A social scientist who found a link between housing conditions and health has claimed the top award at the Prime Minister's Science Prizes this year.
The top prize of $500,000 went to Philipa Howden-Chapman and her 28-member team at Otago University in Wellington.
Their work included large-scale community trials involving about 10,000 people to demonstrate the effectiveness of initiatives such as retrofitting insulation on health.
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The MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize went to Otago University researcher Karl Iremonger who has discovered a new cell structure and communication system.
The Science Media Communication Prize went to Michelle Dickinson for her work to make science fun and accessible.
Terry Burrell of Onslow College in Wellington won the Science Teacher Prize for what the judges called "an infectious love of learning" which encourages her students and other teachers to perform at their best.
Seventeen-year-old Tim Logan, of Canterbury's Darfield High School, was awarded the Future Scientist Prize for his investigations into how to protect New Zealand's most endangered native plants.
