subject of a BBC feature on the healing power of honey. Molan hopes to take his area of expertise to the world via revolutionary wound dressings,…
Science/Tech | ABC News
6 June 2004
Minister for research, science and technology, Dr Pete Hodgson, headed an impressive delegation of NZ scientists and executives at the annual Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO) meeting in San Francisco. In the course of the conference NZ and Australia…
Business | Bio2004
1 June 2004
Dr John Bedbrook, President and CEO of American GM crop developer Verdia, has returned to his native NZ as part of the government’s World Class New Zealanders business advisory program. Bedbrook recently spoke at the Bio2004 convention in…
Science/Tech | BBC News
19 May 2004
Alan Gibbs launches the Gibbs Humdinga at the Motor Show in Birmingham. A V8 350 bhp five seater go-anywhere machine, the Humdinga reaching 160 km/h on land and 48 km/h on the water. Says Gibbs, “There…
Science/Tech | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
26 April 2004
A team of NZ and Japanese astronomers at Mount John Observatory have discovered Earth’s most distant planetary neighbour. The planet – which is about the size of Jupiter – was located 17,000 light years away, in the…
Business | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
31 March 2004
The international success of NZ’s 42BELOW vodka has dealt big brand owners “a hard lesson in what not to do when wooing a global consumer tribe of super groovers with money to burn.” 42BELOW has joined Grey…
Obituaries | Guardian (The) | Independent (The) | New York Times (The) | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
17 March 2004
17 March 2004 – William Pickering, one of the leading figures in US space exploration, died of pneumonia in California aged 92. A graduate of Canterbury University and the California Institute of Technology, Wellington-born…
Business | Washington Times
15 March 2004
NZ company, Argent Networks, has won a US$3.5 million deal to help rebuild Iraq’s telecommunications infrastructure. ArgentEclipse is to be the new customer billing system for the national fixed-line network, which is owned by the Iraqi government….
Science/Tech | BBC News | New Zealand Herald
13 March 2004
The NZ MetService has sold a locally made weather graphics system to the BBC for a sum rumoured to be in the millions. The state-of-the-art software package – Weatherscape XT – is the most up to date…
Science/Tech | London Media
12 March 2004
NZ software company, Virtual Katy, will lend its world-class sound engineering services to London’s Pinewood Studios, for the live-action remake of Thunderbirds. Virtual Katy – which was also used on The Lord of the Rings – is…