Professor Metson is currently managing the development of the Newmarket Innovation Campus at the University of Auckland after 7 years as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Vice President) Research at the University. At the University of Auckland he was co-founder of the Research Centre for Surface and Materials Science and of the Light Metals Research Centre and was a founding member of New Zealand’s MacDiarmid Institute for Materials Science and Nanotechnology. He has also led the University’s engagement with university networks such as the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU).

 

He has worked extensively with international industry, particularly in aluminium reduction technology, gas dry-scrubbing, and alumina refining and is a recognised authority on industrial aluminas and environmental performance of smelters. This has led into an interest in global materials futures and decarbonisation pathways for major industries.

 

Professor Metson has served in a range of national and international roles including as the Chief Science Advisor to New Zealand’s Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment. Previously he was the chair of the MoRST Research Infrastructure Advisory Group and NZ Government representative on the Australian National Science Advisory Committee that oversaw the development of the Australian Synchrotron and has chaired the International Advisory Committee for the facility. He is a Director of The New Zealand Synchrotron Group, and the Research and Education Advanced Network of New Zealand (REANNZ) and chairs the Board of Auckland UniServices Ltd, the commercialisation company of the University. He is the author of over 250 publications and an inventor on a number of patents.

 

“This is a great honour which I am delighted to accept. The GFCC has provided me with exposure to global thinkers, including an outstanding group of Fellows, and to ideas that are both stimulating and challenging. It is one of the more unusual networks to which the University belongs, however it has offered us a unique perspective on where we sit in the world and how the shape of this world is changing.”

 

“On a personal note, the GFCC has enabled me to form a network of friends and colleagues spanning the globe and including industry, NGO, government and university leaders. In my current role this connection with international best practice in innovation and competitiveness will be invaluable.”