NIWA marine geologist Dr Geoffroy Lamarche was made a Knight of the National Order of Merit by French Ambassador H.E. M. Laurent Contini, at a special ceremony at the Embassy of France in Wellington on 13 February.
The honour recognises the significant contribution Dr Lamarche has made over many years to strengthening scientific cooperation between New Zealand and France.
Dr Lamarche first arrived in New Zealand 25 years ago for a year of post-doctorate research at Victoria University. He then joined GNS Science, before returning to France to work for the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD).
During his time back in France, Dr Lamarche continued work on a French-New Zealand research programme dedicated to mapping key segments of the modern and ancient plate boundaries around New Zealand.
In 1998, Dr Lamarche returned to New Zealand with his family, joining NIWA as a principal scientist.
Among his key collaborations since then are the research programme Matacore, undertaken with CNRS in Rennes, studying palaeo-historic abrupt climate changes and the impact of earthquakes on the evolution of submarine landscapes, and a study of tsunami hazard in the French territory Wallis and Futuna in association with IRD and co-funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pacific Fund.
In 1990, Dr Lamarche organised a symposium on New Zealand-France collaborative research in geosciences – which established perennial relations between scientists from both countries.
Dr Lamarche receives the congratulations of his colleagues at NIWA for this outstanding and deserved honour.
