Hugh Mannering Bibby (born 14 November 1943) is a New Zealand

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct investigations acros ...

. He holds the position of emeritus geophysicist at the New Zealand research institute

GNS Science GNS Science (), officially registered as the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited, is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute. It focuses on geology, geophysics (including seismology and volcanology), and nuclear science (partic ...

Life and career

Bibby was born in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

on 14 November 1943, the son of Ina Mary Bibby (née Coulter) and James Bruce Bibby, later appointed director of dental hygiene in the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

. He studied at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

before doing postgraduate study at

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, where he graduated with a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in applied mathematics in 1970. On 18 April 1970, Bibby married Hazel Downing in

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, England. They returned to New Zealand and had two children, before divorcing in 1987. Hazel was a local politician in Wellington. She was a Wellington City Councillor from 1980 to 1986, Wellington Regional Councillor from 1983 to 1989 and member of the Wellington Harbour Board from 1983 to 1989. Bibby worked at the Geophysics Division of the

Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development. * Department of Scientific and Industria ...

. Between 1973 and 2005 he wrote or co-wrote more than 40 research papers on geophysics. His work has included the discovery that the Mokai

geothermal Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to: * Geothermal energy, useful energy generated and stored in the Earth * Geothermal activity, the range of natural phenomena at or near the surface, associated with release of the Earth's internal he ...

field is a major energy resource. There is now a

geothermal power station Geothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 26 ...

at the site. He also devised a mathematical theory to account for how surveying marks throughout New Zealand are moving with respect to each other. In 1999, Bibby was awarded the

Hutton Medal The Hutton Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Society Te Apārangi to a researcher who, working within New Zealand, has significantly advanced understanding through work of outstanding scientific or technological merit. Frederick Wollaston Hu ...

"for fundamental contributions to earth sciences in earth deformation analysis and geo-electrical prospecting". In 2002 he was awarded the

Shorland Medal The Shorland Medal is awarded annually by the New Zealand Association of Scientists in recognition of a "major and continued contribution to basic or applied research that has added significantly to scientific understanding or resulted in signific ...

in recognition of "his work in understanding geothermal fields". He has twice received the New Zealand Geophysics Prize: in 1978 for his mathematical geodetic theory, and in 1999, together with Grant Caldwell, for innovations in electrical prospecting theory. Bibby was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

in 1998.

References

External links

Hugh Bibby's research publications
at

ResearchGate ResearchGate is a European commercial social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a 2014 study by ''Nature'' and a 2016 article in ''Times Higher Education' ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bibby, Hugh 1943 births Living people Scientists from Wellington City Victoria University of Wellington alumni Alumni of the University of Manchester New Zealand geophysicists Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand People associated with Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (New Zealand)