Emeritus Professor Richard Haverkamp

Position: Emeritus Professor of Nanotechnology, School of Food and Advanced Technology, Massey University
Field: Nanotechnology

Richard Haverkamp was Professor of Nanotechnology in the School of Food and Advanced Technology at Massey University, Palmerston North. The focus of his research is on nanotechnology applied to soft and hard materials

Rights: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato

Prof Richard Haverkamp

Prof Richard Haverkamp with an atomic force microscope.

Becoming a nanotechnologist has involved a fascinating journey for Richard. At school, he was interested in physics, mathematics and chemistry, but he had no particular career goal in mind. He studied chemistry at university, but at this stage there was no thought of doing nanoscience – he’d never heard of it. Richard went on to work in industry as a chemical engineer.

Career highlights have been the interaction with scientists and engineers around the world, the development of a new understanding of nature, the invention of new devices and the creation of new intellectual models to describe and predict real processes.

After about ten years, Richard returned to university and obtained a PhD. He realised that a career in university was just the thing for him. It was creative and stimulating, with a huge amount of independence – a bit like being your own boss. Over time, Richard found himself spending more and more time studying single molecules and nanoscale particles. Unintentionally, he had morphed from a chemical engineer into a nanotechnologist.

When you meet Richard, you can tell that he finds his research and teaching work fun. “I love what I do, it’s much better than having a job,” he quips. Research and teaching are obviously valuable contributions to science, but looking at how things work at the nanoscale has also helped make the world a more interesting place for Richard.

Richard was also a researcher for the Science for Technological Innovation (SfTI) National Science Challenge. Alongside other researchers Richard lookied into the potential of using animal collagen as a support for damaged structures within the human body while they’re under natural repair.

Upon his retirement in 2024 he was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus. Hedoes though intend to continue his collaborations with Massey through supervising student research, training staff in the use of the atomic force microscopy, assisting Massey Ventures in commercialising a medical device he invented and further project collaborations within his network.

This article is based on information current in 2008 and 2025.