Dr. Christopher Anderson, PhD.

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Under the supervision of the late Professor Robert Brooks, Dr. Chris Anderson obtained his PhD at Massey University, New Zealand in 2000, where he made the serendipitous discovery that plants could be induced to accumulate gold.  This finding was published in Nature in 1998, and was accompanied by significant public and media interest in New Zealand and around the World.



International exposure led to the award of post-doctoral funding to continue the research at Massey University.  Funding was obtained from the Foundation for Research Science & Technology in 2000 (through the award of a NZ Science & Technology post-doctoral fellowship), and from Akzo Nobel Pte. Ltd., Singapore in 2000 and 2002.  The culmination of this research was a field trial for gold phytomining in 2003, run in collaboration with Canadian and Brazilian partners.



Based upon results of the Brazilian field work, Dr. Chris Anderson negotiated the release of intellectual property from Massey University and Azko Nobel in 2004, and established the companies Tiaki Resources Ltd, Tiaki Research Ltd, and Tiaki International Ltd.  These companies were founded to commercially develop gold phytoextraction technology.  To date, over NZ$1 million has been raised from New Zealand shareholders to fund the Tiaki Group's work.



Alongside his commercial and business activities since 2004, Chris has maintained research and teaching links to universities around the world.  He is currently Associate Professor at the Institute of Agriculture and Environment of Massey University, and an Adjunct Professor at both the University of British Columbia and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.  He is also on the advisory board for institutes in Mexico and Indonesia.



Chris is highly regarded as a great communicator of science to all audiences and is regularly invited to attend international conferences as a keynote speaker.  He has unique international experience in the design, implementation and analysis of phytoremediation and phytomining projects around the World.  These projects aim to achieve social, environmental and economic benefits at contaminated sites, especially in developing countries.  Since 2003, Chris has been responsible for pioneering field trials for phytomining technology.  These trials have been unmatched by any other research group in the world.



On a personal note, Chris resides in Palmerston North, with his three young children.  Chris successfully juggles a busy career, family-life, and regular international travel whilst maintaining an enduring passion for his science.