Professor McGrath, a professor in Victoria’s School of Chemical and Physical Science, is currently director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnologies which is based at Victoria and is one of New Zealand’s six Centres of Research Excellence.
“We are delighted to have someone of Professor McGrath’s calibre to take on this important role,” says Victoria’s Provost Professor Neil Quigley. “She has the experience and expertise needed to ensure Victoria’s research programmes are innovative, high quality and respected both nationally and globally.”
Victoria University is ranked New Zealand’s most research intensive university and Professor Quigley says retaining that ranking and continuing to build Victoria’s national research leadership will be a focus for Professor McGrath in her new position.
Professor McGrath completed her BSc (Hons) in chemistry at the University of Canterbury and gained her PhD from the Australian National University. After post-doctoral work in France and the United States, she returned to New Zealand to take up a lecturing position in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Otago. She moved to Victoria University in 2004 and, in 2011, was promoted to professor and became director of the MacDiarmid Institute.
Among the awards Professor McGrath has received are the 2003 Easterfield Medal from the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry, the 2007 Research Medal from the New Zealand Association of Scientists and the 2013 Wellington Gold Inspire Wellington Award.
“I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to lead the university’s research endeavours and to work with the staff at Victoria University of Wellington to enrich our research environment and deliver high quality research outcomes,” says Professor McGrath, who will take up her new role on 20 January 2015.
In October, Victoria University announced the appointment of New Zealand’s first Provost, Professor Neil Quigley, who is responsible for ensuring ongoing excellence in Victoria’s teaching and research programmes for domestic and international students. In addition to Professor McGrath’s appointment as Vice-Provost (Research), the University will also be appointing a Vice-Provost (Academic and Equity).