Distinguished Science Award for IUB Professor
V. Benno Meyer Rochow

On 18 August 2005 V. Benno Meyer-Rochow, IUB Professor of Biology, was awarded a Doctor of Science (DSc) from the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. Far beyond the scope of a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) this scientific distinction honors the broad range of a scientist’s work in his or her career dedicated to a lifetime of research.

[ Aug 31, 2005]  Professor Meyer-Rochow was awarded the distinguished degree in recognition of his published work on comparative physiological aspects of vision and ethno-entomological topics by ANU Chancellor Peter Baume and Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Chubb. The laudation, given in absentia, emphasized the “considerable contributions to worldwide science, the fundamental research on comparative aspects of vision and light-induced retinal damage as well as the pioneering work in the Antarctica and Papua New Guinea.” General criteria for ANU to award a Doctor of Science are "general originality and creative achievements” of a scientist. The DSc degree is rarely conferred upon academics and on average only one person every two years receives this honor from the ANU.

The New Zealander V. B. Meyer-Rochow came to IUB from the Institute of Arctic Medicine at The University of Oulu, Finland. His university positions and participation in research expeditions took him around the world, including The Arctic and Antarctica. His teaching and research activities as well as an extensive number of publications cover vast areas of zoology, physiological and cellular research, electron microscopy and understanding animal (and human) behavior. A special interest of his is ethno-entomology, the use of various insects in different cultures and ethnic groups.

The Australian National University, founded in 1946 in Canberra, has 13,487 students representing 94 countries. It is one of Australia’s most research-intensive universities and was rated as one of the world’s top 50 universities by an independent international experts' committee.