HeadSup

Kia ora koutou

Thanks to all who completed the pesky staff survey – we got across the 70% response rate and earned ourselves a free morning tea courtesy of the Dean. Sausage rolls again! More on that once we get given the cost code. We didn’t knock Marine Science off their perch – they hit 100% but really, how many of them are there?

We are progressing our new appointments – the Earth Sciences position is under negotiation and I should be able to announce the result soon. Meanwhile, we are about to interview for the Professor of Environmental Management. Although we short-listed 3 people for this position, 2 have withdrawn so we are down to one. Professorial appointments are a big deal and we want to get this one right. Please be sure to attend Shankar Aswani’s seminar if you are available and contact Samantha if you wish to meet him. Please direct any feedback to George, Annie, Jenny, Robin or myself.

The exams are sorted – big thanks to Alex who navigated this process for the first time, to the Ako committee, and to all the co-opted reviewers. Thanks particularly to the Semester 1 course-coordinators and directors for getting the exams in on time and in good shape – your professionalism is much appreciated.

Ngā mihi – JR

For Your Diary

Whakawhanaungatanga – communities

ENV Staff Retreat

The focus of the retreat will be two-fold: 1) to initiate conversation relevant to development of the next ENV 3-year strategic plan, and 2) to get cracking with developing the capstone framework and content.

The capstones pose significant challenges and it will be important to seek and take opportunities to minimise the work load impact. Some solutions may involve sharing components across programmes. The UG programme pecha kucha will kick off this part of the retreat.

All academic staff are expected to participate in the retreat, unless on leave. Professional staff are warmly invited to attend – all of the day may be of interest with the exception of the capstone session from 1.15-3.15pm.

• 8:30-9:00: Tea/Coffee Middle room, ground floor OGH
• 9:00-9:05: Welcome and kaupapa of the day, Upstairs OGH
• 9:05-9:30: State of the school: report, Q&A Upstairs OGH
• 9:30-10:30: Framing the 3-year strategic plan, OGH Dining rooms
• 10:30-11:00: Morning Tea Middle room, ground floor OGH
• 11:00-12:00: Pecha Kucha: whose major is it anyway? Upstairs OGH
• 12:00-12:30: Capstone Q&A, Upstairs OGH
• 12.30-1:15: Lunch Middle room, ground floor OGH
• 1:15-3:15: Capstone programme break-outs Members’ lounge, Vice-Chancellor’s Suite, Upstairs
• 3:15-4:00: Understanding Whanaungatanga, Upstairs OGH
• 4:00-5:30: Social – drinks & nibbles, Members’ Lounge OGH

Please RSVP here or send apologies to Samantha by Tuesday 4 June so that we can finalise the catering.

Professional Development – correction to project code

Please note that there has been a change in the project code for the professional development fund from 15890 to 15408. For all future expenditure against the professional development fund, please use project code 15408.

Great to see some expenditure against this fund. Please chip away at it – we need to hit $70k this year or we will put pressure on next year’s budget.

Dodge ball

The second event in the School of Environment sports championship is coming up – the sports hall has been booked for 12-2 pm on Wednesday 29^th May for “Dodgeball”. Everyone is welcome, including academics (the students would love to see you), and it is free to play. You don’t need to come for the full two hours as there will be multiple games going on over the two hours. It is free to participate and all you need are sports shoes and appropriate clothing. Or just come along and cheer.

The current standings after the soccer tournament are:

• GIScience 3 points
• Geography 2 points
• Earth Science 1 point
• Environmental Science 0 points

Joe emailed out a PowerPoint slide last week (23 May) – if you have a class today or tomorrow please show it and encourage students to participate.

Deliveries to reception

Please be aware that all parcels containing hazardous materials, chemicals, biological samples, frozen products of any kind must be addressed to the Chemistry Stores, and not 302-L6 Reception.

Level 6 admin staff are not trained to deal with these sorts of things, nor do they have the ability to immediately identify the product from the details on the package.

This applies to both incoming and outgoing packages.

Please ensure that any packages sent to you that contain hazardous materials are addressed as follows:
Chemistry Stores
Bldg 302 Room B10
Science Centre, University of Auckland
40 Wellesley St East
Auckland 1010

Rangahau – Research

Meetings, seminars and events

Seminar: Innovation Needs for 2 Degrees

Auckland UniServices in conjunction with IP Group presents a thought-provoking webinar focused on identifying innovation gaps and emerging opportunities in the Cleantech sector.
As the Head of Cleantech at IP Group plc and a Commissioner of the Energy Transitions Commission, Robert Trezona asks us to consider the Paris Agreement’s central aim of limiting global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius and discusses how directed research can create scalable solutions.
What are his insights on new technologies that could be scaled via entrepreneurial companies?

Details: Innovation Needs for 2 Degrees
Date: 20 of June
Time: 5-6.30 pm. Please aim to arrive 10 min before the start.
Location: Rimu Room. Level 10, 49 Symonds St.
Agenda: 40 min presentation, followed by Q&A.

If you are interested, please confirm your attendance to Maria Jose Alvarez maria.alvarez@auckland.ac.nz

Volcanology, Geochemistry, & Petrology Research Group

The volcanology, geochemistry, & petrology research group (VGP) meets every other week during the semester. Our next meeting will be on 6 June from 11 to 12 in 302-140. Emily will be giving a talk. For more information, please see our website: vgp.blogs.auckland.ac.nz Also, if you would like to give a talk next semester, please contact Sophia (s.tsang@auckland.ac.nz) to schedule it! Thanks. See you soon!

Funding and Research Opportunities

All funding calls can be found here

Post-parental-leave research grants

If you are going on parental leave or have returned from 6 months+ parental leave you may be eligible for research funding. The grant information can be found on the gender equity platform page.

Distinguished Visitor Awards – Nominations Now open

The Distinguished Visitor Awards allow scholars who have made significant contributions to their discipline to visit and participate in the intellectual life of the University. Any member of our academic staff may make an application nominating a Distinguished Visitor with the support of your academic head and dean of the host faculty. Up to $10,000 is available for each award.
Full guidelines and the application form can be found at the DVA webpage on the staff intranet. Applications close 5pm Friday 5 July 2019. Please email your application to Ivana Mlinac < i.mlinac@auckland.ac.nz> , including the Statement of Support from the Head of Department, by Friday 28 June 2019. She arrange for the Dean’s Statement of Support to be written and attached to your application and uploaded into the Research Funding Module (RFM) by the deadline.

FRDF

The updated documents for the 2019 Round are now available on the Faculty of Science intranet
https://www.sciencestaff.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/research/faculty-research-development-fund.html
Note the application form is not the same as last year so please use the 2019 version
Applications are due by 5.00 pm on Wednesday 24th July and should be submitted via the RFM – contact your RPC or Wendy Rhodes if you have any queries.

