Tuesday 21 June at Holt’s Planetarium, NBHS, Chambers Street, Napier at 7.30 pm (immediately following our AGM)

Andrea Byrom of Landcare Research, and currently Director of the National Science Challenge for NZ’s Biological Heritage will talk to us about a large collaborative project in Hawke’s Bay, Cape to City, which is led by the Hawkes Bay Regional Council and the Department of Conservation. She will also speak about how the Cape to City project can be an exemplar for others around New Zealand, and how it links to the Biological Heritage Science Challenge.

Saturday 9 July 2016 at 7pm

Holt’s Planetarium, NBHS, Chambers Street, Napier

Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand’s Beatrice Hill Tinsley 2016 Lecture

Presented by Dr Michael Person, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Admission by gold coin donation, on a first come, first seated basis

Dr. Michael Person of MIT will discuss the history of Pluto science starting with the discovery of Pluto, through the discovery and characterization of its atmosphere and moons, to provide context to the discoveries of 2015. Focusing on his own experiences aboard the SOFIA aircraft, and the New Horizons flyby, he will discuss the explosion of Pluto knowledge over the last year, and its context in our understanding of the outer solar system.

Dr. Michael Person is a Research Astronomer in MIT’s Planetary Astronomy Laboratory, and Director of MIT’s George R. Wallace Astrophysical Observatory. He specializes in the observational techniques needed to observe occultations, eclipses, and transits, including high-precision astrometry, and high-time-resolution photometry. His science interests include identifying and characterizing the atmospheres, compositions, and figures of distant solar-system bodies, particularly Triton, Pluto, and Kuiper Belt Objects. Dr. Person received his education at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA) where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Physics, as well as Masters and Doctoral degrees from the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.  He trained in observational techniques and occultation science under the mentorship of the late Prof. James Elliot, one of the pioneers of modern occultation astronomy. Dr. Person’s current research focuses on the atmospheres of Pluto and Triton, and the use of the SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) observatory and other assets to identify and monitor their changes.

The year 2015 was truly the “Year of Pluto”. From the arrival of the historic New Horizons mission to the numerous dedicated Earth-based campaigns to examine Pluto near the flyby epoch, we potentially learned more about Pluto in 2015 than in all of the years since its discovery. During the weeks preceding the New Horizons flyby, a dedicated observation campaign was undertaken in New Zealand and parts of Australia to study Pluto’s atmosphere using the technique of stellar occultation, available only when Pluto passes directly in front of a star. A key component of this campaign was the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a converted 747 with a 2.5-m telescope, which was based out of Christchurch for these events.

Tuesday 19 July 2016 at 5.30 pm

Wine Sensory laboratory, E block (Winery and Labs building), EIT, 501 Gloucester Street, Taradale, Napier

Admission by ticket; members will receive an invitation by email

This evening will be a wonderful opportunity to find out about some of the leading research being undertaken at EIT in support of one of Hawke’s Bay’s most important industries.

‘The effect of an anti-transpirant on grape physiology and wine quality including the production of lower alcohol wine’

An evaluation (tasting) of trial wine will conclude this presentation.

Presenters: Dr Petra King and Ass. Prof. Dr Carmo Saunders – Vasconcelos.

‘The effect of a no-plunging regime on phenolic extraction in red wine’, again followed by evaluation of trial wines

Presenter: Rod Chittenden

Simple finger food will accompany the tastings

Those who wish to can afterwards visit the EIT labs and winery

Date: Thursday 19 May 2016, at 7.30pm
Venue: Lowe Family Performing Arts Centre, Lindisfarne College, Pakowhai Road, Hastings
Admission: $10 member / $15 non-member
Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.nz

A presentation by Bill Oddie, author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician
Bill re-enacts his life-time journey from delinquent egg collector, to wrestling with puffins, and insulting the Queen. Suitable for a family audience, especially those of a nervous disposition. No babies please – for their sake!

