Issue 71 – Monday 20th December, 2021
HeadsUp
Kia ora tatou
As there’s sadly, no in-person all-School gathering I’d like to wish you all a relaxing, safe and enjoyable time of annual leave over Christmas/New Year and, for most of you, well into January.
It’s a cliché to say it’s been a tough year, but there’s no harm in stating the obvious again. So I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your efforts this year. We’ve kept the waka on course, even though the paddling has been demanding and the navigating has been guesswork at times. It takes a team to get to the end of an academic year with boxes ticked in these times.
This time last year I would not have anticipated being in this Head of School role. When I was asked, the imposter syndrome raised its head high. Yet the last eight months have brought unexpected rewards such as getting to know both the School’s operations and many of you better than I did before. I’ve had to write ‘Happy to approve” more times than I care to imagine! But I have been happy to serve and try to broker ways of making things work more smoothly for many of you – as individuals and for our operation as a whole. I couldn’t do that alone though, so I would like to thank David H for such stellar work as Deputy and Director of Academic Operations; JR for occasional guidance; Michael, Bizza, Anna, Jess and Patricia in the Group Services team for their invariable willingness to help; Blair and the Technical Services team as we’ve worked our way through tricky building access and other issues; and members of the Steering Group for solidarity and wisdom as we’ve talked our way into new ways of proceeding.
As we close the year, we have two farewells that sadly we won’t formally mark: in January, Evan Weller leaves us and returns to Australia and Ingo Pecher leaves for a position in Texas (however he may well be back mid-year so I hope we can properly farewell him then).
I would also like to congratulate those who recently gained promotion: Giovanni, Sila, Michael M, Emma, Jennifer E, Sam and Melanie K. A big well done to you all.
For the early days of 2022 I, like many of you, will take Leave and Giovanni has kindly agreed to be Acting HoS for me. I have assured him that few issues will arise, so if you can avoid it please hold off asking for HoS approval for anything until I am back January 17th!
What will 2022 hold for us all? As a wise friend said ‘these are times of uncertainty and we either embrace the uncertainty or distract ourselves by fruitlessly trying to resist it’. Omicron-permitting, I greatly look forward to seeing you all at the Wednesday February 23rd annual Kaupapa session, and many of you in various combinations beforehand then.
More immediately, in the coming weeks as you take Annual Leave, do try and keep your laptops closed and your horizons open to all the insights, encounters and opportunities that sometimes elude us during the working year. I am looking forward to one of my favourite aspects of the holiday season: reaching such a point of wind-down that I no longer know what day it is. It’s a fleeting feeling being released from deadlines and diaries. Do enjoy it.
Meri Kirihimete me te tau hou!/ Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Robin
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Marsden Grants
With the upcoming Marsden round, I hope a good number of you will be considering developing an idea over the summer. Please bear in mind FTE on these applications. While a ‘Marsden Fast-start’ is fine with a reasonably generous level of FTE, standard Marsden grants should be kept in the range 0.1 or 0.2FTE. If you have questions please contact Kathryn Howard k.howard@auckland.ac.nz
Annual Leave
While our plans and preferred dates inevitably change from time to time, please note that Annual Leave should only be changed in advance. Retrospectively changing booked leave dates after you have worked them is not permitted by HR, so please keep on top of what dates you have had approved for Leave. Thanks for your understanding.
Whakawhanaungatanga – Communities
Congratulations to Michaela Dobson!
Michaela Dobson, a doctoral candidate from the Faculty of Science, has become the first New Zealander to be awarded the Lunar and Planetary Institutes Eugene M. Shoemaker Impact Cratering Award. She’s also part of a team that received the U21 Researcher Resilience to create an online space science workshop.
Click on the link to read the full article: Planetary prizes for Auckland PhD candidate – The University of Auckland
Congratulations to Mark Costello!
Mark Costello was recently awarded the 2021 Alumni Award in the field of Engineering, Science and Technology from the National University of Ireland, Galway.
