Outstanding Otago scientist joins champions in China

David Hutchinson
David Hutchinson
Dr David Hutchinson, an award-winning University of Otago physicist, was this week attending a World Economic Forum meeting in China, having been selected as one of world's 60 outstanding young scientists.

He is a theoretical physicist and a member of the Jack Dodd Centre for Quantum Technology, at the Otago physics department.

Dr Hutchinson felt "very flattered" to be selected by the Academy Council of the Royal Society of New Zealand to attend the international conference, at Tianjin, in northeastern China.

He was among about 1500 people - mainly government and business representatives - attending the "Annual Meeting of the New Champions", scheduled to be opened by the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao.

The World Economic Forum is a Geneva-based foundation which brings together top business and political leaders and other people to discuss the world's most pressing issues, including health and the environment.

The "new champions" include representatives of "global growth companies", many of them based in fast-growing emerging markets such as China and India.

Dr Hutchinson was also scheduled to attend a separate meeting of young science and technology leaders.

He is a former president of the Otago Institute, which is the Otago branch of the Royal Society. He is also a member of the Otago University Ozone grouping of leading young researchers.

Dr Hutchinson said the trip to China would mainly serve as an information-gathering exercise.

He was interested to learn more about overseas firms with strong science links and was keen for New Zealand to develop more science-based high-technology industries, he said in an interview.

In 2004, Dr Hutchinson became the first recipient of Otago University's Rowheath Trust Award and Carl Smith Medal, which recognise outstanding research by emerging researchers.

 

 

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