Rotary Karori Past President Jim Johnston is in the news again as the winner of the BNZ Supreme Award at the KiwiNet Research Commercialiation Awards 2020.
Congratulation Jim on this great achievement. The citation follows.
Professor Jim Johnston, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington is a world-renowned inorganic and materials chemist and applied scientist. Professor Johnston is passionate about adding value to industry and the New Zealand economy through high quality research. He has pursued the commercial application of his research as a matter of course, founding a number of innovative companies and industry partnerships as a result.
Professor Johnston has either founded, or been involved with, countless new ventures and technologies throughout his long and outstanding research career. These include spin-out companies Wetox Limited, Noble Bond Limited and, most recently, Inhibit Coatings Limited.
During his extensive and much-awarded research career, Professor Johnston has spent the majority of it at the interface between academia and industry.
He has worked closely with businesses in New Zealand and overseas to utilise applied chemistry, materials science and nanotechnology to make new high-value products and generate new chemical process technologies that can be taken to market where they can help to meet business needs and create impact.
In addition to his success with research and commercialisation, Professor Johnston is equally passionate about developing his undergraduate and postgraduate students, nurturing them both academically and commercially, and making both career pathways available to them.
Professor Johnston is a textbook example of what can happen when excellent researchers are also committed to commercialising their work.