Click the link to read the full article: National University of Ireland, Galway on LinkedIn: Professor Mark Costello – Alumni Award for Engineering and Science
External Advertisement – Senior Technician: Terrestrial Ecology
External advertisement for a Senior Technician – Terrestrial Ecology role (permanent, full time) at the School of Biological Sciences (SBS). Applications must be submitted online, by the closing date of 9th January 2022.
Click on the following link to apply and to find the position description: University of Auckland Senior Technician – Terrestrial Ecology | SmartRecruiters
**Please reach out to Peter Schlegel via p.schlegel@auckland.ac.nz for a confidential conversation. Please note we are happy to answer your questions but we do not accept applications by email.
2022 SoE lab opening dates
The last day this year for lab access is the 22nd December.
Most SoE Labs will reopen on the 10th of January once the technical team have had a chance to start things back up.
If you want more information on a specific lab then please email Blair.
Expression of Interest: The Women in Earth and Environmental Sciences
The Women in Earth and Environmental Sciences in Australasia (Womeesa) network now has more than 700 members. Are you one? If not, it is an excellent network for anyone from student to professor level. The latest monthly newsletter will give you an idea of their current activities, and support for women working in Earth and Environmental Sciences in academia, industry, and government.
https://www.womeesa.net/newsletter/october-8jek2
Our very own Lorna Strachan was recently elected as a member of the Womeesa committee, and so if you would like to find out more, please drop her a line at l.strachan@auckland.ac.nz
Work-Integrated Learning NZ
Prompted by Martin Brook the University of Auckland very soon (Bridget Kool has actioned this) will be members of Work-Integrated Learning NZ:
As you will see in the Members section, many of our peers (AUT, Massey, Waikato, VuW, UC, and some polytec’s) have already been involved as Institutional and Corporate Partners, but until now, not UoA. WILNZ have a really interesting annual conference too, which gets good participation from the different tertiary institutions. The next conference is at AUT in April 2022, and the 2021 WILNZ online proceedings make for interesting reading.
It’s a good networking opportunity, to learn from others and see what best practice, pitfalls etc are out there.
Student Support
If students are struggling support is available:
Te Papa Manaaki | Campus Care https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/student-support/te-papa-manaaki-campus-care.html
Financial Support https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/study/fees-and-money-matters/financial-support.html
Covid will have likely have impacted progress for many so there are Postgraduate Extensions and Fee Waivers programmes. Note International students will need to consider visas!
Honours and Masters (as you know who will have been impacted please don’t wait for the last few days before the submission deadline to apply!)
Doctoral
If any doctoral students are ‘twiddling their thumbs’ because they can’t get into labs or do fieldwork it may be a good time for them to generally upskill:
Note to supervisors: Domestic PhD Admissions of those eligible for the guaranteed University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarships are up so it has become even more competitive for international applicants. Please manage expectations around this as you communicate with international enquiries.
Upcoming Events
Registration for Disastrous Doctorates 2022
Official registration form to attend Disastrous Doctorates 2022 (DD2022)! DD2022 is a forum for disaster-related doctoral students, which welcomes participants from various disciplines, including engineering, earth science, emergency management, geography, law, psychology, business etc. This forum aims to bring together students across the disaster-research field and build a network and community of early career researchers.
This year’s theme is New Zealand’s Resilience to Climate Change. However, any researcher involved in disaster research is encouraged to attend and present a 3MT about their research.
The DD2022 symposium will be held on 1-3 February 2022 and hosted by The University of Auckland in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
Official Registration Form – Disastrous Doctorates (wordpress.com)
AKO
Applications: Ako Innovation Committee Teaching & Learning Innovation Fund 2022
| Call for applications to the Ako Innovation Committee Teaching and Learning Innovation Fund 2022
Grants are to encourage innovative teaching and learning practices that have the potential for widespread adoption within the School Due: 08/02/2022, noon Please see the guidelines here and the application form here Please contact Mel Wall if you have any questions |
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New programme: Master of Environmental Management
We will soon be offering a new 180 point taught masters degree in Environmental Management. This has just been given the go-ahead from the Committee on University Academic Programmes (CUAP) and will be available from Semester 1, 2022. It builds upon the long-established PGDipSci and MSc options, and the existing foundations of critical social science will be augmented with new courses with a more applied focus. The fairly tight programme and the core course (701) will ensure that all students get a coherent and well-rounded experience, but with space to include courses from related subjects, as well.
