Hawke's Bay has been credited for inspiring the work behind a prestigious $500,000 science prize awarded to Bay ex-pat Professor Paul Moughan yesterday.
Prof Moughan was brought up in Hastings, and said his education at St Joseph's Primary School and St John's College, teamed with a love for local agriculture, sparked his interest in science.
"I was born and bred in Hawke's Bay," he said. "All the early formative years of my life were lived there and I still hold great affection for Hawke's Bay, it was a wonderful environment to grow up in.
"Even though we lived in Hastings city my father owned a number of farms and as children we used to go and visit them and I think I developed a love of agriculture through my dad."
Prof Moughan and Prof Harjinder Singh yesterday received the supreme Prime Minister's Science Award for their innovative work at the Riddet Institute, a research centre based at Massey University in Palmerston North.