Research in action

PRESS RELEASE – Foulden Maar, Otago

NATIONAL TREASURE NOT STOCK FOOD!

The Geoscience Society of New Zealand calls on the Government and Dunedin City Council to stop the proposal to mine away New Zealand’s most important terrestrial fossil site at Foulden Hills, near Middlemarch, Otago.

“New Zealand’s national identity is strongly bound to its unique plants and animals. We cannot stand by and see this fountain of paleontological knowledge about where we have come from destroyed; particularly not for so little transient local and national gain”, said Geoscience Society of New Zealand President Dr Jennifer Eccles.

The diatomite sediment that infilled this crater lake, 23 million years ago, contains the most extraordinary array of exquisitely preserved plant, fish, spider and insect fossils in New Zealand. These fossils are unique and record the previously unknown history and origins of a large portion of New Zealand’s present-day biota. They are all extinct species. Many are the ancestors of NZ’s current biota but others record groups of plants and animals that are no longer living here. To date, over 100 different species of plant fossils have been identified (mostly leaves, but also fruits, seeds and wood). The plants include extremely rare fossil orchids, mistletoes, fuchsias and a host of other taxa that link NZ’s biota to Australia, New Caledonia and South America. Forty fossil flowers have been found, many still containing pollen, representing 15 plant families. Fossil flowers with associated pollen are extraordinarily rare globally.

Amazingly preserved freshwater fish fossils include the oldest freshwater eel fossil in the Southern Hemisphere and the oldest galaxiid whitebait in the world. Insects are NZ’s largest group of terrestrial animals. More than 50% of NZ’s discovered fossil insects have been found in this one deposit and include over 200 different kinds from 21 families. Four fossil spiders have also been found. All these fossils come from just a small area near the top of the deposit. This unique site will hold hundreds more different kinds of fossils that will help paleontologists in future decades and centuries document and decipher the rich history of NZ’s biota. The rich fossil collections already found could form the basis of an important museum and information centre in Middlemarch.

“The diatomite at Foulden is an irreplaceable treasure box from which only a small proportion of its jewels have been found so far”, said Geoscience Society Geoheritage Convenor Dr Bruce Hayward.
“Foulden crater lake fossils are as important to our understanding of the origins of New Zealand’s biota as the UNESCO Messel World Heritage Site in Germany is to understanding the history of Europe’s biota”, said paleontologist Prof Daphne Lee. Government-funded scientific drilling has revealed the full 120 m thickness of the diatomite sediment fill of the crater. It is composed of thousands of 1 mm-thick layers, each deposited by annual algal (diatom) blooms. This core provides a unique and truly world-class record of annual climatic fluctuations spanning a 120,000-year period around 23 million years ago. Detailed international studies now and in the future will provide unprecedented detail of annual climatic factors such as rainfall and greenhouse gas variability that will lead to better understanding of the ancient El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and other climate cycles. To do this requires preservation of a complete sequence through the deposit in perpetuity so that future generations of scientists can use the inevitable new technologies to interrogate the sequence and obtain increasingly more detailed information about the fossils and the history of climate at that time. A deposit with this level of annual resolution is unknown in the Southern Hemisphere.

Recently released company documents say that the whole deposit will need to be mined to be economic and afterwards the hole will fill with water and prevent access to any scraps that may have been left behind . Dr Eccles says “we recognise that mining of this deposit would clearly provide access to much deeper levels and undoubtedly uncover many more fossil treasures, but it would be unconscionable for us to support the proposed quarrying away of virtually the entire deposit. This site is of international importance and it is beholden on us to protect it for future generations of scientists and the public.”

Jennifer Eccles, GSNZ President

For further information or comment please contact;
Dr Jennifer Eccles, President GSNZ
j.eccles@auckland.ac.nz
Dr Bruce Hayward, Convenor, GSNZ Geoheritage Subcommittee.
b.hayward@geomarine.org.nz

Fossil adult whitebait from Foulden – world’s oldest fossil galaxiid whitebait.

Amazingly preserved 23 million-year-old fossil leaf from Foulden.

One of 40 fossil flowers from Foulden.

One of over 200 species of fossil insect from Foulden

Ako – Teaching and Learning

Geography book location in the library

As part of the Libraries and Learning Services – Te Tumu Herenga strategy to ensure the General Library collections are current and relevant, and to create more space for the books and individual study, during Semester Two there will be some changes to where things are located. Over the next few months books and journals in the 900-999 Dewey range (which includes some of the Geography collection) on Level 5 and 6 of the General Library will be moved. Some low use items will eventually be moved out to our On-Demand Collection (ODC). Before that happens they will be moved to the Mezzanine Floor and will show on the Library catalogue as “GL – Level M 900s”. The Geography books located in the 300s on level 1 are not being moved.

By the beginning of Semester One next year all the high-use 900s will be housed on Level 6 but until then you may need to go to the Mezzanine or Level 5. If you can’t find the item you are looking for please ask one of our friendly staff on Level G (Ground Floor). Items in the ODC can be requested online and delivered to the General Library (monographs) or emailed to you (journal articles, book chapter). More information about this service can be found here

Semester 2 Courses

This is a good time for Course Coordinators to check their timetables and to start planning their courses.
Please check the timetable using the Room and Event Viewer – select the Modules menu. Note also the weeks that your classes are scheduled: the numbers refer to the S+ numbering from the beginning of the year, and the easiest way to check these is by referring to the 2019 Teaching Days.
If you identify any problems please contact our Academic Services Coordinator, Mikael Johannisson-Wallman.

Copy deadline for next edition of P-cubed: Friday 12:00 7 June, to Farnaz: f.sheikh@auckland.ac.nz

Copy deadline for next edition of P-cubed: Friday 12:00 24 May, to Farnaz:  f.sheikh@auckland.ac.nz

HeadSup

Autumn Graduation 2019: Caitlin and her very proud mum and dad

Kia ora koutou

Great to see so many students, family and friends at the Autumn graduation. It was a proud moment for us and an especially proud moment for parents! Thanks to everyone who came along to our ENV celebration and made it such a happy event. Tautoko in practice!

I’ve been thinking about that word a lot. It is all about support and encouragement, backing our team. Lately we’ve been manifesting it at the scale of the nation to emphasise the values that we stand for in terms of diversity and inclusion. At the small scale, to tautoko – or not – is where we can have the greatest impact on the wellbeing and effectiveness of each other. I notice tautoko in action in the way some of the PG students have set up research support groups, and also in the way academic staff cover for others who are going on research and study leave. It is also apparent when experienced research academics open up opportunities for others. And it is perhaps most obvious in those small and unplanned conversations that are positive and encouraging. I’m just past my first 100 days in my new job as Head of School and I’d like to give a big vote of thanks to everyone who has taken the time to tautoko me through positive conversations and actions – it is much appreciated.

