GNS Science 3.45

GNS Science is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute. It focuses on geology, geophysics, and nuclear science .GNS Science was known as the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences from 1992 to 2005. Originally part of the New Zealand Government's Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, it was established as an independent organisation when the Crown Research Institutes were set up in 1992. As part of that process, GNS Science became semi-commercial, and operates as a government-owned company rather than as a government department. This change led to greater autonomy, accompanied by greater emphasis on financial viability. This is essential in the corporate environment, especially for the purchase and maintenance of research equipment and infrastructure, because the New Zealand public science funding system doesn't normally provide grants for these purposes.As well as undertaking basic research, and operating the national geological hazards monitoring network and the National Isotope Centre, GNS Science contracts its services to various private groups both in New Zealand and overseas, as well as to central and local government agencies, to provide scientific advice and information.