7:30pm, Tuesday 6th May, National Aquarium of NZ, Marine Parade, NAPIER

The “Blue Books” have been updated. The first one covers Hawke’s Bay.

In the 1980s, the Meteorological Service produced a series of popular books that described and detailed the climates of each region throughout New Zealand. The books can still be found, well-thumbed, in libraries, offices and council premises up and down the country. These popular reference books were last updated in the 1980’s. For many years they have been the standard guide to patterns of rainfall, temperature, sunshine, etc. for each region in New Zealand, including Chatham Islands.

People use the summaries to learn more about the climate where they live or where they’d like to live. They use them to make judgements about locating commercial operations or farms. Councils use them to inform staff and others about the local climate, and to promote their region.

The summaries give the ‘big picture’ about a region. They help people work out what sort of detailed information they need – which they can then find in NIWA’s vast online database of climate information,” says Dr Andrew Tait.

This presentation was presented by Dr Andrew Tait, principal scientist at NIWA, specialising in climate applications.

Andrew’s current projects include National and Regional Climate Maps, Climate change and urban impacts, Adaptation to climate variability and change, and Assessment of crop and tree species growing potential using climate, soil and topographic information

This presentation was supported by NIWA and the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

More information here>

Associate Professor Johan Potgieter, Massey University
Thursday 3 April 2014 7:30PM
Hawke’s Bay Planetarium, Chambers St, Napier

Additive manufacturing begins with computer model files which are transferred to an additive manufacturing system for building. This enables rapid prototyping as there is no need for molds or dyes. This allows design flexibility as design changes can be made at greatly reduced cost.

A wide and increasing range of additive manufacturing technologies are becoming available, covering a range of scales and materials.

Associate Professor Johan Potgieter completed a PhD in the areas of Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics and Advanced Manufacturing from the University of Natal South Africa in 2003.

He is an Associate Professor of Mechatronics and Robotics in the School of Engineering and Advanced Technology at Massey University (Auckland).

His current research interests are mainly in areas of Additive Manufacturing and advanced mechatronics/robotics with applications in medicine and automotive related areas.

Johan has been an avid user of additive manufacturing since the mid-90s and is passionate about the potential it offers for innovation and how it allows small businesses to much more easily reach the world market. He has a well established reputation for his work in educational robotics and has been inducted into the World Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation Hall of Fame for his work in developing world champion educational robotics teams from New Zealand. He is currently conducting consulting research with HIEFF Engine and Chrysler in Detroit.

In this lecture Johan coverered developments in rapid prototyping and technologies for additive manufacturing. These developments will have a significant influence on the New Zealand Manufacturing landscape, providing new opportunities for SME in New Zealand and abroad.

On behalf of GNS Science, NIWA, Eastern Institute of Technology and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

EIT Lecture Theatre 1, Taradale
Tuesday 8th April, 7pm – doors open from 6.30pm

Alan Orpin (NIWA) and Mike Page (GNS Science) will deliver research based presentations on Tutira.

LAKE TUTIRA: Recorder of Environmental Change

LAKE TUTIRA: Template for Past Erosion

Over the last 25 years Lake Tutira and its catchment have been the focus of research into various aspects of environmental change. Beginning with Cyclone Bola and concerns about sustainable land use of such erosion-prone hill country, the research expanded to focus on construction of the erosion history of the catchment and the associated sediment record preserved in the lake since it was formed by a giant landslide ~7,000 years ago.

Mike and Alan will outline this research and discuss how the erosion and sediment record has been used to interpret the climatic, tectonic, volcanic and vegetation history, and what this can tell us about how this landscape will respond to future environmental change…

If you have an interest in Tutira, Erosion, Climatology, Volcanism, Plate Tectonics, Storms and Sediment – How Lake Tutira Works – you will find the evening very informative.

Admission is free but PLEASE REGISTER YOUR ATTENDANCE with HBRC on 8359200.

Directions to the Lecture Theatre will be marked from entrance into EIT

MTG Century Theatre Public Lecture

Napier born senior research scientist at the Smithsonian to speak on deep-sea exploration in New Zealand at the MTG Century Theatre

David L Pawson, Senior Research Scientist at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution in the USA presented a public lecture: Deep-Sea Exploration in the New Zealand Region 1865-1965 at the MTG Century Theatre on Sunday 23 March at 5pm.

Drawing upon his knowledge of New Zealand deep-sea research, including his personal experiences in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Dr Pawson told of accounts from expeditions large and small, some of them involving Hawke’s Bay.

