Category Archives: Coming Events

The other Hawke’s Bay Earthquake: Waipukurau, 23 February 1863

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Date: Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Time: 5.30 pm (doors open at 5.00 pm)
Speaker: Dr Rob Langridge, Earth Sciences NZ
Venue: Art Deco Trust, 5 Clive Square East, Napier
Capacity: 70 – first come first served
Admission: Gold coin donation

As we commemorate the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake, this talk turns our attention to another major — and much less well-known — event in our region’s past. The February 23rd, 1863 Waipukurau Earthquake was described by some who experienced both events as being just as violent and damaging as 1931.

Felt across much of Aotearoa New Zealand, the 1863 earthquake caused widespread damage in Napier and central Hawke’s Bay, and may have been as large as magnitude 7.5. Despite this, it remains poorly documented. This lecture presents new research reconstructing its felt intensity across New Zealand, examining impacts on buildings and the natural landscape — including the diversion of the Waipawa River — and recent efforts to identify the source faults east of Waipukurau–Pukehou.

Rob Langridge is an Earthquake Geologist with Earth Sciences NZ, specialising in active faulting, surface rupture, and the earthquake history of Aotearoa New Zealand. His work focuses on understanding past large earthquakes to better inform present-day seismic risk.

Generative AI – a lecture series in May and June 2023

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Four lectures on this topical and important subject are being broadcast free of charge by the Faculty of Science, University of Auckland

Click here for more information about the lecture series

Thursday, 11 May: 2023 Gibbons Online Lecture – AI and the New Creative Revolution

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www.eventbrite.co.nz

The 2023 Gibbons Lectures series is intended to describe ongoing research in Computer Science to a wider public, organized by Faculty of Science, University of Auckland.

Tim Gibson, Stolen Glances Studio

Thursday 11 May, 6:30pm

Venue: Lib B15 Lecture Theatre General Library Basement, (109-B15) The University of Auckland 5 Alfred Street, Auckland CBD, register your place here.

This lecture will be available to livestream here.

Generative Artificial Intelligence like ChatGPT and its visual equivalents Dall-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion have shaken up the creative workforce, often producing industry level copywriting, editing, illustration and design at a fraction of the time and cost of a human worker. Their capabilities have set off a technological arm’s race at the world’s largest tech companies while simultaneously building a user base of enthusiasts faster than the most popular social media platforms.

What can Generative AI be used for, how powerful is it really, how could it be used ethically, and what impact will it have on our creative industries and the people who work for and engage with them?

What could a world look like where creativity is ‘free’? 

In this talk, Tim will showcase some of the current technologies’ capabilities, the hot takes and debates from within the creative industries and attempt to predict what is next for creative Generative Artificial Intelligence.

Tim Gibson is a Creative Director, Animator and Illustrator who has worked for companies big and small across film, television, comics, branding and packaging design. His work has appeared for Garage Project, Weta Workshop, Le Monde Diplomatique, Penguin Random-House, Te Papa Tongarewa and more.