P-cubed Newsletters

Contents HeadsUp Spring teases its approach with sun and slightly longer days. Spring graduation soon too. I look forward to seeing many colleagues on stage. Last week I saw proceedings from the other side; my sister graduated with her PhD from AUT so I was out with...

Contents HeadsUp Good news Good news is always the best news, especially in these ominous times. I’m therefore grateful to Murray Ford for keeping a vigilant eye on how our suite of first year course are tracking. He notes that 254 students have taken 2 or more ENV10X...

Contents HeadsUp Last week I was at a Senior Leadership Team (SLT1) retreat for two days. I’d never heard of a place called the Generator but it worked well as a venue for generating better understanding of each other’s perspectives and a collective vision of how we...

Contents HeadsUp Last week I was at the Institute of Australian Geographers conference in Newcastle. I came away with three impressions. First, our current and past postgrads are among our best ambassadors as a School: sharp, engaging and enthusiastic. Outreach at its...

Contents HeadsUp I hope everyone was able to take at least a few moments to appreciate the sun and other mid-winter pleasures such as the night sky over Matariki weekend. A time for looking back and forward. Lengthening days from now. So much more of a logical time...

Contents HeadsUp I write from home, rain pelting down, under the weather both literally and metaphorically. Thankfully, one of the downstream effects of the Covid years for workplace culture has been an acknowledgement that being at the office with even a moderate...

Contents HeadsUp One of the traps of science is excessive reductionism. To an extent, of course, it’s necessary. The crystals in a rock specimen, for instance, might not be seen without the tunnel-vision of the microscope. The trick is achieving balance: to focus on...

Contents HeadsUp An impending farewell It’s with mixed feelings that I open with the news that some of you be aware of: our friend and colleague Giovanni Coco will be leaving ‘Team Environment’ to return to the Northern Hemisphere from the end of October. Giovanni has...

Contents HeadsUp So soon after the Easter/Anzac/Mid-semester break, it’s a case of heads-down rather than heads-up as we move into the business-half of the semester. I hope you all were able to take at least part of the break as a bona fide break. Some rough weather...

Contents HeadsUp I can almost feel the collective catching of breath with the mid-semester break upon us. As we take stock at the semester’s halfway point, there is much to be thankful for – we’ve had no interruptions of the scale of epidemics and floods as in recent...