Issue 48 – Monday 21 December 2020
Contents
HeadSup
Kia ora koutou
Well done everyone getting to the end of 2020. It’s been a heck of a year. I would like to thank everyone for the enormous contributions made to stay operational under extraordinary circumstances.
We have some staffing news. First, I am sorry to advise that from mid-January Amy Wadley will be leaving her role as Associate Finance Business Partner for ENV. Amy has played a brilliant role helping us transition our financial operations so that we actually understand what we are doing. Good luck Amy, we’ve valued your contribution.
I am now in a position to announce the results of the Voluntary Leaving Scheme. I would like to acknowledge at the outset the tremendous service to the School by Annie, Jay, Hong-Key and Anthony. Annie’s position finishes at the end of this year but she will continue with us as an Honorary Academic for another 12 months. Thank you for your contributions over the years Annie. Jay, Anthony and Hong-Key will continue in their current roles through to the end of Semester 1, 2021. We will salute you closer to that time.
We have some movement in service roles coming up over the next 12 months. First up, Karen Fisher will be stepping down from her role as Chair, Whakawhanaungatanga, and JC will be stepping into this role on his return from sabbatical. Karen has played a pivotal role in setting this platform up and contributing to the strategic direction of the School. Currently Karen is leading the Faculty Research Theme Science in Society. Thanks for your service Karen! We are expecting other changes across 2021 as people head off on research and study leave.
As you know, Covid-19 has impacted budgets across the University, including ours. We now have completed the School’s operational budget for 2021. Budget holders did a great job identifying operational and strategic spends, and indicating priorities. The total requested budget exceeded our available budget by ~$350,000, reflecting a combination of an increase in aspiration and a decrease in available funds (by ~20% on our 2020 discretionary funding). In making cuts, we have prioritised teaching delivery and maintained a component of funding for high-priority strategic initiatives. You can compare the 2020 and 2021 budgets in the table below. Further details are available from budget holders.
| Final Budget 2021 | 2020 budget (at start of year) | Difference | Comment | |
| AKO | $641,601 | $679,636 | -$38,000 | GTA/TA budget down 11%, Field trip budget down <10%, strengthened Tuākana, reduced all other strategic expenditure |
| RANGAHAU | $195,700 | $234,500 | -$38,800 | Reduced strategic expenditure, PBRF not included in this budget (>$100,000), strengthened support for Research Fellows (professional development) |
| WHAKAWHANAUNGATANGA | $110,200 | $195,500 | -$85,300 | Prioritised strategic expenditure, lowered cap on annual professional development fund (total ) to $45,000 (was $70k, see rule change below). |
| TECHNICAL SERVICES | $61,000 | $105,000 | -$44,000 | Front-loaded 2021 purchases using remaining 2020 budget |
| IT COMMITTEE | $53,000 | $65,000 | -$12,000 | Reduction on software costs |
| OTHER | $168,985 | $345,221 | -$176,236 | Running costs of ~$170k, + we usually run a 15-20% buffer but have dropped this for 2021. |
We have changed the rules on the professional development fund (non-research fellows) to lower the annual pressure on the budget. The allocation is $4500 per three year period for every academic (L, SL, AP, P, PTF, ST) on a minimum of a 0.5FTE 3-year contract. Henceforth we will treat the 3-year period as ‘rolling’. In other words, you can spend up to $4500 in any consecutive 3-year period. However, for 2021 we have limited the cumulative spend to $45,000. If our budget improves and we can start to travel we will do our best to increase this limit. All eligible academics will be advised of their remaining allocation early in the new year.
Lastly, this is the last p-cubed for the year. We will kick off again early February. I wish each of you a wonderful break over the holiday season and hope to see you back refreshed and enthusiastic for the new year.