This week’s P-cubed is packed with events and notices. Thanks for sending them through. It really will help our shared understanding of what is happening in the school and provide an easy point of information for diary planning. If you have research updates, new papers out, acknowledgements or other good news, it would  be excellent to have a few more of those in the mix.

Ngā mihi – JR

For Your Diary

Whakawhanaungatanga – communities

Who do I ask about…?

Here is a quick guide to who you need to contact should you require any help. Please, note that we now have a web site for vehicle bookings. You can find the link here.

Operational matters

Blair on leave

Blair is away from May 17th until June 11th. Field trip plan reviews and approvals will be done by Andres (a.arcila@auckland.ac.nz).
For any other issues contact the relevant technician.

Neville on leave

Neville is away on leave from May 28th to July 28th. During this time there will be no access to the Geological Collection Store.

• Please get requests for samples from the collection to Neville by Wednesday May 22th as his last day out at the store is likely to be the 23rd
• Need to visit the collection store? Arrange with Neville a.s.a.p. No access after May 23rd
• Students submitting theses/dissertations during this time and who have samples to archive, please see Neville a.s.a.p. and definitely before May 25th
• After May 27th see Andres if you want samples tubes, need to return samples of equipment, need space in the PG Rock Room.

Booking 12-seater minibuses through Orbit?

Unfortunately, we have had a few glitches with vehicle bookings recently. Please check your itineraries very carefully if you have booked 12-seater minibuses. The itinerary should state that the minibus is a 12-seater. If it just says ‘van’ or ‘people-mover’ there’s a good chance you will end up with an 8-seater. Talk to Orbit directly and if still in doubt check with the rental car company to make sure you have what you think you ordered. As annoying as this is, it is far more annoying and just a tad stressful to arrive at Hertz expecting two 12-seaters only to find two 8-seaters.

For Staff

Staff Survey

All permanent and fixed-term staff members (including Graduate Teaching Assistants) employed before 1 April 2019 are invited to complete the Staff Survey.

UOA’s biennial Staff Survey is now open. Please see this link for clarification on staff survey categories. Your feedback is anonymous, confidential and important because it influences the Vice-Chancellor’s strategic plan. It will take ~25 mins to complete.

• GTA’s: please select the GTA button, not the ENV option.
• Technical staff: please select the ‘Technical Staff’ option, not the ENV option.

The Vice-Chancellor will share the results in July.

Distinguished Visitor Awards – Nominations Now open

The Distinguished Visitor Awards allow scholars who have made significant contributions to their discipline to visit and participate in the intellectual life of the University. Any member of our academic staff may make an application nominating a Distinguished Visitor with the support of your academic head and dean of the host faculty. Up to $10,000 is available for each award.
Full guidelines and the application form can be found at the DVA webpage on the staff intranet. Applications close Friday 5 July 2019 and must be submitted to your faculty contact by 5pm.
If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Research Strategy and Integrity on internalawards@auckland.ac.nz.

The 2019 Professorial Promotions Round

The closing date for applications for the 2019 Professorial Promotions Round is Monday 15 July 2019. 

As a reminder, please note the small change in the ‘Professorial Promotion Procedures’ from last year. Applicants are now requested to send applications to the Dean by 1 July in order that the Dean is able to send both the application and their Dean’s report to the office of the DVC(A) by 15 July. The revised timing will facilitate the meeting of the UASC Sub-committee and the identification of referees so that we can maintain our practice of making a final decision on promotions before the end of the year.

As stipulated in the Guidelines in Form HR94 : ‘Electronic copies of your five nominated publications must be sent in a separate file along with this application’. Where a publication is large, as in a book or an extensive report, applicants are requested to supply a ‘link’ to the electronic version of the specific publication where that is available, but in the absence of a ‘link’ an electronic version must be provided in a zipped file.

For your guidance, the 2019 application forms as provided on the HR intranet, are as below and can be found via: https://www.staff.auckland.ac.nz/en/human-resources/career-development/performance-and-development-reviews/academic-promotions.html

HR09 – Application for Academic Promotion
HR94 – Academic Career Portfolio for use with Academic Standards. (Note : A separate CV is no longer required) Together with the candidates 5 nominated publications – electronic version or web link.
HR28 – Referees – Applicant Nominations
HR80 – Dean’s Report – Academic Promotion to Professor

Rangahau – Research

Operational matters

Climate, Geophysics and Cartography

Blair will be looking after the Climate, Geophysics and Cartography labs and equipment for the near future.
Please direct all enquiries to him.

Meetings, seminars and events

Staff ENV Research Forum

May 21st, 12.00-2.00 pm (lunch provided at 1pm)
OGH, Federation of Graduate Women’s Suite

Please come and join the first Research Forum of the School of Environment.

The Rauhanga committee will host a 2-hour Strategic Research Forum on May 21st. We have invited two speakers to discuss the present national research context and how policies and politics are likely to shape research funding in the short and long-term. The talks would be followed by a debate to more directly involve staff from the School of Environment.

• Alison Collins, Science Advisor for the Ministry for the Environment Originally from Britain, Alison’s science interests include climate, land, water, ecosystems and data science. She is passionate about the role science has in government. Over the past 12 years while working for Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Alison has helped regional councils and central government agencies understand and prioritise their science needs, and improve their uptake and use of science.
• Rebecca Adams, Uniservices Rebecca is the Government Relations (strategic growth) Director at Auckland UniServices based in Wellington. Rebecca plays a bridging role in profiling the University of Auckland to Government and ensuring that researchers are aware of Government priorities and research opportunities. Rebecca plans to focus the presentation on the importance of socialising ideas with officials and other decision makers as part of taking ideas forward in Wellington. Alison will focus on strategic priorities at MFE and opportunities.

Please RSVP here by Thursday 16 May. Please send your apologies to Samantha (Samantha.huang@auckland.ac.nz).

The Postgrad Student Committee invites you to Ayrton Hamilton’s PhD Seminar

When/Where: May 22nd 4-5pm in 320-G20
Title: Siliceous sinters as dipsticks to epithermal mineralization
For further details please see the flyer and get ready for a great talk!

