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Latest comment: 1 month ago by Spintendo in topic COI edit request 4

COI edit request

[edit]
Latest comment: 3 months ago4 comments2 people in discussion

As the University of Otago Wikimedian in Residence, I have a conflict of interest. I will be making some COI edit requests for this page, and am happy to have changes made for me, or to be given approval to make them, or of course to discuss them as necessary. DrThneed (talk) 01:33, 12 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

  1. Changes needed to lead: Please add middle name as per PhD thesis, and change status to emeritus professor. Fix dead link for institutional page, add citation for middle name (thesis citation already used on page).
Old: Abigail Smith is a professor in marine sciences at Otago University in Dunedin.
New: Abigail Marion Smith is an emeritus professor in marine science at the University of Otago in Dunedin.[1][2][3]

DrThneed (talk) 01:33, 12 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

References

  1. ↑ "Professor Abigail Smith, Our people, Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, New Zealand". University of Otago. Otago.ac.nz. 2026. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  2. ↑ Abigail Marion Smith (1992). "Aspects of the sedimentology of New Zealand bryozoans and mixed carbonate-clastic deposits : a contribution to the temperate shelf carbonate model". Waikato-primo.exlibrisgroup.com. Retrieved 21 October 2017. Thesis (D.Phil. Earth Sciences) : University of Waikato
  3. ↑ "Emeritus professors". University of Otago. 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
Go ahead: I have reviewed these proposed changes and suggest that you go ahead and make the proposed changes to the page. Rusalkii (talk) 02:49, 12 May 2026 (UTC)Reply
Many thanks @Rusalkii. DrThneed (talk) 22:56, 12 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

COI edit request 2

[edit]
Latest comment: 2 months ago4 comments2 people in discussion

As above, as the University of Otago Wikimedian in Residence, I have a conflict of interest. I will be making some COI edit requests for this page, and am happy to have changes made for me, or to be given approval to make them, or of course to discuss them as necessary. DrThneed (talk) 00:07, 14 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

Request 2 Correction to where she grew up, add reason for moving to New Zealand.

Old: Smith grew up in Maine[1] and did her undergraduate studies at Colby College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology[2] before emigrating to New Zealand to study for a PhD at Waikato University with a thesis entitled 'Aspects of the sedimentology of New Zealand bryozoans and mixed carbonate-clastic deposits : a contribution to the temperate shelf carbonate model.'[3]

New: Smith grew up in New England[4] and did her undergraduate studies at Colby College, graduating in 1982.[2][5] She completed a Masters degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984, after which she met and married her husband, Emeritus Professor Hamish Spencer.[4][5] In 1988 they moved to New Zealand, where Smith studied for a PhD at Waikato University with Prof Campbell Nelson.[6] She submitted a thesis entitled Aspects of the sedimentology of New Zealand bryozoans and mixed carbonate-clastic deposits: a contribution to the temperate shelf carbonate model and graduated in 1992.[2][3][7] DrThneed (talk) 00:07, 14 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

Done DiscoursesonLivvy (talk · contribs) 02:00, 15 May 2026 (UTC)Reply
Thanks @DiscoursesonLivvy. DrThneed (talk) 02:10, 19 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

COI edit request 3

[edit]
Latest comment: 2 months ago2 comments2 people in discussion

As above, as the University of Otago Wikimedian in Residence, I have a conflict of interest. I will be making some COI edit requests for this page, and am happy to have changes made for me, or to be given approval to make them, or of course to discuss them as necessary. This request is to improve the research section. Note the Google Scholar cite is for number of publications as other sources slightly out of date. DrThneed (talk) 02:08, 19 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

Done DiscoursesonLivvy (talk · contribs) 23:57, 19 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

Old: Smith's research relates to the formation of skeletons' marine micro-flora and their deposition on the seafloor as sediment.

New: Smith's research is in geo-bio-chemical marine science. She has published over 100 refereed journal articles, as well as contributing a regular popular science article to the Otago Daily Times.[6][8]

She investigates growth and calcification in marine organisms, especially the relationship of skeletal carbonate composition to environmental and phylogenetic parameters. She has also worked on the fate of biogenic carbonate sediment after deposition, with particular reference to ocean acidification. Much of her research has focussed on the marine phylum Bryozoa.[9]

COI edit request 4

[edit]
Latest comment: 1 month ago3 comments2 people in discussion

Last in the series (I hope!). As above, as the University of Otago Wikimedian in Residence, I have a conflict of interest. I am making some COI edit requests for this page, and am happy to have changes made for me, or to be given approval to make them, or of course to discuss them as necessary.