Kia pai to hararei
JR
Whakawhanaungatanga-Communities
Geoscience Society of New Zealand
Field Trip Report
The Auckland University Geoscience Association (AUGA) was given special permission to sample Late Pliocene (3.8-3.0 myr old) marine fossils excavated and dumped in a large heap (~2500 m3) earlier this year by Ghella Abergeldie Joint Venture and Watercare as part of the Central Interceptor Project. These deposits, known colloquially known as the Kaawa Shell Bed (or formally as the Otahuhu Formation) rarely outcrop above ground, so this was considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Common finds made by the 15 students and academics included heavy-shelled dog cockles (Glycymerita), large thick-shelled oysters (Magallana ingens) and morning star shells (Tawera duobrunnea). Although these taxa are not rare, several specimens found during excavations were. This included a new species of marine gastropod made by Thomas Stolberger (found the holotype) and Georgia Warren (found the paratype) and a new species of sand dollar found by Julianne McCoun. Julianne also found the paratype of oldest fossil flax snail in the world, with the previous oldest specimen found in ~100,000 year old deposits in the far north. Kathy Campbell made the most remarkable discovery of a large fossil whale vertebrae. All significant finds are being described for publication before being lodged with the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Students Thomas Stolberger (foreground) and Nathan Collins (background) trying their luck at finding some rare shells
Kathy Campbell holding the fossil whale vertebrae
Close up of the fossil whale vertebrae
Field Trip to Matiu/Somes Island
Robin Kearns leading a field trip to Matiu/Somes Island at the NZ Geographical Society Conference last month.
Marsden Club
The School is launching a “Marsden Club” this year. This is an opportunity for those thinking of applying for a RSNZ Marsden grant (full or fast-start) to get together with peers to socialise, review and discuss their applications as they are developed. If you’d like to join the Marsden Club please email Kathryn Howard, Kelly Kilpin or Franca Peverelle by 19 December.
Lab Closure
All ENV Labs will be closed over the holiday breakfrom Monday 21st of December and will reopen on Thursday 7th January 2021.
Please make sure you have packed up your experiments and cleaned up your work area by the end of Friday the 18th.
The technical staff in charge of each area will contact lab users for the annual end of year lab clean.
If you have any concerns or wish to apply to work over the break please discuss this with Blair (b.sowman@auckland.ac.nz)
If you wish to undertake field work over the break please discuss this with Blair.
Multi-use lab bookings
Bookings for the multi-use lab (302-586) can now be made online up to a month in advance. To make a booking or check room availability, visit https://p-cubed.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/tech-section/multiuse-lab-bookings/. If you need assistance with the booking process, see Blair or Thomas.
RODE Wireless GO Microphone Packs
The School has several RODE Wireless GO microphones available for hire which may be of interest to those who recently completed the Science Media Centre video course. Bookings are managed through an online booking system, see this page for more details: https://p-cubed.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/tech-section/book-rode-wireless-go-microphones/. Information on where to collect the microphones from will be sent directly to you when your booking is confirmed. For assistance, contact Thomas.
Events
School of Environment PhD Drinks & Nibbles
Dear Staff and PhD students,
Please join us for School of Environment PhD Drinks & Nibbles on Thursday 17 December, 4-6pm in Level 6 Breakout Space (Room 302-680).
We’d love you to come by and celebrate your contributions to the School.
Please RSVP here by Monday 7 December for catering purpose and contact Samantha Huang for any queries.
Summer Events
‘The Faculty invites our PG students to join some (or all!) of the upcoming summer events. 2020 has been a tough year for all of us, so let’s start 2021 with some nice gatherings. The events offered include lunch in the park, yogalates, Shut up and Write workshops, board game evenings, and much more. Many of the activities are suitable for families. It would be really helpful for us to know how many people to expect for each event; please view Faculty events and sign up HERE
Some of the events will be organized by the School of Graduate Studies. Follow this link to view these events: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/postgraduate-students/school-of-graduate-studies/doctoral-opportunities/doctoral-summer-sessions.html
For more information, please contact env-pgadmin@auckland.ac.nz
Astrobiology Postgrad Mini-Symposium
Are you interested in the big questions about our origins and possible life on other planets?
– What is life?
– How did life begin on Earth?
– Does life exist outside of Earth?
Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary scientific field dedicated to answering these questions. The University of Auckland has a growing Astrobiology community including members from the Faculties of Science, Engineering and the Humanities.
As part of a Creative Communities Grant, we are holding a half-day symposium for all postgraduate students at the University of Auckland interested in Astrobiology.
We are extremely excited to have NASA’s Dr. Mitch Shulte, Mars 2020 (Perseverance Rover) Project Scientist as our keynote speaker.
Other speakers include Professor Kathy Campbell (Environment) – What is Astrobiology?, Dr Nick Rattenbury (Physics) – Opportunities in Astrobiology and Space Science, and Dr Emily Parke (Humanities) – What is life? And the Origins of Life.
If you have an interest in these subjects and would like to hear about research opportunities at UoA and overseas, or if you just want to meet other postgraduates who have the same interests, we would love to see you there.