AusIMM talk: Michael Petterson “Continents colliding in the NW Himalayas, Karakoram and Tibet, and aspects of mineralisation”

Tuesday May 28 5:30PM for socialising with the talk starting at 6PM, Boardroom Anderson Lloyd, Level 3 Australis Nathan Bldg, 37 Galway St, Britomart, Auckland

This talk will look at tectonic models that attempt to explain the geo-mechanics of continental collision; examine mineralisation across this fascinating terrane, and include illustrated geo-traverses undertaken by the presenter in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ladakh, and Tibet. The Himalayas, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Tibet provide windows to continental collision and mountain building.  Here India and Eurasia have collided, as well as ancient island arcs, such as Kohistan-Ladakh. Michael Petterson is the first  Professor of Geology at Auckland University of Technology. For his PhD a at Leicester University  he studied the Kohistan island arc, N.Pakistan which led to a lifelong fascination, and opportunities to study aspects of the geology of the NW Himalayas. With the British Geological Survey (BGS), Michael was Head of Economic Minerals, Assistant Director, and Director of a  highly successful BGS- Afghanistan project.  On leaving BGS Michael became Professor of Applied Geology at Leicester University, then Director of the Geoscience Division of the Pacific Community (formerly SOPAC) based in Fiji.

Resilience to Nature’s Challenges & Natural Hazards Research Platform Forum

If you are interested in attending this forum, please register here.
Registration is free, and spaces are limited.
Link to the forum

Volcanology, Geochemistry, & Petrology Research Group

The volcanology, geochemistry, & petrology research group (VGP) meets every other week during the semester. Our next meeting will be on 23 May from 11 to 12 in 302-140. Mary-Anne and Jeff will be giving talks. For more information, please see our website: vgp.blogs.auckland.ac.nz  Hope to see you there!

The Rangahau Committee invites you all to a meeting with Jan Lindsay, Associate Dean of Science (Research)

Jan wants to present some of the new initiatives from the Faculty and will give a 20 minutes presentation entitled:
“Demystifying research support in the Faculty of Science”. A discussion (10 minutes) will follow.

Come and join us:
where: 302-130
when: 11am, 18th June

Funding and Research Opportunities

All funding calls can be found here

Student conference on Conservation Science (SCCS-Aus), Brisbane Australia, 2-10 July.

Four student scholarships are available for Māori or Pacific Islander students to attend this conference. SCCS conferences are a series designed especially for students that originated at Cambridge University (UK) and which have now taken off all around the world. The conference is for post-graduate students and early career researchers, from the Asia/Pacific region specifically, who are pursuing studies within the field of conservation science, including (but not limited to) ecology, environmental science, resource management, geography, economics, and social sciences.

These conferences are immensely beneficial for the participants future research work, providing opportunities to present work, to participate in workshops/training courses and to network with fellow students in the region. Full details of what is on offer can be seen at this website. Each scholarship will cover return airfares from New Zealand to Brisbane, airport transfers, accommodation, all meals during the conference, conference registration, all social events and workshops. Scholarship recipients would be responsible for their spending money and any costs in getting a passport. No visa is required to come to Australia.

We are only accepting 20 applications to enable quick processing and then an immediate offer of the 4 scholarships to successful applicants.  The offer will close once we receive the 20 applications.

Students should go to this online form to submit their application. No email applications will be accepted.

RSNZ Catalyst: Seeding – R2 April Call.

Due to Funds & Submissions by 5pm Tuesday 9 July 2019.
Funding call for Catalyst Seeding – Supports new small and medium pre-research strategic partnerships that cannot be supported through other means.

Funding call for Catalyst Leaders – Open to all fields of research, science and technology (including social sciences and the humanities).

Sustainable Future Research Theme – seeding fund

$10,000 of seed funding is available to nurture and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers within the Sustainable Future Research Theme. Interdisciplinary teams are invited to apply for funds via lightning presentations, which follow the format of one slide and a three minute talk. The lightning presentation event will be held on Thursday 6 June from 2pm. Teams can apply for between $2,000 and $5,000.
Please register for the lighting presentations event, noting whether you just have an idea you want to present or if you are going to present a seed funding proposal here by 30 May 2019.
(If you have problems using this link, please try logging in using your University google account –upi@aucklanduni.ac.nz or email Kathryn.howard@auckland.ac.nz indicating your interest in this opportunity)
For guidelines for what the funding can cover and how it must be spent, please contact Kathryn Howard (Kathryn.howard@auckland.ac.nz)

CRI and Ministry for the Environment (MfE) data analysis

ESR or the Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (the Crown Research Institute responsible for research involving people and communities) have indicated that they are keen to collaborate on data frameworks and systems usage to better utilise their data. The MfE is similarly interested in better utilising the data it obtains through reporting and monitoring of the environment. Please contact Hansol Cha if you’re interested in discussing this area of work further.

Auckland Council’s Auckland Climate Innovation System

Auckland Council is facilitating the establishment of an Auckland Climate Innovation System. This was identified as a flagship action from the recent Climate Symposium held in March. The discussion around the objectives, scope, key activities is in development and there is an opportunity for researchers to actively contribute to this initiative. For more information, please contact Analeise Murahidy.

Research in action

Drilling core of the oldest life on land

Drilling core of the oldest life on land funded by the RSNZ Marsden Fund. Michaela Dobson is doing her PhD on this project.The exciting finds so far are hot spring geyserite, asteroid impact spherules, and stromatolites (layers of microbes and minerals) made out of pyrite (‘fool’s gold’).

Drill rig in Pilbara, Western Australia

Fly nets: (R to L) Michaela, Kathy & UNSW student on drill site

3.5 billion year old hot spring geyserite – a one-in-a-million find, proof of earliest life on land

Prize core: 3.5 billion year old pyrite stromatolites (dark, right), hot spring geyserite (swirly, middle), pillow basalt (green, left)

Ako – Teaching and Learning

Postgraduates Matter

Who do I send forms to? This is a reminder that any postgraduate forms needing sign-off from the HOD or postgraduate committee need to go through the Academic Services Coordinator Mikael Johannisson-Wallman (m.johannisson-wallman@auckland.ac.nz). These forms are stored centrally and then distributed appropriately for signing. Please do not directly send forms to the academic staff for signing- this makes it much more difficult to keep student records complete and increases the likelihood of forms going missing.

May 23rd is the Faculty of Science Postgraduate Information Evening. This is a recruiting event for postgraduate programs that runs from 5:30 to 7pm in the foyer of 302. While academic advisors will be on site it is always appreciated when other staff/students turn up.

