Sylvia Vine Sheat Rumball (née Sheat; born 1939) is a New Zealand scientist and an international expert in scientific research ethics.

Education

Rumball completed a BSc and MSc (1962) at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

. She moved to the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

where she undertook a PhD in chemistry (1966), supervised by Professor (later Sir) Neil Waters.

Career

During her PhD studies, Rumball worked as a junior lecturer at the University of Auckland from 1963 to 1966. She then moved to the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

on a postdoctoral fellowship and studied protein crystallography under

Dorothy Hodgkin Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin (née Crowfoot; 12 May 1910 – 29 July 1994) was a Nobel Prize-winning British chemist who advanced the technique of X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of biomolecules, which became essential fo ...

. Rumball joined

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

as a lecturer in 1967. She was promoted to associate professor in 2000 and to full professor by 2005, when she was also assistant to the Vice Chancellor (Equity and Ethics) at Massey. She served on the University Council from 2005 to 2008. She was appointed Professor Emeritus in July 2009, officially retiring in November of the same year. To celebrate the centenary of women's suffrage in New Zealand, Rumball was selected as one of eight women to give graduation addresses at Massey University in 1993. From 2002 to 2011 she was chair of the National Ethics Committee on Assisted Human Reproduction, later known as the Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ACART). She also served on the Drug Free Sport New Zealand Board from 2007 to 2015. Rumball also served on UNESCO's

International Bioethics Committee The International Bioethics Committee (IBC) of UNESCO is a body composed of 36 independent experts from all regions and different disciplines (mainly medicine, genetics, law, and philosophy) that follows progress in the life sciences and its applica ...

and the

International Council for Science The International Council for Science (ICSU, after its former name, International Council of Scientific Unions) was an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the advancement of science. Its members ...

's Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in the conduct of Science.

Honours and awards

Sylvia Rumball receiving CNZM from Sir Anand Satyanand

Rumball was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to science, in the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours. In the

2008 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and a ...

, she was promoted to

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

, also for service to science.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rumball, Sylvia 1939 births Living people Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit University of Canterbury alumni University of Auckland alumni Academic staff of Massey University New Zealand women chemists Bioethicists New Zealand women academics Crystallographers