Please RSVP at https://forms.gle/g112d7mtN7daQw9U6 for catering purposes to attend.
Date: 25th February 2021
Time: 10am – 1:40pm
Place: 302-130 – 302-140
Lunch Provided!!
Any questions please contact Ira Mautner (ira.mautner@auckland.ac.nz, 021 555 558) or Michaela Dobson (mdob102@aucklanduni.ac.nz)
Summer 2020/21 – Events for PG students in Faculty of Science
We invite you to join some or all of the summer events arranged for postgraduate students. 2020 has been a tough year for all of us, so let’s start 2021 with some nice gatherings.
The events offered include lunch in the park, yogalates, Shut up and Write workshops, board game evenings, and much more. Many of the activities are suitable for families. See the list below.
It would be really helpful for us to know how many people to expect for each event; please sign up using the link below. If you don’t know your plans yet, you can sign up later or just turn up, but any information you can provide in advance will help our planning.
Sign up HERE
Some of the events listed below will be organized by the School of Graduate Studies. Follow the links provided for more information about those events.
We look forward to seeing you on campus over the summer! Please forward enquiries to Sharon Chen
Programme of Events
Check here for updates, including changes to times and venues.
Friday January 8 – Lunch in the Park
1pm, near the band rotunda in Albert Park. Bring your lunch and a non-disposable cup if you have one handy. The Faculty will provide fruit and cold drinks. Family members welcome. If it rains, we will move to the Quad.
Monday January 11 – *SGS- Women’s health seminar
9.40-11am. Join Emma from the Rec Centre to find out everything you need to know about working out, scheduling, healthy eating, stress management and more.
Tuesday January 12 –*SGS- Shut up and Write workshop, Online. Organised by LLS
9.30-11.30am. No matter what you’re writing, write it in a supportive social environment using the Pomodoro technique.
Tuesday January 12 – Yogalates
10am in Building 302 – Table Tennis Area. A free class presented by someone from the Rec Centre. Wear comfortable clothes. Bring your own yoga mat if you can, but we do have a few extras. Morning tea provided.
Wednesday January 13 – *SGS- Walk the Talk summer stroll
11.40am-1pm. What’s better than a nice summer stroll. Get moving and explore the Auckland Domain with this refreshing guided walk.
Wednesday January 13 – Board games
4-6pm at Cakes and Ladders on Upper Symonds St. Family members welcome. $3/hr per person charge. Neel from SciSA will lead a walking bus from Building 302 to Cakes and Ladders, otherwise you can meet us there. The walking bus will leave promptly from the Building 302 foyer by the green information hub at 3.50pm.
Thursday January 14– *SGS- Pump or dance-style class
5-6.15pm. Looking to up your fitness game? This pump class will introduce you to some resistence training movements – and it’s great for beginners!
Friday January 15 – *SGS- Family BBQ in the park
12-2pm. All doctoral candidates are warmly encouraged to enjoy a free feed and friendly chatter at this doctoral barbeque – vegetarian and vegan options provided.
Friday January 15 – *SGS- Let’s Talk
3-4pm. Work on your English language proficency in a welcoming environment. You’ll chat to peers and locals about a range of interesting topics.
Monday January 18 – Shut up and Write workshop, hosted by SciSA.
10:30am-12:30pm. Room 303-G15. Olivia/Neel will take lead on this. SciSA will provide lunch and non-alcoholic beverages for all attendees.
Tuesday January 19 – Yogalates
10am in Building 302- Table Tennis Area. A free class presented by someone from the Rec Centre. Wear comfortable clothes. Bring your own yoga mat if you can, but we do have a few extras. Morning tea provided.
Wednesday Jan 20 – Board games
4-6pm at Cakes and Ladders on Upper Symonds St. Family members welcome. $3/hr per person charge. Neel from SciSA will lead a walking bus from Building 302 to Cakes and Ladders, otherwise you can meet us there. The walking bus will leave promptly from the Building 302 foyer by the green information hub at 3.50pm.
Friday January 22 – Lunch in the Park
1pm, near the band rotunda in Albert Park. Bring your lunch and a non-disposable cup if you have one handy. The Faculty will provide fruit and cold drinks. Family members welcome. If it rains, we will move to the Quad.
Monday January 25 – Shut and Write workshop, hosted by SciSA.
10:30am-12:30pm. Room 303-G15. Olivia/Neel will take lead on this. SciSA will provide lunch and non-alcoholic beverages for all attendees.