3-minute thesis competition. This will be going on at the same time as the FoS Postgrad evening. This event is open to PhD AND MSc students. If you haven’t entered already, you should do so – it’s only 3 minutes and it is a good experience. Everyone else – let’s try to have a good showing to support the PhD students who are competing. To apply:

• Read more about the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition, what resources are available, our past winners and the 3MT® competitor guide.
• Make sure you understand all the rules and entry conditions and judging criteria.
• To enter the Science heats 3MT competition, register here. Registrations close 15 May.
• Remember to check and book in for the specialised 3MT® workshops
  • Monday 29 April | Three Minute Thesis (3MT) preparation workshop
  • Friday 10 May | Hugh Kearns: Presenting your research with confidence
  • Wednesday 15 May | Presenting research at seminars, events and conferences [Doctoral only]

Classified Ads

Job in ENV: Senior Technician – Geochemistry

The School is seeking a Senior Technician in Geochemistry to provide technical support in our Microprobe lab and to provide support for academic research programmes primarily within the School of Environment.

Applications close 26th May.
Please pass this to anyone who might be interested.

For further details please see here.

Research Geology Position at CVO-USGS

U.S. Geological Survey’s Cascades Volcano Observatory seeks to hire a research geologist as a permanent appointment at the GS-13 grade level ($94,425-122,750 per year). Minimum experience required is the equivalent of a PhD in geology or a related field as well as one year of postdoctoral research. The incumbent will serve as the principal investigator of volcanic eruption processes and history, especially in (but not limited to) the Cascade Range, with the purpose of interpreting and, as appropriate, forecasting volcanic eruptions. The successful candidate will need to have experience studying volcanic phenomena and their derivative processes by means of field investigations in volcanic terrain, analogue experiments and modeling, and in addition show an ability to integrate that work with insights gained from work in related interdisciplinary fields (e.g., physical chemistry, Quaternary geology, geochronology, atmospheric physics, fluid mechanics, grain-flow mechanics, seismology, geodesy, and/or remote sensing). It will also be necessary to demonstrate an ability to publish research in high impact scientific journals and show evidence of stature amongst professional colleagues. Applicants must be U.S. citizens. The U.S. Geological Survey is an equal-opportunity employer. Applicants must apply for the position via USA Jobs https://www.usajobs.gov/. More detailed information may be found at the USA Jobs vacancy number SAC-2019-0202. Closing date for applications is May 21, 2019. Further inquiries about the scientific nature of the position may be directed to James Vallance of the U.S. Geological Survey (jvallance@usgs.gov). Inquiries about how to apply should be directed to pacsac1@usgs.gov.
Use this link for more details about the position: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/532396200

HeadSup

Kia ora koutou

People are continuing to come and go on Level 6. Hayley who did a terrific job setting up P-cubed has headed off to Australia for a new adventure and shortly Chris will be leaving his role as Academic Services Coordinator to take up a new opportunity in timetabling. Thank you and we wish you both well. Happily, Alex has arrived as Simrin’s replacement – welcome.

I’m delighted to highlight the inaugural ENV Careers Expo, an initiative that developed because one of our PG students saw a gap that needed filling and had the energy and perseverance to make something happen. Good job Michaela! It would be great to see lots of students pass through the Expo; please give it a big plug in classes and encourage research students along.

In the last budget we were awarded three new positions for the School (PTF environmental science/Pacific; S/SL Earth Sciences: Prof Environmental Management). Some of you may be wondering where we are up to in the appointments process. All advertisements are now closed. Currently we are interviewing for the PTF position and hope to have an outcome in the next few weeks. For the Earth Sciences position we have selected an initial short-list and are arranging skype interviews so that we can narrow the field to 2 or 3 people who will be invited for face-to-face interviews and presentations. The Professorial position is in the short-listing phase.

Lastly, it is super exciting to see Shane’s efforts to secure a new top-end microprobe pay off. Together with our LA-ICPMS, XRF and ITRAX, this piece of kit cements our first-class geochemical analytical capability. We expect to start commissioning mid-year with full operation anticipated September. Now is your chance to improve the School’s research and teaching infrastructure and assets: the 2020 CapEx round is open!

For your Diary

Faculty research induction day

The Faculty Research Support team is planning a Research Induction Afternoon for new staff, and staff who feel they would like to have a refresher on research support.

This will take place on 15 April 2019, 1.00 pm – 6.00 pm (with 5.00 pm – 6.00 pm for refreshments and networking); Location: 303-G15

This session will cover a range of topics including where to go for research support, what funds are available and how to apply for them, and the importance of impact and Vision Mātauranga in grant proposals. If you have specific topics you would like covered please let us know. For more information, please contact Wendy Rhodes or  Kathryn Howard.

This has been advertised in the faculty; please encourage any new staff to attend. RSVP to Brittany Bennenbroek by 8 April 2019.

Funding success

International Central Network and Partnership Grant – Sila has been awarded funding to establish links with the Australasian Spatial Information Education and Research Association (ASIERA) – we look forward to hearing more about this association.

Welcome to the school! 

Your new Group Services Administrator (Simrin’s replacement)

A very warm welcome to Alexandra Soudlenkova who is the newest member of the Group Services team and joined the School on 20^th March as Group Services Administrator.

Alex brings with her excellent organisational and administrative skills having spent the last 10 years as a Pharmacist. Her attention to detail and excellent interpersonal skills give us every confidence she will do a great job supporting the School of Environment.

Alex is based on Level 6 (Environment Reception), so please feel free to introduc yourself to Alex when you pass by and welcome her to the School.

“Hello the Enviro world,

My name is Alexandra Soudlenkova, and as I’m sure you know, I’m the new Group Services Administrator for the School of Environment. Please, don’t hesitate to reach out with anything you need, I’m happy to help!

I’m really looking forward to getting up to speed in this new position – I know I have some big shoes to fill! If you have any quick tips for success in this role, don’t hold back 😊

Happy to be part of the team,

Alexandra – And, yes, Alex will do just fine 😊” 

New Intern with Dr Lorna

A very warm welcome to Joshua Malone, a 3^rd year Geology major from Augustana College, USA, who is completing an 8 week internship with Dr Lorna Strachan. Joshua will be working on the deep marine deposit that was triggered by the Kaikoura 2016 earthquake and deposited for at least 600 km along the deep marine Hikurangi Channel. 

New PhD with Dr Jennifer 

Welcome to the school, new PhD student Pablo Aguilera who has joined the School of Environment and is currently developing a project relating to geothermal systems in his home country of Columbia

2020 CapEx Applications

We are now accepting applications for the 2020 CapEx round.

You should have received the application form in your email this morning.  Please return these to Blair by the end of April 19th.

If you have already submitted an application then you don’t need to do it again.

ENV fundraiser for Christchurch

The horrific white supremacist terrorist attack in Christchurch on Friday 15th March which left 50 dead and many more injured, saddened and appalled us all.
The School of Environment held a fundraising morning tea and bake sale to raise funds to support the victims and their families. The morning tea saw us coming together as a community, by bringing a plate in the spirit of whanaungatanga and manaakitanga. As we remembered the victims, we also celebrated our diverse origins in the School of Environment by bringing food we associated with home. With the help of ENV student volunteers we also held a bake sale in the foyer of Building 302.