“Exploration of the deep sea,” says Dr Pawson, “is always exciting, often funny, and sometimes dangerous – especially in the New Zealand region!”

David attended St. Joseph’s and Marist primary schools in Napier and St. John’s High School in Hastings. During the early years of his life, Dr. Pawson spent a lot of time fishing and swimming on the Napier beach, and there he developed an interest in marine life. 

After gaining a B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Zoology from Victoria University he joined the Victoria University deep-sea research team in the 1950’s, a time when exciting pioneering deep-sea research was being undertaken under the leadership of Professor L.R. Richardson. 

He has a lifelong interest in New Zealand marine biology, and he has maintained research programmes in New Zealand for many years.  In 1964 he was invited to join the Smithsonian Institution as a Research Curator. He has conducted research on echinoderms (sea stars, sea urchins and their relatives) in many parts of the world, especially the deep sea, and in the vicinity of isolated oceanic islands. 

His research has taken him to Ascension and Galapagos Islands, the Caribbean, the southern oceans and Antarctica, and he has made more than 200 dives in manned submersibles. Other research interests include the US Fish Commission Steamer Albatross (1883-1921) and her scientific crew, and the life and times of his eminent predecessor, Smithsonian scientist Austin H. Clark (1880-1954).

Sunday 23 March 2013 at 5pm
Entry by donation
No pre-bookings, arrive early to avoid disappointment

Ocean energy to electricity

Dr Craig Stevens, NIWA Wellington/University of Auckland/AWATEA

National Aquarium of New Zealand, Marine Parade, Napier

Dr Stevens discussed energy in the ocean and international efforts to convert some of it into electricity and how this has intertwined with the vagaries of international geopolitics over the past few decades.

Different technology options developed and tested over time in different parts of the world were presented. Examples included machines to capture wind, wave, tide and current energy.  He noted that environmental impact understanding and public perception would make some current installations difficult to establish today.

Outlining oceanographic processes and showing how they vary around New Zealand, Dr Stevens identified areas of greater and lesser potential when considering these technologies for local power generation.  Current technology is a viable option for off-grid sites where the eceomics are compared with diesel generation of electricity.

Dr Craig Stevens is a physical oceanographer with a focus on environmental fluid mechanics in extreme environments.  He holds a joint position at NIWA and the University of Auckland. His use of observational techniques takes him to a variety of locations ranging from Antarctica to Cook Strait.  

His work is mainly about turbulence, stratification and waves – and how entities react/behave/exist in such fluid environments.  From the energy perspective he has looked at how to optimally locate tidal turbines so that they extract energy effectively, whilst minimizing environmental degradation. 

Professor Jason Ingham, University of Auckland, Thursday 20 February 2014, 7:30PM. National Aquarium of New Zealand, Marine Parade, Napier.

This year’s 1931 Napier Earthquake Commemorative Lecture was “Developments in assessing and upgrading existing buildings for earthquakes with relevance to Hawke’s Bay buildings”. The lecture was in two parts.

Professor Jason Ingham from the University of Auckland Centre for Earthquake Engineering Research began with an explanation of developments in structural engineering with specific focus on Napier’s Art Deco Buildings.

Jason did his BE and ME at The University of Auckland, followed by a PhD at the University of California at San Diego. Supervised by Professor Nigel Priestley and Professor Freider Seible he investigated the seismic response of elevated concrete freeway frames and funded by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).

The second part of the lecture was Government Buildings, presented by Noel Evans of OPUS International. Noel described the processes used to evaluate the school building stock of the Ministry of Education. Following the upgraded requirements for non-residential buildings, a very large number required detailed assessment. Noel gave examples of work, including destructuve testing of buildings, that alowed engineers to greatly reduce the number of buildings requiring extensive and expensive individual assessments.

Noel was elected a Fellow of Institute of Professional Engineers of New Zealand IPENZ in 2012 for his contribution to the application of engineering and technology in the community and particularly for his contribution following the major earthquake events in Canterbury.

The third part of this presentation was a panel fielding questions from the floor. Jason and Noel were joined by Guy Lethbridge of Strata Consulting Engineers and Kevin from the University of Auckland.

Image of Napier after the 1931 Earthquake from the Rev. John Macky Album accessed via: Presbytarian Research website http://preshist.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/napiers-historic-earthquake-81-years-ago/

Mike Taylor, University of Auckland. 7.30PM, Tuesday 4 February 2014. Holt Planetarium, Chambers St, Napier.

