Prof Rodger, of Dunedin, and Philippa Howden-Chapman, of the university’s Wellington campus, have together received $27.4million in the latest $187million annual round of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment-administered fund.
Prof Howden-Chapman gained $12,393,935 — GST exclusive — for research into public housing and urban regeneration to maximise wellbeing.
Prof Rodger was "thrilled" with his grant, which was the highest ever awarded to an Otago Endeavour Fund project.
Space weather events, including geomagnetic storms, had already affected New Zealand’s power grid, and less frequent extreme events were likely to cause "much more significant damage".
His project aimed to better understand the risks and help mitigate them, he said.