With our recently-appointed new colleagues we will be able to roll out a full programme in 2022:
Semester 1
- ENVMGT 741: Social Change for Sustainability (Georgia Pigott)
- ENVMGT 744: Resource Management (Karen Fisher)
- ENVMGT 749: Environmental Sociotechnologies (Emma Sharp)
- ENVMGT 751: River Management (Gary Brierley)
Semester 2
- ENVMGT 701: Environmental Management in Practice (Brad Coombes + other staff)
- ENVMGT 742: Social Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (Meg Parson)
- ENVMGT 746: Collaborative Environmental Management (Brad Coombes)
- ENVMGT: 748: Coastal Management (Emma Ryan)
Brad Coombes is the Environmental Management programme adviser.
Rangahau – Research
Summer Research Student – Lab access
In line with what SCS and SBS are doing this year, and in line with covid/RED level protocols, we will be allowing SRS to be given temporary swipe access to laboratories.
Students will still need to complete the regular online inductions. They will also need to be accompanied by the supervisor while in laboratories as we cannot leave UGs in PG research spaces alone. Please email Blair with any questions.
Research Impact Guide
The University of Auckland’s Research Impact Guide is available on the Research Hub, the University’s internal one-stop shop for research resources.
The Research Impact guide contains tools, resources and signposts on where to get support to develop the impact of your research. We currently have a summer intern working to revamp these pages, looking to provide up-to-date best practice content, accurate signposting to a broad range of support services, and content on specialist topics including policy engagement and public engagement. We have initial ideas on how to improve these pages, but would love to understand from our research community what type of additional information you might benefit from.
ACTION: visit the Research Impact Guide and let us know your opinion! We welcome your feedback via this anonymous google form as we continue to add content. Thank you in advance!
Discovery Profiles
Improving discoverability of our research and expertise – introducing Discovery Profiles
In March 2022, our current Research Outputs system will be renamed Te Waka Huia Rangahau | Research Outputs, upgraded to provide an improved user interface, and extended to include staff and doctoral candidate profiles, as well as advertising research projects and supervision opportunities to potential research students.
These changes will improve discoverability of our research and expertise, and streamline our research eco system, by incorporating three existing systems (Research Outputs, University Directory and FindaThesis) into one.
The external facing elements of University Directory and FindaThesis will be retired and replaced by Discovery Profiles, a module of the Te Waka Huia Rangahau | Research Outputs system.
For more information on these improvements and how you can prepare for this change please see the Discovery Profiles News page.
Marsden – bid writing support
Please contact Kathryn or Franca if you’re going to apply for a Marsden grant this year and would like to request bid writing support. Three levels of support is available (general proof reading; editorial review; or full bid development) Please submit your request by mid December at the latest. Note funding is limited, and not all requests will be able to be supported.
Research Projects impacted by Covid-19
Please advise your RPC if any of your research projects have been impacted by Covid-19 so we can discuss options to resolve impacts. Note, key information on research continuity through COVID-19 is being updated regularly via COVID-19: Researcher continuity support and information.
Antarctica field work
Any one preparing funding bids that involve fieldwork in Antarctica is encouraged to contact Esme Robinson (e.robinson@antarcticanz.govt.nz) Science Programme Advisor, at Antarctica New Zealand early in the development of their research plan so that they can support the preparation of a logistically feasible application.
Funding Call
Marsden Fund
Applications due 8 February 2022
The Marsden Fund invests in excellent, investigator-led research aimed at generating new knowledge, with long-term benefit to New Zealand. View the guidelines here. To register to apply, email the following information to the Funds Advisor Team via submissions@auckland.ac.nz: you title, full name, email address, faculty, department and type of Marsden Grant (Standard, Fast-Start, Council).
