Mehrdad is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Auckland with specialized expertise in mechatronics and data science. His role was with the Resilience Challenge Weather and Wildfire programme is within the “Quantification of Wind, Snow, and Ice Loading on New Zealand’s Transmission Line Network During High Impact Weather Events” project, a collaboration partnering with […]
Category: Q & A
Ē waru pātai whakahau me Ahorangi Taiarahia Black | Eight quick questions with Professor Taiarahia Black
Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi School of Indigenous Graduate Studies Whakatāne Campus E Au Ai Te Reo, Taiao – Kaitiakitanga[1] (Building Language Resilience and Mātauranga Māori Amongst Māori Communities) What is the connection of Ē Au Ai Te Reo, Taiao – Kaitiakitanga to Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 2022? Ē Au Ai Te Reo, […]
Q & A with Prof Christine Kenney
Christine Kenney (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Toarangatira, Ngāi Tahu) has been part of the Resilience Challenge since Phase 1 and was recently appointed as co-leader of our Rural Communities research programme. Q. Kia ora Christine. Congratulations on your recent appointment as co-leader of the Resilience Challenge Rural Programme. What does the role mean for you? […]
Q & A with Kristie-Lee Thomas
Q. Tēnā koe Kristie-Lee. Can you tell us a bit about your iwi and hapū connections? Ka mihi nui ki a koutou! He uri au nō Ngāti Mutunga ō Wharekauri, Te Atiawa, Ngāi Tohora, kōpūwai. Q. Can you tell us what it was like growing up on Rēkohu-Wharekauri (Chatham Islands) and how that influenced your […]
Q & A with Dr Christina Magill
Q. Tēnā koe Christina. Congratulations on your recent appointment to co-leader of the Resilience Challenge Volcanoes programme. What does this new opportunity mean for you? Kia ora! Thank you for the opportunity. I am excited to be working with an incredible group of volcano researchers within the RNC Volcanoes programme. It has been wonderful to […]
Q & A with Dr Shari Gallop
Q. Tēnā koe Shari. Can you tell us a bit about your iwi and hapū connections? I whakapapa to Ngāti Maru (Hauraki) through my dad and Te Rarawa in Northland through my mum. I also have Danish and English ancestry. Since I moved back to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2018 I have connected with my […]
Q&A with Akuhata Bailey-Winiata
Mapping coastal marae and urupā Tēnā koe Akuhata. Can you tell us about your iwi affiliationsā Yes, my iwi affiliations are Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhourangi, Ngāti Tutetawhā, and Ngāti Tāwhaki. What motivated you to pursue your current research on climate threats to coastal marae and urupā? At the end of 2019 I graduated with my Bachelor […]
Q&A with Prof Tim Sullivan
Q. Tēnā koe Tim. Can you tell us how you got into Civil Engineering? Were you always interested in building things? Kia ora! As a kid I always thought I would become an architect. I loved playing with lego and art and thought that being an architect is sort of like combining the two. However, […]
Q & A with Prof Andy Nicol
Q. Tēnā koe Andy. Can you tell us a bit about how you got into geology, and how your research career has progressed? I feel incredibly fortunate to have a career in research and teaching. I was encouraged by my family to attend university at a time when there were few financial barriers and, as […]
Q & A with Dr Richard Turner
Q & A with Dr Richard Turner Q. Tēnā koe Richard. Can you tell us about how you got into meteorology? Have you always been fascinated with weather? Kia ora. Yes, I have always been very interested in weather since being a kid growing up in South Otago – my first day of school was […]
Q & A with Prof Jan Lindsay
Q. Tēnā koe Jan. First of all, congratulations on your recent promotion to Professor! Tēnā koe. Thank you. To be honest it still feels quite surreal! I think it is important to acknowledge that an academic career is built on collaborations – with mentors, students, fellow researchers and teachers, funders…and I wouldn’t have achieved promotion […]
Q&A with Dr Acushla Dee Sciascia
Q & A with Dr Acushla Dee Sciascia 13/02/20 Q. Tēnā koe Dee. Firstly, can you tell us a bit about your iwi affiliations? He uri ahau nō ngā kāwai whakapapa o Ngāruahine Rangi, Ngāti Ruanui and Te Atiawa. Q. How did you get into social science research? Did you always want to be a […]
Q & A with Dr Bill Fry
Q & A with Dr Bill Fry 17/12/19 Q: Congratulations on your recently completed Hochstetter Lecture tour – how did it go? Great! It was truly a rewarding and humbling experience. The audiences throughout the regions were as varied as the New Zealand landscape. However, the uniting characteristic was the genuine thirst for knowledge. I’ve […]
Q & A with Dr Rob Bell
Q & A with Dr Rob Bell Q: Congratulations on your recent Lifetime Achievement Award from NIWA – what does this award mean for you, and the research you’ve been involved in? It was a total surprise (a well-kept secret), but I’m humbled to have been honoured by NIWA for my work over the decades […]
Q & A with Dr Sally Potter
Q & A with Dr Sally Potter Q. Have you always been interested in science? When did you realise you wanted to be a scientist? I’ve always liked understanding ‘why’ things happen, and enjoy the process of investigation. My favourite movies as a kid were disaster movies, and now being able to spend my days […]
Q & A with Christina Hanna
Q & A with Christina Hanna 29/03/2019 We speak with Christina Hanna, a PhD student in our Governance programme who is concerned with sustainability and combatting climate change both in her research, and personal life. Earth Hour is a global grassroots movement where millions of people around the world to turn off the lights and […]