Eleven academics have been promoted to Professor and five to Associate Professor.
Academic promotions recognise outstanding contributions to research, teaching, student supervision and leadership within the University as well as the achievement of an international reputation in each academic’s area of specialisation.
Promotion to Professor
Professor Karen Barbour, Te Kura Toi School of Arts
Professor Barbour is a dance scholar with global standing, evidenced by her Fulbright Scholar Award, invitations for international performances, and her publications, including as lead author on the book (Re)Positioning site dance: Local acts, global perspectives. She demonstrates feminist and culturally responsive pedagogy underpinned by the principles of Te Tiriti, and she has contributed to University leadership as Head of Te Kura Toi School of Arts.
Professor Judy Bowen, Au Reikura School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences
Professor Karen Barbour, Professor Judy Bowen and Professor Nicola Daly
Professor Bowen researches human-centred computing with a focus on engineering dependable and usable interactive software systems. This work bridges the gap between formal methods in software engineering and the practical realities of human-computer interaction (HCI). She teaches software engineering, programming, and web development at undergraduate level, and leads a paper on engineering interactive medical systems at post-graduate level.
Professor Nicola Daly, Te Kura Toi Tangata School of Education
Professor Daly's work critically explores languages in multilingual picturebooks, investigating how they can maintain or disrupt language attitudes among tamariki, tertiary students, and teaching professionals. She has worked with colleagues and graduate students to examine how picturebooks can be used to support language reclamation, and cultural and linguistic identities, and is currently Principal Investigator of a three-year Marsden grant with award-winning pukapikitia publisher HUIA.
Professor Chris Eames, Professor Maui Hudson and Professor Te Taka Keegan
Professor Chris Eames, Te Kura Toi Tangata School of Education
Professor Eames teaches environmental and sustainability education to preservice teacher education students. His most recent research has focused on developing climate change education in schools.
Professor Maui Hudson, Te Kotahi Research Institute
Professor Hudson (Whakatōhea, Ngāruahine, Te Māhurehure) has made significant contributions to Māori research ethics and Indigenous data sovereignty as well as the research at the interface of mātauranga Māori and science. At Te Kotahi Research Institute he supports research focusing on generating benefit for Māori and Indigenous communities through Indigenous trade, Indigenous biodiscovery, and research reciprocity.
Professor Te Taka Keegan, Au Reikura School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences
Professor Keegan (Waikato-Maniapoto, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whakaue) is a computer scientist and Māori language activist who has spent his career researching and developing language technologies that focus on impact and empowerment for Māori language communities. He is the first Māori Professor of Computer Science at the University of Waikato.
Professor Anthony O'Brien, Professor Melanie Po Leen Ooi and Professor Deniz Ӧzkundakci
Professor Anthony O'Brien, School of Nursing and Midwifery
Professor O'Brien's teaching and research focus on improving responses to people engaging in mental health services. This includes reducing the use of legal coercion and supporting human rights through mechanisms such as advance mental health directives and supported decision-making. A related focus has been police response to people experiencing mental distress in community settings.
Professor Melanie Po-Leen Ooi, Te Kura Mata-Ao School of Engineering
Professor Ooi's teaching and research is focused on instrumentation, measurement, and advanced computer vision systems, particularly for industrial monitoring in fields like manufacturing, smart agriculture, and environmental sensing. Her work focuses on applying deep learning and machine learning models to enhance the efficiency and reliability of measurement and detection systems, including those used for semiconductor production testing, real-time environmental monitoring and close-range hyperspectral imaging.
Professor Deniz Ӧzkundakci, Te Aka Mātuatua School of Science
Professor Ӧzkundakci's research focuses on understanding and predicting lake ecosystem responses to environmental change, including climate extremes, land use, and restoration interventions. He uses data-driven analyses and ecosystem modelling to inform how freshwater systems are managed and support evidence-based restoration strategies.
Professor Silvia Serrao Neumann and Professor Peter Sun
Professor Silvia Serrao-Neumann, Te Kura Toi School of Arts
Professor Serrao-Neumann's research is transdisciplinary and practice-oriented, with a core emphasis on climate change adaptation in human settlements. It integrates multiple disciplines, including urban and regional planning, flood risk management, water management, and disaster risk reduction and resilience to inform and advance policy development and implementation.
Professor Peter Sun, Te Raupapa Waikato Management School
Professor Sun advances understanding of leadership, leadership development, and inclusive organisational practices. He teaches across executive, undergraduate, and master’s programmes, fostering leadership growth, facilitation, and intercultural awareness.
Promotion to Associate Professor
Dr Marinho Barcellos, Au Reikura School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences
Dr Barcellos' research enhances the security and performance of computer networks. His scientific contributions include designing innovative networked system architectures and protocols, as well as devising novel measurement methods that help us better understand the workings of internet infrastructure.
Dr Marinho Barcellos, Dr Nick Munn and Dr Jonathan Scott
Dr Nick Munn, School of Law, Politics and Philosophy
Dr Munn is an applied ethicist and political philosopher. His current primary research area is the ethics of AI, with a particular focus on human-AI interaction, and he has previously argued for the enfranchisement of young people in a variety of political contexts. He is a national and international award-winning teacher whose classes cover topics in Environmental Ethics, Human Rights, and Democracy.
Dr Jonathan Scott, Te Raupapa Waikato Management School
Dr Scott is an economic geographer who teaches entrepreneurship and innovation. He researches access to finance for diverse entrepreneurs, strategic issues for entrepreneurs, and business support and policy.
Dr Anna Sutton and Dr Tim Walmsley
Dr Anna Sutton, School of Psychological and Social Sciences
Dr Sutton specialises in the application of psychology to understanding and improving our work lives and workplaces. Her research investigates how personality, authenticity and self-awareness influence our wellbeing at work.
Dr Tim Walmsley, Te Kura Mata-Ao School of Engineering
Dr Walmsley is a leading expert in industrial decarbonisation through process integration, optimisation, and digital twins, with a focus on heat pump technology. He teaches core and advanced energy papers within the Chemical, Process, and Mechanical Engineering programmes, and oversees engineering work placements and the Graduate Diploma in Engineering Management.