School of Environment DRDF funding call
Applications due 1 March 2022
The purpose of this fund is to increase the quality and international reach of our research output. It will support initiatives that produce tangible outcomes that are in line with the School strategic objectives and improve our future PBRF quality scores. The fund will be distributed in two contestable application rounds in March and July 2022.
You can apply for direct research costs up to $10,000 for a single applicant, and up to $15,000 for a group of applicants from the SoE.
Please refer to the attached Guidelines for DRDF applications for 2022 for further information or contact Katarzyna.sila-nowicka@auckland.ac.nz with any questions. Email your application using the attached application form to Katarzyna.sila-nowicka@auckland.ac.nz by 1 March 2022.
2022 Application Form for ENV DRDF funds
Covid-19 Hardship Fund
Applications due 31 March 2022
The University has launched the University C19 Hardship Fund to support externally funded research projects critically impacted by Covid-19 during Q3 and Q4 2021 and which incurred ongoing expenses and are now experiencing a shortfall. Applicants must be a Principal Investigator of an externally funded research project ending before 31 Dec 2022, with a recorded COVID-19 Impact of Amber or Red. Please contact your RPC if your project has been impacted by Covid-19 to ensure its been assessed correctly. Please see the COVID-19 Hardship Fund Guidelines for more information and to determine what costs you can apply. Please contact your RPC if you wish to apply and to obtain the financial transaction details for the Q3 – Q4 period for your project. Please review the information that is sent to you and when you’re ready – apply online.
Vision Mātauranga hui
As part of the Vision Mātauranga support for researchers within Te Whare Pūtaiao Faculty of Science. The Māori advisors’ team will be running two 90-minute Vision Mātauranga Hui on the 19th and 20th January 2022. Please complete the registration form to receive the zoom link Vision Mātauranga Hui . We have gone with a hui versus a workshop because the session is designed to help researchers think in this space and decide how YOU can embed Vision Mātauranga into your proposal. We hope the session will be interactive and enable discussion. We would like to encourage researchers to engage early in this space. Those who attend the hui will have an opportunity to have a 1:1 discussion and develop your proposal before EoI submission. Should you be successful at EoI stage (and have attended the Vision Mātauranga hui) you will be invited to further discuss your proposal 1:1 with the faculty advisors. In advance of the session, please find attached a document (Responsiveness to Maaori tool v1.3) to help map out your proposal ideas and how they connect with Māori aspirations, build Māori capability and capacity, and look at how you can ensure your research is reaching Māori communities. Although we will not be focused on this document, it may help you as you look to see how your research can be responsive to Māori, and you are welcome to bring it with you to the session.
Plastics Innovation Fund
***Application Deadline 20 June 2022***
The purpose of the Plastics Innovation Fund is to support projects that will minimise plastic waste and its harm on the environment. The fund is seeking to fund projects that find ways to use less plastic and make what we do use reusable or recyclable. It is targeted at projects that: minimise plastic waste; support circular solutions; protect the environment from harm; support the reduction of imported plastic; and improve the behaviour of people and businesses (up the waste hierarchy). For further information visit the funder website or refer the Funder guidelines. You can also view a One-hour webinar about the fund
Publications
Carter, L., Bostock-Lyman, H., Bowen, M., (2022) Water masses, circulation and change in the modern Southern Ocean, in Antarctic Climate Evolution, pg. 165-197, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Shi Z, Assis J, Costello MJ. 2021. Vulnerability of marine species to low oxygen. In: Goldstein, M.I., DellaSala, D.A. (Eds.), Imperiled: The Encyclopedia of Conservation. Elsevier, online https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-821139-7.00203-8
Kanakiya, S., Turner, G. M., Rowe, M. C., Adam, L., & Lindsay, J. M. (2021). High remanent magnetization measured in hydrothermally altered lavas. Geophysical Research Letters. 48, e2021GL095732. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL095732
More 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 Isabella for next edition of P-cubed by Friday