Tuesday January 26 – Yogalates
10am in Building 302- Table Tennis Area. A free class presented by someone from the Rec Centre. Wear comfortable clothes. Bring your own yoga mat if you can, but we do have a few extras. Morning tea provided.
Wednesday Jan 27 – Board games
4-6pm at Cakes and Ladders on Upper Symonds St. Family members welcome. $3/hr per person charge. Neel from SciSA will lead a walking bus from Building 302 to Cakes and Ladders, othewise you can meet us there. The walking bus will leave promptly from the Building 302 foyer by the green information hub at 3.50pm.
Friday January 29 – Lunch in the Park
1pm, near the band rotunda in Albert Park. Bring your lunch and a non-disposable cup if you have one handy. The Faculty will provide fruit and cold drinks. Family members welcome. If it rains, we will move to the Quad.
Tuesday February 2 – Yogalates
10am in Building 302- Table Tennis Area. A free class presented by someone from the Rec Centre. Wear comfortable clothes. Bring your own yoga mat if you can, but we do have a few extras. Morning tea provided.
Wednesday February 3 – *SGS- Walk the Talk summer stroll
The guided walk will leave promptly from the General Library at City Campus on Wednesdays at 12.05pm.
Wednesday February 10 – *SGS- Walk the Talk summer stroll
The guided walk will leave promptly from the General Library at City Campus on Wednesdays at 12.05pm.
Wednesday February 17 – *SGS- Walk the Talk summer stroll
The guided walk will leave promptly from the General Library at City Campus on Wednesdays at 12.05pm.
For more information about events organized by the School of Graduate Studies, refer to: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/postgraduate-students/school-of-graduate-studies/doctoral-opportunities/doctoral-summer-sessions.html
Rangahau – Research
Research and Funding Opportunities
2021 AINSE Honours Scholarships
Applications now open (applications close 15 February 2021). Flyer is available online
Eligible students from AINSE Member institutions who are enrolled in an Honours or Honours-equivalent program can now apply for the 2021 AINSE Honours Scholarship.
To be eligible for the AINSE Honours Scholarship, students must be:
– Studying at a current financial AINSE Member Institution;
– Enrolled in an Honours or Honours-equivalent Program; and
– Either the Student or Supervisor must be conducting research at ANSTO, or processing prior AINSE-sponsored research data, in collaboration with an ANSTO staff member.
AINSE Honours Scholars will receive a A$5,000 stipend to assist them in their studies.
Applications close 15 February 2021. Students must complete the online application form through the AINSE Grants Portal and supply a copy of their official Academic Transcript, along with a reference from their university supervisor/
Selection is largely based on academic achievement and each application is assessed by a specialist committee that oversees the specified area of research.
For more information, including a link to the online application form and Terms & Conditions, please visit our website or contact AINSE on +61 2 9717 3376 / enquiries@ainse.edu.au.
Marsden Fund
The Marsden Fund invests in excellent, investigator-led research aimed at generating new knowledge, with long-term benefit to New Zealand.
Three types of award are offered:
− Fast-Start: for emerging researchers – to give an impetus to their careers by promoting them as sole Principal Investigators (PI) in their own research programmes (up to $120K p.a.)
− Standard: for established and emerging researchers (up to $220-$320K p.a., varies by panel)
− Council Award: for projects that are interdisciplinary in nature, with larger teams (up to $1M p.a.)
All grants are for a maximum of three years and are GST exclusive.
Deadline: 12 noon Tuesday, 9 February 2021 (Fast start and standard EOIs, Marsden Fund Council Award FULL proposals).
Please get in touch with your RPC if you are considering applying, so that we can ensure you are registered in the portal and are kept aware of the support available to help you with your proposal.
Further information on the Marsden fund can be found here.
MBIE Catalyst: Strategic New Zealand-DLR Joint Research Programme December 2020
MBIE intends to commit NZD$1,125,000 in 2021 to support feasibility studies projects with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in the areas of propulsion, space communications, and Synthetic Aperture Radar technologies. Each proposal must be jointly prepared as one partnership application, between at least one New Zealand RO and the DLR institute.
Deadline: 12 noon, Thursday 7 January 2021
More information, guidelines and resources can be found here.
Masters Scholarship
Interested in the effect of plant pathogens (kauri dieback) on plant soil interactions? Fully funded Masters Scholarship (living stipend plus fees) available. Start date. March 2021. Please contact Luitgard Schwendenmann (l.schwendenmann@auckland.ac.nz) for further information.
