Vicki Cathryn Hyde (née Spong, born 1962) is a New Zealand science writer and editor, and former chair-entity of the New Zealand Skeptics. She is co-owner with her husband Peter of a New Zealand-based software and web development company, Webcentre Ltd. Hyde resides in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. She gained a BSc in psychology and a BA in sociology from

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 ...

and represented her alma mater in the television series

University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...

in 1980. She was the team manager the following year in 1981, when Canterbury won the title. She was a founder of the '' KAOS'' (Killing As Organised Sport) club at the University of Canterbury in 1981. Following her studies she lived in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

before returning to New Zealand in 1989. Hyde is best known as the managing editor of the popular science portal site

ScitechDaily ''SciTech'' is an American online science magazine, containing sections on space, physics, biology, technology and chemistry. It was founded in 1998 by Vicki Hyde. In 2002, SciTech was selected as one of five final nominations in the Science C ...

, which she began as a sister site to

Arts & Letters Daily Arts & Letters Daily is a web portal which links to news stories, features, and reviews from across the humanities. The site is owned by ''The Chronicle of Higher Education''. Content According to founder and former editor Denis Dutton, ''Arts & ...

soon after the latter was launched in 1998 by her friend,

Denis Dutton Denis Laurence Dutton (9 February 1944 – 28 December 2010) was an American philosopher of art, web entrepreneur, and media activist. He was a professor of philosophy at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was also ...

. Hyde's company also worked with Dutton in 1998 to launch the Cybereditions

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. A ...

and print-on-demand publishing operation, which Webcentre owns outright. Hyde was also founder and managing editor of ''New Zealand Science Monthly'' magazine which was published for the full decade from 1990 to 2000. During that time she authored ''Godzone Skies, Astronomy for New Zealanders'' and helped launch and market Webcentre's flagship TurboNote software. Hyde won the

New Zealand Association of Scientists The New Zealand Association of Scientists is an independent association for scientists in New Zealand. It was founded in 1941 as the New Zealand Association of Scientific Workers, and renamed in 1954Gregory, G., 2013. Not to be forgotten: New Ze ...

science journalism award in 1999. She was the long-standing Chair-Entity of the New Zealand Skeptics (NZ Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, Inc). In her leisure time, Hyde can be found in an alternate persona as a Baroness of Southron Gaard, a branch of the international

Society for Creative Anachronism The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes ...

. In the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebra ...

, Hyde was appointed a

Member 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 re ...

for services to science. She was elected a Companion of

Royal Society Te Apārangi The Royal Society Te Apārangi (in full, Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi) is an independent, statutory not-for-profit body in New Zealand providing funding and policy advice in the fields of sciences and the humanities. History The R ...

in 2001.

Publications

* ''Godzone Skies, Astronomy for New Zealanders'', (1992) * ''Night skies above New Zealand'' (2003) * ''Oddzone: Paranormal Phenomena, Alien Abductions, Animal Mysteries, Psychics and Mediums and Other Weird Kiwi Stuff'', (2006)

References

External links

ScitechDaily

New Zealand Science Monthly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyde, Vicki 1962 births Living people New Zealand scientists University of Canterbury alumni People from Christchurch New Zealand sceptics Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand women scientists Contestants on New Zealand game shows Society for Creative Anachronism Companions of the Royal Society of New Zealand