Thanks to the generous donations made during the morning tea and the bake sale, we raised $2394 which was donated to Christchurch Shooting Victims’ Fund.

Learn how to take Environment photos for website and publications

You should have all received JR’s email invitation to join the University’s senior designer, Ashley Marshall, for a special presentation on the guidelines we need to keep in mind for our images to be considered for use on University webpages and in publications.

This is your chance to find out how students give their permission for their image to be used; what orientation and size images need to be; specific branding requirements and other hints and tips for University images.

Please make every effort to attend this presentation as we would love to see more of our own photos used.

Please RVSP your attendance to Samantha Huang using our handy google form and save this date in your calendar or diary: 9 April 2019 | 11am – 11.30am | Room 302-140

Available Scholarships

Please follow the links to the University website for more information 

Craig Memorial Scholarship

Market Economics Geography Masters Research Scholarship

Norman Thom Award

R J Mowat Scholarship in Geology

R N Brothers Memorial Award

School of Environment Maori Masters Thesis Scholarship

Flu Season is upon us! 

Flu vaccinations begin next week, staff see more information about getting yours here~

School of Environment Careers Expo

When/Where? 3^rd April 1.30-3.00 pm
Room 302-140 (Science building)

Do you study Earth Science, Physical Geography, Environmental Science and/or Human Geography and want a job?

Some of the Companies attending:

• ENGEO
• BECA
• Auckland Council Emergency Management
• Morphum
• Aurecom
• Auckland Council RIMU
• Tonkin + Taylor

The School of Environment Student Experience Committee

The Student Experience Committee has been established to support and enhance student learning while fostering positive experiences for all students within the School. As part of this initiative the Committee has a small pot of money available to support activities that encourage student retention. We are also keen to develop a student mentoring programme, so if you have specific students in your undergraduate classes that might benefit from a little assistance then please get in touch. For more information please contact Joe j.fagan@auckland.ac.nz

VGP research group meeting

The volcanology, geochemistry, and petrology (VGP) research group will be meeting on 11 April in 302-140 from 11 to 12. During this meeting, Sophia Tsang and Mike Rowe will be giving talks.

Geosciences group meeting

Next Marine Geosciences group meeting moved to Thu 11 April, 1-2 pm (from Mon 8 April)

School of Environment Facebook page

• The School facebook page is constantly seeking content. We have a large (~1400) and diverse group of followers who are very engaged in School happenings.
• Content that works well includes: field trip photos, staff/students in the media, photos generate a lot more engagement than text, staff successes (if there’s a photo and plain English text to accompany), student successes (i.e. a photo of a PhD student submitting their thesis tends to work well).
• Content that does not work well includes: lengthy posts (3-4 sentence max is usually best), routine admin type announcements (seminars etc.), links to academic papers and anything that appears to be too much like a sales pitch.
• Send photos/text to m.ford@auckland.ac.nz  and he will post.

Outreach event needs volunteers!

The DEVORA (Determining Volcanic Risk in Auckland), QuakeCore, AUGA (Auckland University Geoscience Association) outreach group is taking our natural hazards lab to MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology). The annual science street fair draws 2000 visitors, and we have fun telling them about volcanoes, earthquakes, rocks, and earthquake engineering. This year we need help! 

The event runs 10 am – 4 pm on Sunday 7 April.

Please get in touch if you have a couple of hours to play. No experience required! We will teach you all you need to know.

Here is the description for visitors: 

Have you ever seen an erupting volcano? Felt an earthquake? Would you like to learn more about why volcanoes erupt and earthquakes shake? Build a house to see if it would stand up in an earthquake? Come to the natural hazards lab to do some fun volcano-related experiments and see examples of explosive and oozing eruption styles. Learn about earthquakes and why and how they rock and roll. Talk to volcanologists, seismologists, and earthquake engineers from The University of Auckland. All ages of kids and kids-at-heart are welcome!

Kaitoke Dunes at Claris on Great Barrier Island

Recent Hood fellow Monica Turner is a landscape ecologist whose foundational work in the field centred on the massive Yellowstone fires of 1988. To round out a productive and enlightening visit to Auckland, she was treated to a visit to one of the sites of New Zealand’s most recent and destructive fires – the Kaitoke Dunes at Claris on Great Barrier Island. As a regular site for teaching and research for George Perry, and the subject of Riki Taylor’s MSc thesis, they were able to show off many of the ecological highs and the lows of the island. These features range from endemic plants and recovering native bird populations, to the much-maligned (and usually overlooked by visitors) Kaitoke fire site.

Caption: L-R: Monica Turner, Riki Taylor, George Perry and James Brock amongst post-fire regrowth at the Kaitoke dunes.

Coastal Seminar Galore

When: Wednesday April 3rd 11.00-13.00

Where: Coastal Lab (4^th Floor)

Eli Lazarus (University of Southampton): “Before the excavators arrive: dynamics of flood deposition in built environments” 
Ana Rueda (University of Cantabria): “Deep learning in coastal waters”
Edwin Bayes (University of Auckland): something experimental (he has done some of the coolest lab experiments i have seen)
Karin Bryan (University of Waikato): something on mangroves and their effect on hydro- and morphodynamics (Karin needs no introduction. she does super cool research)

Each talk will be 20 minutes with 5-10 minutes for discussion. It’s all reasonably disorganized so please contact Giovanni for more details.

Eli Lazarus (University of Southampton) is visiting UoA to work on coastal hazards. He has worked on river morphodynamics and human interactions. He is based in Giovanni’s office. Give him a call if you wanted to meet him.

Funding call for the RSNZ – James Cook Research Fellowship 2019

The James Cook Research Fellowships are awarded to researchers who have achieved national and international recognition in their area of scientific research.
Click here to read further information 

NZARB

Invite you to submit an abstract to present at our upcoming conference in Napier on the 14th and 15th November 2019
click here to read further information

Perspectives on the origin, nature, and limits of life

When/Where? 9th April, The Great Hall (105-101) 22 Princes St

Click here for more information and RSVP details

Geographical society newsletter

The Auckland branch of NZGS promotes the activities of geographers and the development of the discipline in the Auckland region. It has proven an effective platform for hosting and sponsoring public seminars and workshops, and talks by prominent local and international geographers

Read the newsletter here

Classified Ads

Plan cabinet surplus to requirements. 5-drawers, mdf. Contact Louise Cotterall lm.cotterall@auckland.ac.nz if interested. They will fit into a station wagon if there’s no room in your office!

