IPENZ Foundation Patron – Dr John Hood
Inaugural Patron – William H Pickering

Dr John Hood Hon FIPENZ is the Patron of the IPENZ Foundation.
The late Sir William Pickering was a particularly appropriate choice for the first patron of the IPENZ Foundation as he was one of the world’s most eminent engineers.


Achievements and honours - Dr John Hood Hon FIPENZ
Dr John Hood was admitted as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford in October 2004. He is the first person in the institution’s 900-year history to be elected to the Vice-Chancellorship from outside the University’s current academic body. Before going to Oxford, Dr Hood was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland for 5 ½ years. During his time there, he was actively involved with a number of organisations including the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee of which he was Chairman from 2002–2004, the Knowledge Wave Trust, the Prime Minister’s Growth and Innovation Advisory Board Council, the Rhodes Trust and the Asia 2000 Foundation, as well as being a Governor and Trustee of the King’s School. Dr Hood has also been a Director of various commercial organisations such as the ASB Group and Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd.

Prior to his return to academia, Dr Hood spent 18 years with Fletcher Challenge Group where he was General Manager of the Engineering Division as well as Chief Executive of various subsidiaries.

Dr Hood received a BE and a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Auckland. As well as his extensive industry experience, he has also been a Visiting Senior Lecturer in Auckland’s Department of Civil Engineering.

Whilst Dr Hood is resident in the UK, he will be taking an active interest in the Foundation and we look forward to working with him in the years to come.

Inaugural Patron – William H Pickering

The late Sir William Pickering was a particularly appropriate choice for the first patron of the IPENZ Foundation. One of the world’s most eminent engineers, he had a BE in electrical engineering and a PhD in physics. In his very distinguished international career, he embodied values that are central to engineering, to IPENZ and to the Foundation.

His commitment to scientific and technological innovation and excellence recognised no boundaries – intellectually and literally he reached for the stars. He achieved worldwide fame for his engineering achievements as the director of America’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory – he made the cover of Time magazine twice, when unmanned JPL spacecraft reached Venus, and then Mars.

Achievements and honours - William H Pickering
Under Sir William’s direction JPL notched up many dramatic discoveries and technological achievements. Among them were the Explorer satellites, which discovered the Van Allen radiation belts; Pioneer II, America’s first probe to orbit the moon; and Ranger VII, the craft that first photographed the lunar surface.

His role at the head of JPL required outstanding people skills as well as engineering expertise. Numerous honours came his way, including an honorary knighthood from Britain, in recognition of the international value of his work.

The knighthood was an honorary one, because Sir William had long been a US citizen. So too was his Order of New Zealand, the highest honour under our system, bestowed in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2003.

A Kiwi at heart
While he was an American citizen, and a figure on the international stage, Sir William never forgot his New Zealand roots. He acknowledged them proudly, and credited Canterbury University with preparing him well for his advanced studies in the USA (he completed his qualifications at the California Institute of Technology). And he stressed that only a lack of suitable jobs in New Zealand kept him from returning to work here.

Sir William was extremely generous with his time and energy during his many visits to New Zealand. He lent his name, energy and charisma as a speaker to supporting scientific and technological endeavour in many contexts. IPENZ benefited directly during Sir William’s his last two visits to New Zealand. In 2002, at the age of 91, he delivered two addresses to the IPENZ convention. Then the following year Canterbury University, where he began his studies, conferred on him an honorary doctorate.

“There’s something very special about being honoured in one’s original home,” he said in his 40-minute address, which was received with a standing ovation.

On the wall in IPENZ’s National Office you can see a permanent reminder of Sir William’s generosity – a framed 360-degree panorama of the surface of Mars, photographed by a robotic exploration vehicle. He donated the image to IPENZ during his 2002 visit, and with his death it became a fitting tribute to his memory.