Kevin Russel Tate (8 April 1943 – 22 January 2018) was a New Zealand soil chemist, ecologist and climate scientist.

Early life and family

Born in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

on 8 April 1943, Tate was the son of Dudley Tate and Hazel Winifred Tate (née Jackson-Hughes). He was educated at

Hutt Valley High School Hutt Valley High School is a State school, state coeducational secondary school located in central Lower Hutt, New Zealand. A total of students from Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18) attend the school as of making the school one of the largest ...

from 1956.

Scientific career

Tate studied chemistry 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 ...

, graduating BSc in 1964, and MSc the following year. His master's thesis was titled ''A study of the dealdolisation of diacetone alcohol''. Tate then completed 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 ...

decarboxylation Decarboxylation is a chemical reaction that removes a carboxyl group and releases carbon dioxide (CO2). Usually, decarboxylation refers to a reaction of carboxylic acids, removing a carbon atom from a carbon chain. The reverse process, which is ...

kinetics and mechanisms under

Robert Walker Hay Robert Walker Hay FRSE FRCS (1934–1999) was a British chemist. He held the chair in Chemistry at Stirling University and later St Andrews University. Life Hay went to Glasgow University to study Chemistry, graduating BSc in 1956 and then la ...

at Victoria, before moving to

Soil Bureau New Zealand Soil Bureau (1936-1992 ) was a division of the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research specializing in soil-related research and development. Originally formed as ...

, a branch 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 ...

(DSIR) in the

Hutt Valley The Hutt Valley (or 'The Hutt') is the large area of fairly flat land in the Hutt River valley in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Like the river that flows through it, it takes its name from Sir William Hutt, a director of the New Zea ...

. In 1992, DSIR was dissolved and Soil Bureau became

Landcare Research Landcare may refer to: * Australian Landcare Council, a former Australian government body, superseded by the National Landcare Advisory Committee * Landcare Australia, an Australian community not-for-profit organisation, involving local volunteers ...

, a

Crown Research Institute In New Zealand, Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) are corporatised Crown entities charged with conducting scientific research. In January 2025, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced plans to merge the existing crown research institutes into t ...

, and he moved with it to

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

, on the campus of

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

. Much of Tate's early research involved the storage and cycling of phosphorus and carbon in soils, particularly in economically important New Zealand grasslands and native forests. Later work focused on

carbon cycling The carbon cycle is a part of the biogeochemical cycle where carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of Earth. Other major biogeochemical cycles include the nitrogen cycle and the water cycl ...

and sequestration, particularly as climate change became an issue and the question of how soils and

soil biota Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by restri ...

could impact atmospheric carbon dioxide levels became relevant. Tate also contributed his soil chemistry knowledge to other research topics at Soil Bureau / Landcare, including

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

rehabilitation, restoration of pasture after

topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic mat ...

removal and understanding tussock grasslands. Many papers were coauthored with people including Des J. Ross, C.W. Feltham, Benny K.G. Theng, R.H. Newman, Neal A. Scott, Surinder Saggar, Paul C.D. Newton, Troy Baisden, Aroon Parshotam, David A. Wardle and Gregor W. Yeates. Retirement in 2005 did not stop Tate working on his science. One of his last works was editing ''Microbial Biomass'', a 2017 volume on soil and ecosystem microbial processes. Tate died in Palmerston North on 22 January 2018.

Honours and awards

In 1995, Tate was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of New Zealand Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

, the peak science organisation in New Zealand. He was also elected to fellowships of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry and the New Zealand Society of Soil Science. In 2005, Tate was awarded the

Marsden Medal The Marsden Medal is a yearly award given by the New Zealand Association of Scientists. It is named after Sir Ernest Marsden and honours "a lifetime of outstanding service to the cause or profession of science, in recognition of service rendere ...

by 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 1954.Gregory, G., 2013. Not to be forgotten: New ...

for "contribution to, and leadership of, research into ecosystem processes and climate change

panning Pan or PAN may refer to: Food * Pan (cooking), a piece of cooking equipment * Harina P.A.N., a pre-cooked corn meal * Pan or Paan, a North Indian term for betel Prefix * ''Pan-'', a prefix meaning "all", "of everything", or "involving all ...

four decades."

Selected works

* * * *

References

External links

* 1943 births 2018 deaths People from Lower Hutt People educated at Hutt Valley High School Victoria University of Wellington alumni New Zealand chemists New Zealand soil scientists People associated with Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (New Zealand) Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand {{NewZealand-academic-bio-stub