A surplus pinboard is available outside Mel Wall’s office (301-437). Free to any taker

HeadSUP

As salaam-alaikum, peace be upon you. This beautiful islamic greeting will have been offered and answered many times as people arrived last Friday for prayer at the Al Noor and Linwood Mosques. The callous slaughter that ensued is heart-wrenching and affecting on many levels. My thoughts are with those who were there, those who have lost their loved ones, and to the many who became involved.

This atrocity is an afront to everyone and was designed to instil fear amongst our Muslim communities.

To all our Muslim whanau, we stand with you in grief and dismay. As you are brave in going about your daily lives, we all must be brave in speaking out as bystanders when we bear witness to disrespectful or bigoted behaviour, no matter who is targeted.

We value diversity, inclusivity and equity for all.

Ngā mihi – JR

How to support your students

• Take time to acknowledge what has happened
• Reassure students that whatever they are feeling – shock, fear, anger, anxiety, sadness – are completely normal reactions after a traumatic event such as this
• Slow things down, go gently
• Remind them that connection is important – look out for each other
• Affirm that they have our support, and that the University is committed to keeping them safe
• Direct them to the Student Health and Counselling Service – (09) 923 7681 or email generalmanagerUHCS@auckland.ac.nz – if they feel they want/need a deeper conversation about the incident (most staff are not qualified to help at that level, but our trained counsellors are)
• Remind them they can also contact the 1737 number (Need to Talk) if they want to talk to a trained counsellor

Staff needing support can contact the Employee Assistance Programme team on 0800 327 669, emailauckland@eapservices.co.nz or online at https://www.eapservices.co.nz/contact/

The Maclaurin Chapel will be open for everyone (regardless of religion or beliefs) from 9.00am to 5.00pm during this week. The Chapel is a place of quiet reflection and korero, where students and staff can take time out for themselves

Vale: Ron Keam

Ron Keam, a friend and colleague to many of us, died on 6 February. For many years Ron was a fixture in the Physics Department, sometimes it seemed literally. He taught geophysics and persuaded some of us in the geology stream that the maths actually was possible and did mean something. But more importantly, Ron had a great passion…the 1886 Tarawera volcanic eruption. His book on the subject is wonderful (http://www.tarawera.com) and his recent paper (Keam, R., 2016.

The Tarawera eruption, Lake Rotomahana, and the origin of the Pink and White Terraces, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 314, 10-38) is geopoetry – a good read for everyone. But, of all Ron’s research outputs, a favourite has to be his bathymetric map of Frying Pan Lake, Waimangu, which famously includes the statement ‘not for navigational purposes’. Ron will be missed.​

Fundraising morning tea Wednesday 20^th March, 10:30-11:30am

All proceeds to the Christchurch Shooting Victims’ Fund

The horrific white supremacist terrorist attack in Christchurch last Friday which left 50 dead and many more injured has saddened and appalled us all.

The School of Environment is holding a fundraising morning tea this Wednesday 20^th March at 1030-1130am in the Level 6 breakout space of Building 302. Please bring a cash donation, all proceeds to Victim Support: Christchurch Shooting Victims’ Fund.

If you are able can you please “bring a plate” of food to share with everyone at the morning tea. Bringing a plate is about whanaungatanga and manaakitanga, a tradition in Aotearoa/New Zealand of coming together as a community. To celebrate our diverse origins in the School, it would be great if you could bring food you associate with home.

Any leftovers will be taken to a table in the 302 foyer to be sold by our student associations to raise further funds for Christchurch Victim Support.

Please direct any questions to Mel Wall (m.wall@auckland.ac.nz)

HoS Weekly Open Door Sessions

JR will be having her Open Door Sessions in her office on every Wednesday, 11:30am – 12:30pm, starting from 20 March. Staff and students are all welcome to walk in without making an appointment and quickly talk to JR about any issues. However, for any other issue which requires formal discussion, please book a meeting with JR through Samantha (Samantha.huang@auckland.ac.nz).

ENV Committees and documents

Many of the School of Environment’s Committees will in future be storing documents and resources on Google Team Drives. Members of each committee will be given access and in each case these will be accessible only by those members. In effect, these will replace other storage sites such as the School’s network drives or the Sharepoint. In addition, it should reduce the need to email attachments and to provide easier access to archived documents and to the sharing of resources.

A whole-School Team Drive will be created for all members of the School to access. This will have folders for the Minutes of the various committees, as well as other documents of a general interest.

A word of your Gmail account

While this will be old news for many of you it is worth reminding you that every member of staff has a University Gmail account. This will be your username followed by @aucklanduni.ac.nz. With this you get a Google drive account with unlimited file storage.

Your Google drive offers both:

• a personal My drive – where you can store your own files; and you may share these with others, if you wish; and
• a Team Drives – which are shared by specific groups. ENV committees will have their own Team Drive.

Please note that you should use your UoA Gmail account when accessing Team Drives and files shared with you. Most of you will have a personal Gmail account and it can cause confusion if you use that one instead.

The EARTHSCI 703

Understanding Hydrothermal Systems – class jumped straight into the field at the start of the semester to investigate surface manifestations of geothermal systems between Rotorua and Taupo, as lead by Kathy Campbell and Earth Science PhD students Irene Wallis and Ayrton Hamilton.
The lively group of students tested and applied conceptual models of how different fluid compositions come about when hot water interacts with the surrounding country rock to produce a wide variety of other-worldly land surface features which bring flocks of tourists and earth scientists to our shores every year from around the world. Ubiquitous signs of dynamic volcanism, active faulting and extremophile microbes living in the hot water added to the mix and created a buzz amongst the students as they traced, photographed and mapped the products of the inner workings of the Earth’s heat and tectonic engines under the shadow of brooding Mt Tarawera, colourful Rainbow Mountain, and deceptively calm Lake Taupo, site of NZ’s own currently resting supervolcano.

HeadSUP

Great to see so many new students about the campus and at the Faculty of Science pōwhiri where we welcomed them onto our marvellous Waipapa Marae and they transitioned from being manuhiri (visitors) to whanau (family). Be sure to give them a warm welcome over the next few weeks and take special care of the lost ones. Many of you have helped out during orientation – a big job, thanks very much!

As we head into the start of the semester, good luck to all our new academic staff, GTAs and TAs. Teaching can be a lot of fun, and challenging. Mel Wall is leading the Teaching and Learning Innovation Team – if you hit a snag or want some ideas about course organisation and strategies to improve learning, don’t be shy in making contact.

Other news: Professor Joel Baker has resigned his academic position with UOA effective from 1 March and has switched onto a 2-year part-time position to focus on his research projects and PG students. Joel has put in huge effort over the past few years in the research space, supporting many of us with our research applications. Thanks Joel! We look forward to hearing news of the speleothem project, which is getting exciting with high-resolution dates coming in.

