Keith Hunter | |
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![]() Hunter in 2007 | |
Born | Keith Andrew Hunter 24 November 1951 |
Died | 24 October 2018
Dunedin, New Zealand | (aged 66)
Alma mater |
University of Auckland University of East Anglia |
Awards | Marsden Medal (2014) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Ocean chemistry |
Institutions | University of Otago |
Thesis | Chemistry of the sea surface microlayer (1977) |
Doctoral students | Tuifuisa’a Patila Amosa |
Keith Andrew Hunter (24 November 1951 – 24 October 2018) was a New Zealand ocean chemist who was a professor of chemistry and pro-vice-chancellor of sciences, at the University of Otago. [1]
Born on 24 November 1951, Hunter was the son of Nevin Lindsay Hunter and Othle May Hunter (née Brenton). [2] He was educated at Auckland Grammar School, graduated from the University of Auckland with a first-class degree in chemistry in 1974, and completed his PhD at the University of East Anglia in 1977. [3] He then spent a year at the French Atomic Energy Commission. [2]
Hunter joined the Depart of Chemistry at the University of Otago as a lecturer in 1979, rising to become a full professor in 1994. [2] [3] His research focused on trace metals in natural waters, particularly in the ocean, and chemical equilibria in marine and freshwater systems. [2] He found that the productivity of phytoplankton in much of the oceans is limited by the availability of iron. [2]
Hunter served a term as president of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry, and was involved in the establishment of the NIWA/University of Otago Joint Institute for Oceanography in 1996. [2] [3] He was awarded the Prime Minister's Science Prize in 2011 and the Marsden Medal in 2014, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1997. [4] [5] [6]
Hunter retired as pro vice chancellor of sciences at Otago in 2016 after six years in the position, and died at his home in Dunedin on 24 October 2018. [2] [7]
Notable students of Hunter include Tuifuisaʻa Patila Amosa. [8]