Hamish Spencer
Hamish Spencer | |
|---|---|
 Spencer in 2020 | |
| Awards | Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, Callaghan Medal, University of Otago Sesquicentennial Distinguished Chair, James Cook Research Fellowship, Fellow of the International Science Council |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland, University of Auckland, Harvard University |
| Thesis |
|
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | University of Waikato, University of Otago, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment |
| Doctoral students | Jemma Geoghegan |
Hamish Gordon Spencer FRSNZ is a New Zealand evolutionary biologist, and is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Otago. Spencer was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2009, and is a Fellow of the International Science Council. He won the Callaghan Medal in 2016.
Academic career
Spencer completed a PhD at Harvard University in 1988.[1] Spencer joined the faculty of the Department of Zoology at the University of Otago in 1992, rising to full professor in 2006.[2] He was appointed one of seven University of Otago Sesquicentennial Distinguished Chairs in 2019.[3]
Spencer was director of the Allan Wilson Centre of Research Excellence for three years from 2012.[4] He was an independent science advisor to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for five years, beginning in 2016.[5][6] Spencer led the bid to hold the International Congress of History of Science and Technology in New Zealand in 2025.[4]
Spencer is an evolutionary biologist, who uses mathematical models and genetics to explore the evolution and diversity of organisms, particularly New Zealand biota.[7][6] He has worked on frequency-dependent selection and evolutionary developmental biology, and is an expert on New Zealand's molluscan fauna.[5][6] He is also interested in the history of science, and has written about the history of eugenics and society's attitudes to cousin marriage.[5] Notable students of Spencer include Jemma Geoghegan.[8]
Honours and awards
Spencer was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2009.[5] In 2016 he was awarded the Royal Society's Callaghan Medal, for ''bringing ecological science into the marae and community''.[4][9] In 2022 he was awarded a James Cook Research Fellowship.[10] He has been a Fellow of the International Science Council since 2023.[4][11]
The deepwater snail Hortia spenceri is named after Spencer.[6]
Personal life
Spencer is married to marine biologist Abigail Smith.[7]
Selected works
- Patrick Bateson; David Barker; Timothy Clutton-Brock; et al. (1 July 2004). "Developmental plasticity and human health". Nature. 430 (6998): 419–421. doi:10.1038/NATURE02725. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 15269759. Wikidata Q52088515.
- Peter D Gluckman; Mark Hanson; (11 August 2005). "Predictive adaptive responses and human evolution". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 20 (10): 527–533. doi:10.1016/J.TREE.2005.08.001. ISSN 0169-5347. PMID 16701430. Wikidata Q61693832.
- Sonia E Sultan; (1 August 2002). "Metapopulation structure favors plasticity over local adaptation". The American Naturalist. 160 (2): 271–283. doi:10.1086/341015. ISSN 0003-0147. PMID 18707492. Wikidata Q61693848.
- Ian M Morison; Joshua P Ramsay; (1 August 2005). "A census of mammalian imprinting". Trends in Genetics. 21 (8): 457–465. doi:10.1016/J.TIG.2005.06.008. ISSN 0168-9525. PMID 15990197. Wikidata Q34430259.
- Peter D Gluckman; Mark Hanson; ; Patrick Bateson (1 April 2005). "Environmental influences during development and their later consequences for health and disease: implications for the interpretation of empirical studies". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 272 (1564): 671–677. doi:10.1098/RSPB.2004.3001. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 1602053. PMID 15870029. Wikidata Q52564078.
- Ceridwen I Fraser; Raisa Nikula; ; Jonathan M Waters (9 February 2009). "Kelp genes reveal effects of subantarctic sea ice during the Last Glacial Maximum". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 106 (9): 3249–3253. Bibcode:2009PNAS..106.3249F. doi:10.1073/PNAS.0810635106. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2651250. PMID 19204277. Wikidata Q37117560.
References
- ^ Spencer, Hamish Gordon (1988). An investigation of the theories of speciation by founder effect (PhD). Harvard University.
- ^ University of Otago Calendar (PDF). University of Otago. 2007.
- ^ Gibb, John (1 October 2019). "University's prestigious poutoko taiea initiative recognises leading scholars". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Hamish Spencer". International Science Council. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d "View our current Fellows". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Hamish Spencer". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ a b Fox, Rebecca (11 February 2015). "Old fossil 'tickled to death' at honour". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ Geoghegan, Jemma (2013), Modelling Selection under Soft Inheritance, OUR Archive, hdl:10523/3718, Wikidata Q111965714
- ^ Gibb, John (24 November 2016). "Otago academics awarded national research medals". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "People". Science System Advisory Group. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ Lewis, John (25 January 2024). "Honour to be ISC fellow: Otago evolutionary biologist". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
External links
- Flavors of history in population modelling, talk by Hamish Spencer at Banff International Research Station, 16 October 2024, via YouTube
- Hamish Spencer: cousin marriage, interview on Radio New Zealand, 4 Dec 2010