Speaker: Dr Anne Hiha, Tutor, School of Education, Eastern Institute of Technology
Date: Thursday 6 November 2025
Time: 6:00pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, EIT Taradale, Napier
Entry: Gold coin donation

Research has changed for Māori. They have gone from being the researched of 19th century, which spawned a visceral mistrust of research and researchers well into the 20th century, to active engagement with research in the 21st century. I explore my transformation from 20th century researcher to 21st century Māori researcher.

Dr Anne Hiha is an Adjunct Lecturer at Te Aho a Māui, Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT). She teaches on the Master of Professional Practice, including the capstone research paper, and guest lectures in the Postgraduate Certificate of Professional Supervision. Anne also teaches research on the Bachelor of Arts (Māori) programme.

She mentors MAI ki Te Matau-a-Māui participants, part of Te Kupenga o MAI, an initiative of Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga. This national network supports Māori and Indigenous postgraduate researchers, providing mentoring, connection, and opportunities for academic and professional growth.

Speaker: Associate Professor Samantha Holdsworth, Associate Professor at University of Auckland and Research Director of the Mātai Medical Research Institute, Tairāwhiti-Gisborne
Date: Thursday 9 October 2025
Time: 6:00pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, EIT Taradale, Napier
Entry: Gold coin donation

How can advanced MRI help us better understand the brain and tackle some of our biggest health challenges? In this talk, Associate Professor Samantha Holdsworth shows how cutting-edge MRI is reshaping our understanding of the brain – from concussion to better detection of multiple sclerosis, from methamphetamine-related recovery to non-invasive measures of brain pressure. She’ll also share how community-embedded science in Tairāwhiti–Gisborne is inspiring young people, building research capability, and creating opportunities for New Zealand.

Join us for an evening that connects science, technology, and people – and highlights Aotearoa’s leadership in global imaging research.

Associate Professor Samantha Holdsworth is a world-leading MRI physicist at the University of Auckland and Research Director of the Mātai Medical Research Institute in Gisborne. After completing her physics degree at the University of Canterbury, a PhD in Queensland, and a fellowship at Stanford, she returned home to pioneer world-first MRI research in Aotearoa. At Mātai, she leads a multidisciplinary team working with iwi, schools, scientists, and clinicians to advance health, education, and innovation in the regions. Samantha is passionate about ensuring that cutting-edge science delivers benefits both to communities in Aotearoa and to the wider world.

Speaker: Dr. Peter Heenan, Principal Scientist at the Bioeconomy Science Institute, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research
Date: Tuesday, 23 September 2025
Time: 6:00pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, EIT Taradale, Napier
Free entry – reservation required to secure your seat

Royal Society Te Apārangi, together with the Hawke’s Bay Branch, is delighted to present a talk by Dr Peter Heenan, winner of the 2024 Leonard Cockayne Lecture Award, which commemorates the life and work of Leonard Cockayne, New Zealand’s greatest botanist.

In his decades-long career, Peter has explored and researched New Zealand flora, especially the alpine plants of New Zealand, studying how our native plants have evolved, spread, and adapted to their dramatic mountain landscapes. But recently, his journey has taken a tropical turn – to the small Pacific island of Niue.

In this presentation, Peter will share what he’s discovered so far about Niue’s plants and fungi: how many species there are, what kinds of forests grow there, which plants are unique to the island, and which ones are invasive. He’ll also look at how climate, culture, and conservation all come together to shape the island’s living landscape.

Peter will reflect on how the deep knowledge we’ve built in New Zealand could help support new research in Niue – like protecting rare species, tracking invasive weeds and insects, and understanding the crops and plants important to local people. In Niue, plants and people are closely connected, and both traditional knowledge and modern science are essential for future success.

With fresh insights from visits to other Pacific Islands, Peter will show how Niue – though small – is a powerful example of the challenges and wonders of tropical botany in the Pacific today.

Speaker: Professor John Townend, Victoria University of Wellington
Date: Thursday 4 September 2025
Time: 6:00 pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, EIT Taradale, Napier
Admission: Gold Coin Donation

The Hawke’s Bay Branch is going to host this year’s Geoscience NZ 2025 Hochstetter Lecture, featuring renowned geophysicist Professor John Townend.

The Alpine Fault is one of the world’s most studied earthquake-generating faults, with decades of paleoseismological research revealing a remarkably regular earthquake cycle — typically less than 300 years between major events. Yet, the last major rupture occurred in 1717 CE, meaning the next is statistically overdue.

Professor of Geophysics John Townend will explore the evolving understanding of the Alpine Fault — from its geological past to its seismic potential today. Drawing on landmark research projects like the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP) and the Southern Alps Long Skinny Array (SALSA), as well as cutting-edge techniques including fibre-optic sensing and AI, he will explain what lies beneath the surface and what might lie ahead.

With an estimated 75% chance of a magnitude 7+ earthquake occurring in the next 50 years, this is a timely and vital conversation for all New Zealanders.

Date: Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Time: 6:00 pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, EIT Taradale, Napier
Free entry – booking essential

Reserve your seat now!

