A Materials History of the World

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Wednesday 27 July, 6pm, National Aquarium, Marine Parade, Napier

Dr Michelle Dickinson and Dr Franck Natali, MacDiarmid Institute

We define civilisation by the dominant material of the age: stone, bronze, iron. These days, cities rise to astounding heights with steel and reinforced concrete. We communicate between these cities at the speed of light, thanks to silicon – the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. And our consumer world is throw-away plastic.

Nanotechnologists now create new materials from the atoms up, often copying nature’s ability to self-assemble. Are we entering The Great Graphene Age? We are ourselves walking miracles of carbon construction.

Get the big picture from the nanotechnologists and materials scientists from the MacDiarmid Institute, a National Centre of Research Excellence

Nano girlDr Michelle Dickinson is an Associate Investigator with the MacDiarmid Institute and Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland. Her research involves measuring the mechanical properties of materials from the nanoscale through to the macro scale. Michelle is well known as ‘Nanogirl’, for which she has won numerous awards for science communication, including the NZ Order of Merit

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Dr Franck Natali is a Principal Investigator with the MacDiarmid Institute and Senior Lecturer in Physics at Victoria University of Wellington. Franck’s research spans from semiconductor material science to the fabrication of devices such as light emitting diodes and transistors

 

MacDiarmidInstituteThe MacDiarmid Institute is supporting regional development with this series of free public talks, organised in association with the Hawke’s Bay Branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Ten things you didn’t know about climate change..the review

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6pm Wednesday 6 July 2016

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Talking to almost a full Century Theatre, the engaging pair of Professors from VUW Tim Naish and James Renwick delivered a lucid account suitable for a lay audience of what scientific study to date tells us about the observed warming of the earth (look at these graphic results) and increases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, its causes and possible consequences.

See their presentation slides

and this video

Many thanks to Tim and ” Jim”, Victoria University of Wellington and the Royal Society of New Zealand for this illuminating presentation

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Ten things you didn’t know about climate change…

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6pm Wednesday 6 July 2016
Century Theatre, MTG, 9 Herschell Street, Napier

Please register free by clicking here

Climate change is already redefining coastlines and the weather, both here in New Zealand and around the world. But will it affect me and what can I do about it? Tim Naish and James Renwick will give their take on this biggest of issues – from the very local to the global.

Professor Tim NaishTim Naish

Tim is Director of the Antarctic Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington, where he and his team use rock and ice cores as a time machine to look at how the Antarctica ice sheets affected global sea-level in past warmer periods and what this means for our future.

 

Professor James Renwick

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James is a Professor of Physical Geography at Victoria
University of Wellington where he indulges his fascination for all aspects of the climate system, from the tropics to the poles, and from thousands of years in the past to hundreds of years into the future.

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Cape to City

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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.

Cape to City logoAndrea byrom

Cape to City

Cape to City is about native species thriving where we live, work and play. It will achieve this vision through transformational change in pest management, research, education and how our community engage in ecological restoration initiatives within the Hawke’s Bay. It is a collaborative landscape scale project, covering 26,000ha of land on the coast of Cape Kidnappers, Ocean Beach and back towards Havelock North. The project’s footprint has a variety of land uses including farming, viticulture and nature experiences.

For more information click here

Exploring Pluto: On the ground, in the air, and out in space

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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

PlutoMichael Person

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.

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The Science of Wine – Theory and Practice

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Science of wine

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

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Possible origins of antibiotic resistance: A biochemistry perspective

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2016 Hamilton Lecture presented by Dr Valerie Soo

6.00pm Wednesday 17 August

Lecture Theatre 2, EIT, 501 Gloucester St, Taradale

Enzymes are the protein molecules that accelerate chemical reactions in all types of cells. Most enzymes are designed for specific functions, for example certain enzymes will break down antibiotics resulting in antibiotic resistance. This specialisation suggests a lack of flexibility but we know that enzymes do develop novel functions, so how does this happen? If enzymes are designed for one role, how do they develop novel functions?

Whilst doing her PhD, Valerie Soo discovered that many enzymes in the laboratory bacterium, Escherichia coli, have weak secondary functions. When placed in environments where toxins
or antibiotics were present, these secondary functions enabled the bacteria to grow in almost one third of these environments. The unexpected development of antibiotic resistance shows the possible role of weak secondary functions and how they help to evolve new functions in proteins.