One of the iconic comedy trio The Goodies, Bill Oddie is an author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician. He has become one of Britain’s leading public activists for conservation and has produced and starred in many wildlife series for the BBC.

In the 1960s, Bill Oddie OBE worked in theatre along with Tim Brooke Taylor and eventual Pythons Graham Chapman and John Cleese. Throughout the 1970s, he was one-third of the hugely successful TV show The Goodies, for which he also wrote and sang several Top Ten hits.

A birdwatcher since childhood, he established a reputation as an ornithologist in the 1980s and presented many natural history series for the BBC, including the ground-breaking live broadcasts Britain goes Wild (renamed Springwatch) which became a wildlife broadcasting phenomenon, and Autumnwatch. He is now more familiar on television as an avid conservationist and activist and has won a new generation of fans.

He has written a large number of books some of which are illustrated with his own paintings and drawings.  His latest book is a collection of writings titled Bill Oddie Unplucked (2015).

He has been awarded an OBE, the Peter Scott Memorial Award and the prestigious Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Medal for his services to the public understanding of the natural world and conservation.

Bill Oddie’s visit and this lecture is supported by The Royal Society of New Zealand

Our purpose is to advance and promote science, technology and the humanities for all New Zealanders.

Date: Thursday 28 April 2016, at 6:00pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, EIT, Taradale
Admission: Gold coin donation

A presentation by Dr Tony Merriman,
Professor of Biochemistry, University of Otago

One in three New Zealand adults are obese. But the belief that people are fat because they eat too much and exercise too little has become eroded by scientific understanding of other factors.

Tony Merriman is a Professor in the Biochemistry Department, School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, and an associate investigator at the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiversity. In 1993 he completed a PhD in bacterial genetics at Otago followed by Post-Doctoral training in the genetics of complex disease at the University of Oxford, UK. His research takes a genetic approach to understanding the biology of human disease, and currently gout in particular.

As there is currently a lot of debate in the media about sugar in the diet, particularly consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, and its effect on health, we have asked Tony to also comment on this topic.

To listen to Tony’s recent interview on Kim Hill, click here

This lecture is generously supported by the Maurice Wilkins Centre and jointly hosted with the NZ Institute of Food Science & Technology.

Date: Sunday 22 May 2016, at 4pm
Venue: MTG, Tennyson Street, Napier
Admission: Free to members; $5 for non-members

A presentation by Dr Michele Bannister
(Postdoctoral fellow at Victoria University, British Columbia, Canada)

The images returning from the New Horizons spacecraft following its flyby of Pluto show a remarkable world: mountains soaring higher than the Southern Alps, smooth plains bubbling like a slow-boiling pot, glaciers of nitrogen ice, dark ancient terrain. Not to be outdone, its big moon Charon is rifted by chasms and canyons. What was predicted? What did we discover? Many new puzzles await. Come find out!

Dr Michele Bannister is an expert in searching for icy worlds in the outer Solar System and works on the Outer Solar System Origins Survey trying to understand the formation and evolution of the Solar System.  Originally from Taranaki, Michele undertook her PhD searching for bright icy worlds in the southern sky at Mt Stromlo and currently lives in Canada.

Michele is in Napier to take part in the Royal Astronomical Society of NZ’s annual conference on May 21-22, and this meeting is jointly held with RASNZ and the Hawke’s Bay Astronomical Society

Birds New Zealand 2016 Conference

MTG building, Marine Parade Napier

4-6 June 2016 (Queen’s Birthday Weekend)

Join us for a weekend of interesting lectures and presentations focusing on the study of birds.

Take part in workshops and go out on field trips

Register before 31^st March 2016 for early bird discount

Register at www.osnz.org.nz – go to latest news

Any enquiries contact Bernie Kelly, Conference Convener: birds.hawkesbay@osnz.org.nz

Ph 06 870 0837- 0274 461 538