This request is to update awards, add emeritus professor status to body of article, add alt name to infobox/lead, and headings for structure. Remove 'notable' from reference to student as implies her other students are not (Wikipedia editors know this implies notability for Wikipedia, but most readers do not understand this, so it comes across as a slight to other students!). DrThneed (talk) 22:01, 26 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

Old: In October 2019, Smith won the Miriam Dell Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring from the Association for Women in Science.[10] Smith's notable students include Tuifuisaʻa Patila Amosa.[11]

New: In 2015, Smith’s work with bryozoans was honoured by the naming of a New Zealand fossil bryozoan: Exochella abigailae.[12][13]

In October 2019, Smith was awarded the Miriam Dell Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring from the Association for Women in Science.[10](John Lewis source already used on page)[14] She has mentored more than 50 postgraduate students, taught at all levels for more than 30 years, and assisted in the development of new academic staff and emerging leaders at Otago.[10][14] Smith's doctoral students include Tuifuisaʻa Patila Amosa.[11](source already used on page)

In 2023, Smith was awarded the New Zealand Marine Sciences Award.[9](source already used on page) She was the Treasurer of the International Bryozoology Association for 24 years, and was awarded the IBA’s Ellis Medal in 2025.[9][15] She retired from the University of Otago in 2025 after 33 years and was awarded emeritus professor status.[16]

Tidy up: Note using existing numbering of refs on page, refs 1 and 5 are repeats, as are 3 and 8. This is probably my fault for not indicating in these requests when info was supported by a source already referenced on the page! Lastly, can we please add "known as Abby" to infobox/lead (as there are multiple ways Abigails shorten their names), and remove citation for emeritus professorship from the lead as it is now supported in the body.

Headings: The article lacks structure and is probably long enough to benefit from it now. I suggest "Early life and education" and "Research" and "Recognition" headings would work, but open to other suggestions.

References

  1. ↑ Smith, Abigail (2018). "Addicted to Bryozoans". Junctures: The Journal for Thematic Dialogue (19): 37–41. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Professor Abigail Smith, Our people, Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, New Zealand". University of Otago. Otago.ac.nz. 2026. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 Abigail Marion Smith (1992). "Aspects of the sedimentology of New Zealand bryozoans and mixed carbonate-clastic deposits : a contribution to the temperate shelf carbonate model". Waikato-primo.exlibrisgroup.com. Retrieved 21 October 2017. Thesis (D.Phil. Earth Sciences) : University of Waikato
  4. 1 2 Smith, Abigail M (2024-08-19). Browman, Howard (ed.). "Places to go, people to know, things to learn". ICES Journal of Marine Science. 81 (6): 1017–1024. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsae050. ISSN 1054-3139.
  5. 1 2 "Abigail M Smith". The Conversation. 2023-08-24. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  6. 1 2 Otago, University of (2025-10-09). "Celebrating a career connected to the ocean". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  7. ↑ "Emeritus professors". University of Otago. 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "Google Scholar". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  9. 1 2 3 "NEW ZEALAND MARINE SCIENCES SOCIETY AWARD". New Zealand Marine Sciences Society. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  10. 1 2 3 Lewis, John (2019-10-10). "Smith latest recipient of Miriam Dell Award". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  11. 1 2 Amosa, Patila (2015). The Dissolution Kinetics of Calcium Carbonate in Seawater: Development and Application of an Automated pH-stat Method for the Measurement of Dissolution Rates (Doctoral thesis). OUR Archive, University of Otago. hdl:10523/5461.
  12. ↑ Fox, Rebecca (11 Feb 2015). "Old fossil 'tickled to death' at honour". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Dennis Gordon; Paul David Taylor (1999). "Latest Paleocene to earliest Eocene bryozoans from Chatham Island, New Zealand". Bulletin of the Natural History Museum. Geology series. 55: 1–45. ISSN 0968-0462. Wikidata Q139771055.
  14. 1 2 "2019 Dell Awardee - Abigail Smith - AWIS". www.awis.org.nz. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  15. ↑ "News". International Bryozoology. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  16. ↑ Otago, University of (2025-10-09). "Celebrating a career connected to the ocean". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 2026-05-12.

    DrThneed (talk) 22:01, 26 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

    Reply 19-JUN-2026

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    🔼  Clarification requested  

    1. By their very nature, awards can be subjective, in that they represent a very specific point of view — that of the individual or organization determining who wins the award and why. To counter this, a good practice is to limit the listing of awards to only those which are independently notable in Wikipedia.[a]
    2. To include a list of awards here, please ensure that only awards which are independently notable in Wikipedia are listed in the request.[b]
    3. When ready to proceed with the list of independently notable awards, kindly change the {{Edit COI}} template's answer parameter to read from |ans=y to |ans=n. Thank you!

    Regards,  Spintendo  03:00, 20 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

    Notes

    1. ↑ An award which is independently notable is recognized by having its own article in Wikipedia.
    2. ↑ The request for notability in this case is to ensure WP:NPOV. That's because adding several points of view to an article in the form of an awards section may skew the article's balance.[1] Thus, this reviewer's own practice is to limit the listing of awards to those which are independently notable in Wikipedia.

    References

    1. ↑ "WP:BALANCE". Wikipedia. 20 July 2019. ...articles should not give minority views or aspects as much of or as detailed a description as more widely held views or widely supported aspects.
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