Valerie SooDr Valerie Soo hails from Malaysia, and completed her undergraduate degree at Monash University Malaysia. Fascinated by molecular evolution, she undertook her PhD at Massey University and graduated in 2013. Valerie’s doctoral research on ‘promiscuous proteins’ changed the way that many of us think about enzyme evolution and her paper has been highly cited since its publication in 2011. Valerie is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Pennsylvania State University, USA but will move to London, UK in mid-2016.

rsnz_logo_1This lecture is kindly sponsored by the Royal Society of New Zealand

Science Teaching Leadership Programme

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Science Teaching Leadership Programme –
Professional development opportunities for Year 1 to 10 science teachers

Launched in January 2015, the Science Teaching Leadership Programme provides opportunities for primary schools and secondary science departments to enhance the teaching of science within school communities. The programme, funded by MBIE, is managed by the Royal Society of New Zealand and supports A Nation of Curious Minds – He Whenua Hihiri i te Mahara, the Government’s national strategic plan for science in society.

To date two teachers from Hawke’s Bay are participating in the programme – Murray Gosling and Sarah Hope, both of whom are teachers at Hastings Intermediate School.

An integral part of the programme is a 6 month placement (Phase One) for participant teachers in a host organisation that uses science in a significant part of their work. This placement is vital for teachers to develop their understanding of science in action and how this links to the Nature of Science strand in the New Zealand National Curriculum. Murray completed Phase One during the first half of 2015, and Sarah is on Phase One for the second half of 2016.

Murray was hosted by the Entomology team at Plant and Food Research (PFR) in Havelock North, where he was involved in strategies to control pest populations in horticulture. Murray trialled a computer programme to count insects trapped on a sticky board – a lot quicker than a human doing the job! In June 2015, he demonstrated his work to a group of senior secondary students and teachers visiting PFR to get an insight into science-based careers.

PFR Murray Gosling 2 bridges 3

During Phase Two of the Programme (12 – 18 months), back at school participant teachers and schools work together to improve science teaching and student learning. They also foster relationships between science organisations and school communities, so students have relevant contexts for their science learning.

In May 2016, Murray participated in a Science & Technology Camp for Year 7 and 8 students and their teachers, run by the Hawke’s Bay Branch of the Royal Society, with funding from MBIE’s Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund. Over the two days, Murray ran 4 workshops on the science of bridge design. Students learnt about the different structures that bridges are made from and how the weight of vehicles is distributed as they travel across the bridge. The students then designed and built their own truss bridges, using only wooden stirrers and hot melt glue. The strongest bridge survived a hanging weight of 12kg! The workshops were supported by young structural engineers from local businesses, who described the application of maths and science in their work, and brought along equipment they use in their jobs.

 

Sarah Hope is being hosted by the Crop Production and Pipfruit Breeding teams at Plant and Food Research (PFR). With the Crop Production team, she’ll be participating in research trials of various vegetables, including beetroot and onions. The objective of these trials is to understand how seed quality affects quality of the harvested vegetable, which is very important for improved export returns. In the Pipfruit Breeding team, Sarah will be involved in the pollination process: she’ll be hand-pollinating apples and pears to produce specific genetic crosses, with the goal of developing new varieties of fruit with improved characteristics – both for orchardists and consumers. The aim of Sarah’s placement is simple: to develop an on-going relationship with PFR, and use the leadership skills and science knowledge she develops to design enhanced science programmes for students with ‘real world’ contexts.Aquarium 4

 

Applications are now open for schools wanting to begin Phase One of the programme in either term one 2017 or term 3 2017 (this start date is subject to government funding). Applications for this round will close on Thursday 8 September 2016. For details, refer: http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/teaching-learning/science-teaching-leadership-programme/

Stories and Understanding Other People

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Thursday 11 August 2016 at 7.30 pm

Holt’s Planetarium, Chambers Street, Napier

A presentation by Dr Raymond Mar, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology,  York University, Toronto, Canada

Raymond cartoon portrait caricature

Reading has long been identified as an important contributor to important outcomes related to language, such as vocabulary. However, the reading of narrative fiction might have additional benefits tied to perspective-taking and empathy. In this talk, Dr Mar will present a critical review of the available evidence from his own lab and others on the possibility that reading stories might help us to better understand other people in the real world.

Raymond Mar holds three degrees in Psychology from the University of Toronto. His post-doctoral research work at York University in Cognitive Sciences has recently been focussed on the neurological impacts of reading fiction.

Curious Minds Science Camp May 2016

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Year 7 & 8 Science and Technology Camp, 17 and 18 May 2016

The Hawke’s Bay Branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand received funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund, to run a Science and Technology Camp for Year 7 and 8 students and their teachers, during Primary Science Week in May 2016.

Over the two days, students, teachers and parents from 15 schools in Napier, Hastings and Central Hawke’s Bay, attended four half-day, hands-on workshops on a variety of science and technology subjects, related to the world around them.