Royal Society Te Apārangi and the Hawke’s Bay Branch are delighted to present the 2024 Rutherford Medal winner in a special public talk. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from one of New Zealand’s leading researchers – this promises to be a fascinating and thought-provoking evening.

Tales of the Unexpected: Surprising Discoveries that Changed Clinical Practice
Join us for an engaging session where Prof. Beasley shares unexpected findings from ten influential research programmes that:

• Challenged long-standing medical assumptions
• Advanced global clinical understanding
• Directly impacted patient care

Topics include:

• Should fever be treated?
• Is sitting for long periods a health risk?
• Are party pills safe for drivers?
• Does cannabis smoking cause lung cancer?
• What really caused the NZ asthma death epidemic?
• And more…

Date: Tuesday, 1 July 2025

Time: 5:30pm (prior to public lecture)

Location: Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Napier

We invite all members to attend our Annual General Meeting, which will be held just before our July public lecture.

A key item on the agenda will be the review and approval of our updated Constitution, in line with the Incorporated Societies Act 2022. This is a significant step in maintaining our legal and charitable status, and we need your voice in shaping the way our branch moves forward.

Your feedback and participation are essential.
Please take the time to review the proposed changes—details will be shared with members ahead of the meeting.

Let’s keep our branch strong, compliant, and future-ready.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Speaker: Dr Saskia de Vilder, Engineering Geologist at GNS Science

Date: Tuesday, 1 July 2025, 6pm

Venue: Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (159 Dalton Street, Napier)

Admission: Gold coin donation

Landslides of all types and sizes occur across Aotearoa New Zealand. As we saw during Cyclone Gabrielle, they can have devastating impacts—causing loss of life, damaging and destroying homes, and isolating communities long after the rain has stopped. To plan effectively, invest wisely, and reduce our landslide risk, we need to know where and when landslides might occur, how large they could be, who or what they might impact, and what the consequences are likely to be. In short, we need national-scale maps of landslide hazard and risk that can support both emergency response and long-term planning.

This talk explores how the Hōretireti Whenua | Sliding Lands research programme is advancing Aotearoa’s ability to understand and reduce landslide risk. The programme aims to transform information about rapid landslide hazards into knowledge about vulnerability and risk—built on an understanding of how people perceive: (1) landslide phenomena, (2) community and individual vulnerability, and (3) model capabilities and outputs.

The presentation will also highlight how data from the record-breaking landslides triggered by Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023 are being used to test and improve these models. By combining end-to-end modelling with integrated hazard, risk, and impact information—and drawing on social science insights—Sliding Lands is working to ensure that when gravity does its worst, we’re better prepared.

Dr. Saskia de Vilder is an Engineering Geologist at GNS Science with expertise in landslide hazard and risk modelling, rock slope failure, and the interface between science and policy. Her research focuses on understanding how and why landslides occur, how far they travel, and the risks they pose to people, infrastructure, and the environment.
She led the development of a national natural hazard risk framework for the Department of Conservation, supporting consistent assessment of life-safety risks across public conservation lands. Saskia is also a lead author of the Landslide Planning Guidance, which helps land-use planners incorporate landslide hazard and risk into planning decisions to reduce exposure and build resilience.

Date: Thursday, 22 May 2025

Time: 5:30pm

Location: T&G Global, Whakatu (access details will be provided to confirmed attendees)

Booking Required via Eventfinda – Limited to 40 People. Bookings will open on 22 April.
This is a members-only event. You must be a paid-up RSNZ HB Branch member with membership valid through to March 2026.

Join us for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of T&G’s cutting-edge $100 million apple packhouse in Whakatu, which opened in May 2023. This state-of-the-art facility is nearly fully automated, using advanced technology for apple washing, grading, packing, palletising, and storage. Some apples are even packed by robots – though humans still do it faster!

This is a rare opportunity to see one of New Zealand’s most advanced post-harvest facilities in action.

Visitor Requirements:

• Wear hi-viz if you have it (T&G will provide hair and beard nets)

• Wear flat, fully enclosed shoes

• No jewellery or watches (plain wedding bands without stones are permitted)

• No photos allowed – please leave your phone in the car

Speakers: Aaron Harry and Corey Solomon, Mechanical Design Engineers

Date: Tuesday 6 May

Time: 6pm

Location: Lecture Theatre 1, EIT Taradale, Napier

Admission: Gold coin donation

Windsor Energy is a New Zealand-based sustainable thermal energy company. The Projects team, based in Napier, designs industrial boilers to produce heat in the form of steam, hot water or hot air, depending on customer requirements. The boilers can use electricity, natural gas, oil or biomass as a fuel. Much of the work they’re currently doing in New Zealand is converting coal boilers to use electricity or biomass (e.g. wood waste, organic sludge), thereby enabling companies to reduce their carbon emissions.

Aaron and Corey will discuss different thermal energy plants, indirect fired air heaters and energy plant conversions.

Both Aaron and Corey are Hawke’s Bay born and bred. After completing their mechanical engineering degrees at Waikato and Canterbury respectively, they joined RCR Energy, which became part of Windsor Group in March 2019.