A large turn-out brought 100 people to hear Mike Taylor’s lecture. Mike gave a general background to the gut microbiota and its importance to human health overall, noting bacteria have many beneficial functions, including for nutrition, immune system development and  pathogen defense.

He then introduced the notion of gut bugs influencing our brains, and that imbalance or “dysbiosis” in gut microbiota has been linked to wide range of human ailments (obesity, cancer) and neurological disorders.

Mike identified mechanisms by which links between the nervous and digestive system are or may be linked, citing some very recent international research. He then built his presentation into some specific discussion about gut-autism interactions and the overall objectives of the Minds for Minds research team.

Autism is a major human health issue that appears to have increased markedly in recent decades. In the 1990s about 1 in 2000 people were reported to have some form of autism spectrum idsorder. Now it is reported to affect as many as 1 in 88 children (1 in 54 boys).

A number of recent studies have indicated differences in the gut microbiota of people with and without ASD, though few consistent patterns have yet emerged.  In order to better understand the role of the gut microbiome in ASD, Mike Taylor and colleagues have recently started to investigate the composition and activities of the faecal microbiota among people with ASD.

This work is done in close collaboration with geneticists, a neurologist and a biochemist and fits within the wider framework of the Minds for Minds research campaign.

http://www.bioscienceresearch.co.nz/staff/mike-taylor/

Carol Larson, Exploring on the Joides Resolution. 7:30PM Tuesday 5 December 2013. Holt Planetarium, Chambers St, Napier.

From May to July 2013, Carol Larson spent two months in the Gulf of Alaska on board the research vessel “Joides Resolution”. She was one of two New Zealand participants in this international programme, supported by the Australia-New Zealand Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme Consortium (ANZIC).

Carol described the Joides Resolution, the research project, and her experiences on board as Education Officer as a member of Expedition 341-South Alaska Margin. The project involved drilling sediment core samples, seeking to understand the tectonics, climate and sedimentation associated with this active plate margin.  More at www.joidesresolution.org

As Education Officer on the voyage, Carol’s roles included connecting the research with schools and other interested groups around the world. A group of our Branch Council members was able to connect with Carol by Skype video link, and were given a personal guided tour of the ship, meeting and hearing from crew and scientists about their work.This presentation extended that and was greatly appreciated by the audience.

Carol Larson is the Education Team Leader at the National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier.

Dr Claire Postlethwaite, 7.30 pm Tuesday 19 November 2013. Holt Planetarium, Chambers St, Napier.

The November lecture was “Why did the pigeon cross the road? Modelling animal behaviour with mathematics”.  How migrating animals find their way over long distances remains one of the great, unanswered  questions facing biologists today. Despite intensive research for over 60 years, there has been no  convincing explanation of the mechanisms animals use for determining their position relative to a  target location. Dr Postlethwaite’s research in this area combines ideas from both mathematics and behavioural  ecology.

Due to their ease of handling and willingness to home, homing pigeons have long been the  experimental model for the study of animal navigation. Dr Postlethwaite and colleagues are developing a predictive mathematical model for how animals  navigate over long distances. These results will be applicable to a wide variety of migratory species.  They expect their results will explain how birds such as godwits can fly non-stop from Alaska to  New Zealand, a trip that requires locating a target only 2-3 degrees wide when migration begins.

Dr Claire Postlethwaite, Senior Lecturer in Applied Mathematics, Auckland University completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Cambridge. She specialises in research in Dynamical Systems, and mathematical models of animal behaviour. She was recently been awarded a Marsden Fast Start Grant for research in animal navigation.

A summary of Dr Postlethwaite’s research can be found at http://www.math.auckland.ac.nz/~claire/research.html

Dr Huub Kerckhoffs, 7.30 pm Tuesday 29 October 2013. Holt Planetarium, Chambers St, Napier.

The optimal use of light plays an important role in horticultural production. By manipulating the light environment we are able to control and steer crop growth and development. Innovative lighting technologies such as LEDs can provide optimum crop specific ‘light recipes’ at every crop stage. In greenhouse horticulture especially, this can be used to maximise crop quality and returns.

Huub Kerckhoffs is a lecturer in Horticultural Production within the Institute of Agriculture & Environment at Massey University. He received his PhD in plant physiology from Wageningen University (Netherlands). Huub has a broad background on how light and other stimuli are controlling growth and development in a wide range of cropping systems. He worked on this in several countries (Netherlands, UK, US, Japan, Australia) before coming to New Zealand.