  • National Aquarium of New Zealand – life processes, ecology and evolution
  • GNS Science and East Coast LAB – rocks, fossils and earthquakes
  • Faraday Centre and Jenny Wake from MTG – electricity and magnetism. This workshop was supported by electrical and mechanical engineers from ABB, Compac, Haden & Custance and Unison, who described modern applications of this technology in their work.
  • Victoria University School of Engineering and Computer Science – “Bristlebots” and build your own robot using Arduino
  • Hawke’s Bay Regional Council – “Clearing the Air”
  • Hans Rook and John Cheyne, with support from the Department of Conservation – the Ahuriri Estuary: a haven for birds
  • Holt Planetarium – our solar system
  • Murray Gosling (2015 Science Teaching Leadership Programme) – the science of bridge design. This workshop was supported by structural engineers from the Hastings District Council, MWH, Opus and Strata Group, who described aspects of bridge science they apply in their work.
  • EIT School of Viticulture and Wine Science – the science of yeast fermentation
  • EIT School of Computing – Vex robotics.

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146 students, 22 teachers, 4 teacher aides and 9 parents from the following schools participated in the Camp:

Flaxmere Primary School • Hastings Intermediate School • Havelock North Intermediate School • Maraekakaho School • Napier Intermediate School • Ongaonga School • Peterhead School • St Mary’s School • St Patrick’s School • Tamatea Intermediate School • Taradale Intermediate School • The Terrace School, Waipukurau • Twyford School • Waipawa School • Waipukurau School

Photo 7The students and teachers returned to school with a better understanding of science and technology, and its relevance to their everyday lives. Here’s some of the feedback we received from the teachers:

  • Just wanted to thank you and your team for an outstanding two days of learning. Our kids loved all their workshops and were buzzing about all the things they had learnt. We met some fascinating people, passionate about their areas of expertise. This was a wonderful opportunity.
  • Many thanks for the last couple of days.  The kids were buzzing on returning to school today and were sharing their new learning and excitement with their teachers and classmates!  I will organise for them to share a presentation with the school/learning teams as well.  Would love to participate again if this is available next year!?!
  • Firstly thank you for the opportunity; I had 4 students and a teacher that were fizzing from the experience.  I hope this event is repeated next year as it was a fantastic opportunity. Congratulations to you and your team for an awesome camp.
  • Thanks for an awesome two days. We all loved the experiences.
  • Our 4 students had an amazing time and they were so happy to be involved in such a range of activities. Thank you once again for this opportunity, we will be in “boots and all” next year.
  • Thanks for having us over the 2 days. The kids loved it and gained a lot of new knowledge.
  • Thanks so much for all your superb organisation. The kids had a fantastic 2 days, and returned to school buzzing.
  • Thank you for organizing such an amazing couple of days.  I learnt so much and so did the children.
  • They had two days of fantastic learning experiences thank you.
  • Thank you very much for organising the two days. The children loved attending the courses and enjoyed the ‘hands on’ approach. I am meeting with them tomorrow so they can organise thank you emails, a school newsletter article and a school assembly short presentation.
  • Thanks for offering the Science and technology camps to us.   We have come away with a wealth of knowledge and have already shared some learning with our class.
  • I want to thank-you so much for the most wonderful two days for our students and all the adults attending. To me there was a perfect balance of presenting and interactive learning activities for our kids … they were captivated and inspired from the beginning to the end, in the 4 workshops I attended.   Every scientist / presenter was so contagiously passionate about their field of expertise … just brilliant.
  • Thanks again for a wonderful experience. We will share the student presentations about this when they are completed.

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As well as funding from MBIE, we received support, financially or in kind, from the following individuals and organisations:

ABB Limited • Compac • Department of Conservation • Eastbridge Engineering • East Coast LAB • EIT School of Computing • EIT School of Viticulture and Wine Science • Faraday Centre • Futureintech • GNS Science • Haden & Custance • Hans Rook • Hastings District Council • Hastings Intermediate School • Hawke’s Bay Branch of IPENZ • Hawke’s Bay Branch of the Royal Society of NZ • Hawke’s Bay Regional Council • HB Youth Futures Trust • Holt Planetarium • John Cheyne • JuiceWorks Limited • Little Red Robot Design • Massey University • MTG Hawke’s Bay • Murray Gosling • MWH New Zealand Ltd • Napier Boys High School • Napier City Council • Napier Intermediate School • Napier Sailing Club • National Aquarium of New Zealand • Opus International Consultants • Page Bloomer Associates • Strata Group Consulting Engineers • Unison • Victoria University School of Engineering and Computer Science • WeaveIT Limited

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