Graeme Gainsford

Dr Graeme Gainsford

Dr Graeme Gainsford is one of New Zealand’s foremost crystallographers. He has had a distinguished career, originally in the Chemistry Division of the DSIR, the forerunner of Industrial Research Limited, and then with IRL itself.

His research focus has been the use of X-ray crystallography to determine the structures of single crystals. He has applied this technique to determining the detailed molecular structure of carbohydrate/pharmaceutical compounds and to other areas of science including photonic molecules with potential electronic applications and advanced materials.

He has a keen interest in synchrotron radiation facilities and plays an active role in ensuring New Zealand scientists have access to the synchrotron facility in Australia. 

Dr Gainsford has 333 publications to his name, the majority in highly regarded, peer-reviewed international journals, and has presented 77 papers at conferences. He has also collaborated extensively with scientists from a range of research institutions in New Zealand and around the world. Among the awards and honours he has received is the New Zealand Association of Scientists’ Shorland Medal in 2008.

Dr Gainsford studied at the University of Canterbury and was awarded a PhD in 1969. He completed post doctoral study at Ohio State University in the United States and worked in research posts in England and Australia before joining the DSIR in 1974. He was manager of IRL’s Spectroscopy Team from 1992 – 1994, then a Senior Scientist and Project Leader, and has been a Principal Scientist since 2008.

Music is a passion for Dr Gainsford. He directs the Knox Church Choir, is a church organist, and has had a long association with barbershop music. He founded a barbershop a capella group – Sounds Capital Chorus - which has built an international reputation. He is a qualified barbershop judge, and has helped take the musical genre into New Zealand secondary schools. Dr Gainsford is also an accomplished Toastmaster and a keen gardener.