Tuesday 13 April 2021: Two Williams, one Microscope

EIT Lecture Theatre 1, EIT at 6pm

Ian St George MD FLS

preceded by a short presentation of the microscope itself by former President of the Branch, Dr Elizabeth Pishief

Admission by gold coin donation

In 1890, Rev. William Colenso FRS FLS was Secretary and Dr William Isaac Spencer FLS MRCS President of the Hawke’s Bay Philosophical Institute, the forerunner to our branch of the Royal Society. The two collaborated in several of their scientific studies and both used Spencer’s microscope. This talk presents details of the lives of both men, with some emphasis on their scientific achievements.

Ian St George is a general medical practitioner, amateur orchidologist and writer of several biographies of New Zealanders, including both William Colenso and William Spencer.

Monday 29 March 2021: 1931 Earthquake Commemorative Lecture

Monday 29 March 2021 – 6.00pm

Doors open at 5.30pm

As space is limited and there are no reservations, first come, first seated

Dr Philip Barnes, NIWA

National Aquarium, Marine Parade, Napier

The Hikurangi Subduction Zone is New Zealand’s largest fault system, extending from north of East Cape to Kaikōura and >100 km offshore of the East Coast. The submarine borderland defines the region where the Pacific tectonic plate is plunging westward (subducting) beneath eastern North and South islands. The seascape and underlying geology of the Hikurangi margin vary dramatically along its length, mirroring changes in sedimentation, active geological faulting, and seismic processes. Dr Philip Barnes will take you on a visual tour of the offshore margin and illustrate how Earth scientists are using seafloor mapping, marine geophysical surveys, and ocean-floor drilling data to improve our understanding of this hazardous subduction zone.

Dr Philip Barnes is a Principal Scientist with more than 30 years research experience in the fields of submarine tectonic deformation, subduction systems, geohazards, and sedimentary systems associated with active continental margins.

Wednesday 10 March 2021: eOceans – Mobile Technology for Ocean Monitoring (in Conjunction with Seaweek 2021)

Wednesday 10 March 2021 – 6.00pm

Doors open at 5.30pm

As space is limited and there are no reservations, first come, first seated

Admission by gold coin donation

Dr Laura Jordan-Smith, Marine Biologist, co-founder of World Below the Waves

National Aquarium, Marine Parade, Napier

Using a simple mobile phone app New Zealanders now have the opportunity to join a global science initiative to help track the health of the world’s oceans and marine life. The first project to use the eOceans platform, entitled Our Ocean in Covid-19, will collate observation data submitted by community members to determine what impacts changes in human behaviour due to the Covid-19 pandemic have had on the ocean and coastal communities. Citizen scientists are being encouraged to record observations of human and animal activities whenever they are in, on or close to the ocean. Lead researchers will then collate and analyse data collected from around the world to identify local and global trends related to changes in ocean activity throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and into a new normal. The project may also establish a proof-of-concept as to how real-time, collaborative ocean monitoring can be used to break down barriers between academia, government, and at-sea stakeholders to support more inclusive progress toward managing ocean resources, economies and conservation in the future. In New Zealand, eOceans is represented and championed by Dr Laura Jordan-Smith. Laura will describe the eOceans platform and mobile app, give us a demonstration, and discuss the power of citizen-sourced data for global ecological research.

Dr Laura Jordan-Smith completed her PhD at UCLA in 2008 studying stingray sensory biology. She has since conducted projects on topics ranging from penguin ­flipper morphology to shark bycatch reduction. Her research has taken her to various countries including the US, Australia, Fiji and Honduras, and her work has been published in several top journals and presented at conferences in the US and abroad. She has taught hands-on marine science courses at the University of San Diego, UCLA, at various marine labs around the US, including Shoals Marine Laboratory, and internationally in Fiji and Honduras.  Laura’s keen interest in science communication and education lead her to establishing World Below the Waves, a collective of US-based marine biologists who develop workshops, lectures, tours and  other events to educate and enthuse the public about the diverse and beautiful life that exists in the sea. Laura moved to Auckland in mid-2019 and, with common interests in improving public science  engagement, World Below the Waves and eOceans have recently teamed up to bring this exciting citizen science initiative to New Zealand.