Current Award Winners

Associate Professor Nathaniel Davis joined Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka in 2018 after completing a PhD and Fellowship at the University of Cambridge. In the short time since launching his independent research career, Dr Davis has established himself as a pioneer in the field of Optoelectronics which focuses on devices and systems that utilise the interactions between light and electrical energy. His world-class research programme offers potential solutions for energy usage, climate change and sustainability and the commercial applications have been realized through a series of patents and his new start up company TwoPhold. Dr Davis has been the recipient of a number of awards and competitive research grants including the Cambridge Oppenheimer Early Career Research Fellowship, a Royal Society Te Apārangi Rutherford Discovery fellowship, a MBIE Smart Ideas grant, a National Science Challenge - SfTI Seed, a Marsden Fast Start grant, and the 2025 Easterfield Medal. He is aPrincipal Investigator in the Dodd Walls Centre and currently serves as Centre’s Deputy Director (Industry) and an associate investigator of the MacDiarmid Institute. Dr Davis is also recognised for his inspiration and encouragement of future scientists having mentored numerous graduate students, and led a science outreach initiatives at Rotorua intermediate schools and now at a university level that integrates sustainability and mātauranga Māori.