National Science Challenge – The Deep South
Living with Uncertainty
The Impacts and Implications programme of the Deep South Challenge invites researchers to submit ideas for their “Living with Uncertainty” funding round.
Research should focus on either:
- developing or applying approaches to support decision-making under uncertainty, or
- work directly with stakeholders to implement adaptation action.
The Deep South challenge does not expect to fund more research into the impacts of climate change.
Expressions of Interest are due Wednesday, 10 February. Full proposals (invitation only) will be required in April.
The Challenge is expecting to fund projects of up to $500,000 (two year duration).
Further information and guidelines/templates can be found on the Challenge Website.
New Publications
- Slack, J.F., Neymark, L.A., Moscati, R.J., Lowers, H.A., Ransom, P.W., Hauser, R.L., Adams, D.T., 2020, Origin of Tin Mineralization in the Sullivan Pb-Zn-Ag Deposit, British Columbia: Constraints from Textures, Geochemistry, and LA-ICP-MS U-Pb Geochronology of Cassiterite: Economic Geology, v. 115, p. 1699-1724.
- James, E. and Kearns, R. (2020). Linking therapeutic (is)landscapes, experiences of digitality and the quest for wellbeing. Wellbeing, Space & Society 1, 100010 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2020.100010
ENV IT Committee Updates
Information
Need to store and share research data? Request Research storage or UoA Dropbox for research
Queries about virtual machines? Virtual machine consult or Nectar Research Cloud?
ResearchHub: connects people, resources, and services -research-hub.auckland.ac.nz
Remote working issues: Please refer to the remote working page. If you do not find the answers to your questions, please log a call on the IT Portal for any IT-related issues or contact the Staff Service Centre for other queries.
Two-factor authentication: Authy
https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/about-the-university/identity-and-access-management/two-factor-authentication/download-authy-for-desktops.html
YubiKeys work but of course require a USB port.
VPN: Instructions on how to install
VPN, Linux: FortiClient is running fine on Linux. Check the VPN link listed above.
VPN, Mac desktops: (information from April, may be outdated). Students may need IT to make their machines mobile and install FortiClient directly from the website. They will also need to set-up two-factor authentication by downloading an app like “Authy” on their phones and then setting up their University of Auckland account. I suggest people do this part before IT gets to them to make the process faster. To do that, they can use the instructions on this page:
To get a mobile account set up, log a service request or go to one of the service kiosks. It is unclear how this is being done remotely but I am sure this can be done. Please let me Ingo (i.pecher@auckland.ac.nz) know if you have managed to install FortiClient on their macs remotely.
FlexIT and Remote Access
FlexIT is straight-forward for remote access to computing power and programs. Alternatively, check if your project/group or so has a virtual machine. Remote desktop access to specific machines can be set up by IT but may note be reliable. Check the Staff Service Center https://uoaprod.service-now.com/sp.
Remote access is possible to some workstations in the geocomputational lab for research, and on a needs basis. This may be a viable solution for specialized data analysis. Please look into alternatives: It is unclear however, if/how on-site desktops can be maintained, if needed..
FlexIT access and requests: Use the FlexIT form in the IT Portal to request access as a staff member, to ask for an application be added, or to report any issues or faults.
FlexIT, Linux: Please check FlexIT link: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/my-tools/flex-it.html. It does not have any information on Linux but should be useful for “translation”.
Depending on your browser (in particular, Firefox), you also need to do the following, from https://communities.vmware.com/thread/595554.
“…tested with the Horizon 4.8.x and 4.10.x clients and Firefox v64.0. Both are 64bit versions, running on Ubuntu 18.04.1
- Download the client from the VMWare Horizon Client for 64-bit Linux
- In Firefox, open about:config and click through the warning.
- Add a new boolean entry called network.protocol-handler.expose.vmware-view and set the value to false
- Create a file called `test.html` somewhere on your computer and put the following in it:
test - Open the file in Firefox and click on the link, which should prompt you for a path to open the link.
- Select /usr/bin/vmware-view and it should work for future uses! “
(1) was provided by UoA but I think it works with generic software from VMWare as well.
Check with Ingo (i.pecher@auckland.ac.nz) if you run into problems.
Software licenses: Software vendors have relaxed their licensing to allow students to install software at home, rather than relying on Flex IT. There is a running list here https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/my-tools/flex-it/install-software.html
Please email content to Bizza for next edition of P-cubed by Friday 18th January 2021