Current Award Winners

Associate Professor Michèle Prinsep is awarded the sciPAD Denis Hogan award for her commitment to engaging secondary school students in chemistry through the popular events she organises for students in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and South Auckland regions. Associate Professor Prinsep has organised the Analytical Chemistry competition and the annual Chemquest quiz night for over 11 years, ensuring these events continue to engage the large number of high school students who participate and encourage a continued interest in chemistry. For many participants, this is their first introduction to a university campus, a higher-level chemistry laboratory, and specialised chemistry equipment. Associate Professor Prinsep also organises outreach visits for secondary school students including a “Chemistry Magic Show”, laboratory experiments and short talks. She helps facilitate campus visits for students to see a NMR spectrometer in action, which assists local schools to teach the NCEA spectroscopy standard. Michèle has been a senior judge at the Waikato Science Fair for many years and has been involved in chemistry education conferences as an organiser and presenter and in mentoring students for CREST projects and the Chemistry Olympiad. She is currently the Chair of the Chemical Education Trust.