The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) appoints peer-review panels to assess all research Evaluation Portfolios submitted to the PBRF Quality Evaluation.

The 14 peer-review Panels are responsible for developing the Panel Specific Guidelines in 2023, assessing the Evaluation Portfolios in 2026, and conclude their engagement with the writing of a final panel report in early 2027.

Panel Co-Chairs

We ran a nomination process for Co-Chairs between 25 October and 13 December 2022. We received a total of 87 nominations for the 28 roles of Co-Chair Māori and Co-Chair for Quality Evaluation 2026.

These roles will run from early 2023 to early 2027, when the TEC will publish the results of the Quality Evaluation.

We are pleased to announce that following the nomination process we have appointed:

Biological Sciences (BIOS)

Co-Chair Māori – Professor Nick Rahiri Roskruge’s (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tama) specialist research activity aligns to food security and food sovereignty for Indigenous communities, primarily through plant landrace and germplasm management and a number of other mātauranga-centric projects across Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. He is currently a Professor in Ethnobotany based at Massey University and also chairman for Tāhuri Whenua the National Māori Horticultural Collective.

Co-Chair – Associate Professor Maren Wellenreuther specialises in eco-evolutionary genetics, diversity crisis, nature conservation, primary production, sustainable development, and global change. She is Science Group Leader of ‘Seafood Production’ at Plant & Food Research and Associate Professor at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland.

Business and Economics (BEC)

Co-Chair Māori – Professor Jarrod Haar (Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Mahuta) FRSNZ specialises in organisational psychology, researching employees and organisations. Jarrod is a Dean’s Chair and Professor of Management and Māori Business at Massey University.

Co-Chair – Professor Gail Pacheco is an applied econometrician with a focus on using linked administrative data to inform policy debate, particularly in the labour and health fields. Gail is a Professor of Economics and Director of the NZ Work Research Institute at Auckland University of Technology.

Creative and Performing Arts (CPA)

Co-Chair Māori – Associate Professor Paula Morris (Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Whātua) MNZM, is a novelist, short story writer, editor and essayist. Paula is the founder of the Academy of New Zealand Literature and Wharerangi, the Māori literature hub. Paula directs the Master of Creative Writing and is an Associate Professor at the University of Auckland.

Co-Chair – Professor Robert Jahnke (Ngāi Taharora, Te Whānau a Iritekura, Te Whānau a Rakiroa o Ngāti Porou) ONZM, FRSNZ is Professor of Māori Visual Arts at the School of Art, Massey University – Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa.

Education (EDU)

Co-Chair Māori – Professor Elizabeth McKinley (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa/Ngāi Tahu) specialises in the field of Māori and Indigenous education, particularly curriculum, science education and secondary schooling. She is both the Executive Director of the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity (AFSE) and Professor of Indigenous Education at the University of Melbourne.

Co-Chair – Professor Stephen May FRSNZ is an interdisciplinary scholar and international authority on language policy, language rights, Indigenous language revitalisation, and the multilingual turn in language learning. He is Professor at Te Puna Wānanga (School of Māori and Indigenous Education), University of Auckland.

Engineering, Technology and Architecture (ETA)

Co-Chair Māori – Professor Regan Potangaroa (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa) is a structural engineer specialising in humanitarian aid, post-disaster reconstruction and recovery, humanitarian training, seismic design and construction, and innovative applications of current technology and Mātauranga Māori/community engagement. Regan is Professor of Resilient and Sustainable Built Environment (Māori Engagement) at Massey University School of the Built Environment in Albany, Auckland.

Co-Chair – Professor Dale Carnegie is a multidisciplinary researcher in Engineering Education, musical mechatronic projects, mobile robotics, affective computing, superconducting electric aircraft engines, and industrial electronics. He is Dean of Engineering at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington.

Health (HEALTH)

Co-Chair Māori – Professor Louise Parr-Brownlie (Ngāti Maniapoto me Te Arawa) specialises in understanding the neural changes that underlie Parkinson’s disease and understanding the broad determinants of healthy ageing. She is a Professor in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago and the Director of the Ageing Well National Science Challenge.

Co-Chair – Professor Merryn Gott Co-Directs the Te Ārai Palliative Care and End of Life Research Group who use an equity lens to explore ways to optimise palliative and end of life care for families and whānau in Aotearoa and internationally. She is Co-Associate Head of Research for Te Kura Neehi/School of Nursing, Waipapa Taumata Rau/The University of Auckland.

Humanities and Law (HAL)

Co-Chair Māori – Professor Jacinta Ruru (Raukawa, Ngāti Ranginui) MNZM, FRSNZ specialises in Indigenous peoples’ legal rights to own, manage and govern lands and waters, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and tikanga Māori in the legal system. She holds an inaugural Sesquicentennial Distinguished Chair in the Faculty of Law, University of Otago.

Co-Chair – Professor Paul Clark specialises in contemporary Chinese social and cultural history. Paul is Professor of Chinese in the School of Cultures, Languages and Linguistics at the University of Auckland.

