Two Pasifika academics in New Zealand are among the 27 researchers and scholars at the top of their fields who have been elected as fellows to the Royal Society Te Apārangi.
The head of the MacMillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies at New Zealand's Canterbury University, Steven Ratuva. Photo: Supplied/Steven Ratuva
Professor Steven Ratuva and Associate Professor Toeolesulsulu Damon Salesa are part of a group elected for their distinction in research and advancement of science, technology or the humanities.
Ratuva is the Director at Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies at the University of Canterbury while Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa is Pro Vice-Chancellor Pacific at the University of Auckland.
The new Fellows will be formally inducted at an event in Wellington on 29 April.
Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa Photo: RNZ Pacific/Koroi Hawkins
Chair of the Academy Executive Committee, Professor Charlotte Macdonald FRSNZ, said it was pleasing to see a large cohort of Fellows elected this year, all with such exceptional expertise.
"The newly-elected Fellows have made amazing contributions to knowledge in their fields and across disciplinary boundaries. Their election adds significantly to the breadth of knowledge held within the Academy; they will help support the purpose of Te Apārangi to engage with and inform New Zealanders on topics important to all.
"On behalf of the Academy and Society, I heartily congratulate all the new Fellows," Macdonald said.