In younger years we may have learnt the Earth is divided into three layers – the solid crust, liquid mantle and solid core. But the reality is more complex than that. Guest author Mike Stone investigates.
Read MoreEnvironmentalist | Stephanie Dijkstra
Stephanie is a Māori environmental scientist specialising in intergenerational outcomes and the interweaving of mātauranga and Western science. She wears many hats, working as a Senior Mātauranga Taiao Advisor with Storm Environmental, a Ngā Kaihautu Tikanga Taiao Member with the Environmental Protection Authority NZ, and a member of Te Puna Māori Advisory Committee with Taumata Arowai The Water Regulator. She also chairs the Ngāi Tahu Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Kōmiti. In conversation with NZASE Science Communicator, Sneha Pillai, Stephanie shares her journey of weaving her love for different branches of science like cellular plant biology and ecology to do what she’s truly passionate about – leaving the planet in a better state than the one she found it in.
Read MorePounamu: taonga, identity and geology
Pounamu is highly valued as a symbol of national identity and a taonga to Māori. Pounamu reminds us of the transformational nature of tectonic collision zones. Guest author Mike Stone writes about this very special rock with some unique properties.
Read MoreConservation Biologist | John Perrott
A mātauranga Scientist/communicator and Associate Professor/Research Ecologist at the AUT School of Science, specialising in Conservation Biology of endangered species and Kaitiakitanga, John Perrott possesses a rich volume of knowledge on the flora and fauna of Aotearoa New Zealand. In conversation with NZASE science
communicator Sneha Pillai, Associate Professor John Perrott reflects on his journey as a kaitiaki and conservation
biologist
Micrometeorologist | Christian Stiegler
A Greenhouse Gas Emissions Scientist with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Dr
Christian Stiegler is a pākehā scientist focussed on climate change. Born in Austria, Christian is relatively new to
Aotearoa, having moved to the country in October 2023. In conversation with NZASE science communicator,
Sneha Pillai, Christian shares his journey and learnings as a micrometeorologist.
Astrophysicist | Jan Eldridge
Jan Eldridge is a pākehā astrophysicist and the Head of Physics Department at the University of Auckland. Jan’s research focuses on the lives and deaths of stars, particularly binary stars. Unlike the stereotypical caricature of an astrophysicist, Jan’s work does not involve long hours of peering into the telescope. Instead, her work as a theorist primarily involves coding programmes on computers to model the journey and evolution of stars in our universe. As we celebrate Pride and Matariki this month, Jan, who identifies as transgender, shares insights from her work and life on stars and genders with NZASE science communicator, Sneha Pillai.
Read MoreVolcanologist | Kate Mauriohooho
Kate Mauriohooho is a volcanologist who studies supereruptions and large silicic caldera systems.
Read MorePhysicist | Ocean Mercier (Māori scientist poster)
Physicist Ocean Mercier studies the basic properties and laws about solids and liquids, and uses traditional Māori knowledge to solve problems.
Read MoreBioinformatician | Alana Alexander (Māori scientist poster)
Alana Alexander is a marine evolutionary biologist who studies how sea creatures evolve and change.
Read MoreQuantitative Geneticist | Phillip Wilcox (Māori scientist poster)
Phillip Wilcox is a Quantitative Geneticist who uses statistics and maths to study large collections of genetic information.
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