Mātauranga Māori (MĀORI)

Co-Chair Māori – Professor Rawinia Higgins (Tūhoe) specialises in Māori language revitalisation, language planning and policy. Rawinia is a member of the Waitangi Tribunal, a Board member of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and the current Chair and Commissioner of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori - The Māori Language Commission. Rawinia is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington.

Co-Chair Māori – Professor Brendan Hokowhitu (Ngāti Pūkenga) specialises in critical Indigenous Studies, theory, sport, masculinity and media. He is Professor of Indigenous Research at the University of Queensland, and the Centre Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures.

Mathematical and Information Sciences and Technology (MIST)

Co-Chair Māori – Associate Professor Te Taka Keegan (Waikato-Maniapoto, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whakaue) specialises in Māori language technologies and interfaces, Māori AI, and Māori data sovereignty. He is Associate Professor of Computer Science and the Associate Dean Māori of the Wānanga Pūtaiao (Division of Health, Engineering, Computing and Sciences) at the University of Waikato.

Co-Chair – Professor Eamonn O'Brien is an algebraist specialising in the development and application of algorithms to understand the structure of mathematical objects. He is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Auckland.

Medicine (MED)

Co-Chair Māori – Associate Professor Matire Harwood (Ngāpuhi) is a Kaupapa Māori clinical academic working to understand and eliminate inequities for long term conditions in the community, using Mātauranga Māori. She is Head of Department for General Practice and Primary Care, FMHS University of Auckland, and a GP at Papakura Marae Health Clinic.

Co-Chair – Professor Lisa Stamp is an academic Rheumatologist having completed her training in New Zealand and her PhD at the University of Adelaide in Australia. Lisa is Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch and works at Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand.

Pacific Research (PACIFIC)

Co-Chair – Professor Airini specialises in how education can help build a more equitable society for all. She holds the roles of Provost and Vice President Academic, and Professor of Education at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Co-Chair – Associate Professor El-Shadan Tautolo (born in Aotearoa New Zealand of Samoan and Cook Islands ancestry) is a former chair of the Health Research Council – Pacific Committee, and is particularly passionate about research that supports Pacific children and families to thrive in terms of their health and wellbeing. He is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at Auckland University of Technology, and Director of the AUT Pacific Health Research Centre.

Physical Sciences (PHYSC)

Co-Chair Māori – Professor Jonathan Procter (Muaūpoko, Ngāti Apa and Ngāi Tahu) specialises in the computational simulation of volcanic hazards, physical volcanology and building resilience in our communities. Jonathan is Professor of Natural Hazards and Associate Dean – Māori at Te Kunenga Ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University.

Co-Chair – Professor Cather Simpson specialises in the interaction of light with matter, from fundamental laser-induced chemical physics to applications of lasers and microfluidics in the AgTech and HealthTech sectors. She is a Professor of Physics and Chemical Sciences at The University of Auckland, and a Partner at Pacific Channel, Ltd.

Public Health (PUB)

Co-Chair Māori – Associate Professor Clive Aspin (Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Whanaunga, Ngāti Tamaterā) specialises in indigenous expressions of sexuality, Māori health and wellness, and rangatahi suicide prevention. He is an Associate Professor in Health and the inaugural Associate Dean Māori in Te Wāhanga Tātai Hauora (Faculty of Health) at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington.

Co-Chair – Professor Alistair Woodward is a public health doctor and epidemiologist, specialising in environmental health, air quality, transport, climate change and tobacco control. He is Professor at the School of Population Health, University of Auckland.

Social Sciences and Other Cultural/Social Studies (SSOCSS)

Co-Chair Māori – Professor Linda Waimarie Nikora (Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Tūhoe, Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki, Ngāti Pahauwera) FRSNZ specialties are in the development of Indigenous psychologies. She is Co-Director of Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence, and is Professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Auckland.

Co-Chair – Ahorangi Taiea, Distinguished Professor Lisa Matisoo-Smith specialises in the study of human variation and the history of Pacific settlement using DNA and other anthropological data. Lisa is the Professor of Biological Anthropology in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago.

Initial Panel Members

Initial Panel Member roles will also run from 2023 to early 2027. They will contribute to developing the Panel-Specific Guidelines, conduct individual assessments of Evidence Portfolios, and participate in the peer review panel meetings.  

As part of the Co-Chair nomination process we also ran a nomination process for initial panel membership between 25 October and 13 December 2023. Appointments to these roles have not yet been made and are expected to be announced in late May 2023.

Panel Members

The remaining Panel Members will be appointed in early to mid 2026 via a second round of nominations beginning in late 2025.

Further information

The Peer Review Panel nomination and selection process for Quality Evaluation 2026 (PDF 607 KB) provides further information on:

• panel structure, Panel Co-Chair and initial Panel Member roles and person specifications
• the PBRF Quality Evaluation 2026 Panel Co-Chair and initial Panel Member appointment process.