And, Simrin Ahmed has been promoted to a new position and will be leaving us soon – thanks for looking after us so well, we will miss you!

The QS subject rankings were released last week: great news for Geography, up one place to 28. Earth and Marine Science stayed in the top 100 and Environmental Science is in the top 150.

Lastly, if you are a new (or old student), keep an eye out for Joe Fagan, who is back from a year cycling around the world. Joe is heading the Student Experience Committee – we’re in for a good ride!​

New Zealand Geographical Society Excellence in Geography Awards

The New Zealand Geographical Society at the Awards Ceremony being held on Tuesday 12^th March.

Please click here for more information

funding calls for all of our major research funders (for staff)

The Funds and Submissions Team have compiled a list of funding calls for all of our major research funders. Check it out:

https://www.staff.auckland.ac.nz/en/research-gateway/research-support-gateway/identify–explore-and-create-opportunities/finding-funding/funding-calls.html”

Price list for casuals (for staff)

Do you need to “price” the cost of a casual contract (for internal or external funding applications) Here’s a useful page that addresses costs per hour for 2019.

Click here for the cost list

New pages to P-Cubed!

P-Cubed is expanding! If you haven’t seen already – we have added a “How to do stuff” page (here). This page will be a helpful resource to get stuff done within the School of Environment. We will also be adding “classified ads” at the bottom of each blog post, for in-house advertising – you can see this at the bottom of this post.
Check it out!

Farewell to Simrin

Our Group Services Administrator, Simrin Ahmed will be moving on from the School of Environment on the 15^th March.  Simrin was successful in her application for a Research Programme Coordinator position (Supporting Physics and Chem).  This is fantastic opportunity for Simrin and a great step in her career progression.  Simrin has done a fantastic job supporting both the school of Environment, as well as being a highly engaged member of our Group Services team, she will be sorely missed.  The search for Simrin’s replacement is underway and the School will be updated once an appointment has been made.

Health and safety reminder

Field work

Field activity is any work carried out for the purpose of teaching, research or representing the University off-site, where facility for health and safety is not managed by another host institution.
Any time you wish to undertake field work you need to complete a Field Activity Plan (copy attached) before you undertake the work.

All of the documents relating to field work at the University can be found here http://www.env.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/our-school/health-safety-and-wellbeing.html.
If you are unsure if your work requires a field activity plan then please ask Blair.

Driving assessments and ENV vehicles 

You will need to undergo a driving assessment (just once) if you wish to drive any of the School vehicles; assessments are booked through Blair. The use of private vehicles for University work is only approved in exceptional circumstances.  The School has a fleet of vehicles to use which includes 2x Utes, 1x Van and 1x 7 Seater SUV.

All of the vehicles have automatic transmissions and can be booked through https://appis.sit.auckland.ac.nz/admin/CarScience/ Vehicles have fuel cards and are billed against the charge code you supply when making the booking. Your students need to complete assessments as well, so don’t forget to tell them.

PhD proposal Seminar 

Title: Reef Islands from Space: A Remote Sensing -Machine Learning Approach to Identify the Drivers of Reef Island Change in the Pacific
Presenter: Meghna Sengupta
When/Where: Tuesday 5 March 12PM, 302-140

Click here for more information 

PSC Career Forum

The love and enthusiasm for science do not necessarily translate into staying in academia after obtaining a postgraduate degree. Yes, for some it does, you could get a PhD, a couple of postdoc positions, and then become a professor or a researcher full time. However, more than 50% of all doctoral degree holders work outside academia or research. So, what non-academic options are out there in the real world if you decide academia is not for you?

This Career Forum will try to answer this question and hopefully help you define career choices as you work towards and finish your postgraduate degree.

Computer labs

To those who teach in the computer labs.  Please check software as soon as possible this week.  There is still room for emergency changes.  Please contact Ingo (i.pecher@auckland.ac.nz) if you have any problems – will forward to IT.

Leapfrog changes

Leapfrog licensing is changing — we still get academic licenses but they are now to individual users, rather than dongles.  Anyone who is using Leapfrog, please contact Ingo (i.pecher@auckland.ac.nz) by Fri. 15 March.

Research Support Team Updates

It has been a really busy time with Marsden and MBIE proposals. Thanks very much for your understanding until the round is over!

Funding call for RSNZ – Rutherford Discovery Fellowship has just been released. More info on: Rutherford Discovery Fellowship 2019

“The Funds and Submissions Team have compiled a list of funding calls for all of our major research funders. Check it out:

https://www.staff.auckland.ac.nz/en/research-gateway/research-support-gateway/identify–explore-and-create-opportunities/finding-funding/funding-calls.html”

You should check with JR also the following one (related to the attached one):

Do you need to “price” the cost of a casual contract (for internal or external funding applications)? Here’s a useful page that addresses costs per hour for 2019. (and you need to do some magic and add a link to the file attached)

Tree-Ring Lab news

Prof. Neil Loader and Dr Giles Young (Prifysgol Abertawe / Swansea University UK) visited the Tree-Ring Lab for two weeks in February, on an exchange programme supported by a Royal Society of New Zealand Catalyst Grant. Neil and Giles are part of the Dendro Isotope group at Swansea, using tree ring stable isotope ratios to reconstruct climate of the past and for dating wood in circumstances where conventional dendrochronology may not work. We are collaborating on a project exploring the potential for isotopic dating of archaeological wood in New Zealand using kauri, matai and miro. Their visit included meeting Alan Hogg, Waikato Radiocarbon Dating Lab, and fieldwork at Pureora Forest and Huapai Scientific Reserve. Neil will make a second visit at the end of the year, when we hope to have some interesting results to report from our research.

Photo: Gretel, Neil and Giles and Pouakani, a very large totara tree, near Pureora Forest.

Mentoring

The School of Environment is currently looking to review and expand the mentoring scheme currently in place. Mentoring takes on a variety of different forms, but aims to provides support, information and knowledge sharing, tailored to individual needs. It might be formalised or informal and take the form of a partnership with more experienced staff or a peer support group. It is always a mutually agreed negotiated relationship and does not usually involve a direct line manager.

The current mentoring model formalises the mentor / mentee relationship for new staff pre-continuation as required by the Faculty of Science. This type of mentoring is considered developmental and instrumental and is intended to guide the mentee through the Institutional process of gaining continuation using a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable,  Relevant, Time-bound) goal setting process. Mentors meet with mentees every 3 months to review progress, strategize and set new priorities and goals where appropriate. This is separate from the Faculty run Early Career Mentoring Scheme which Jan Lindsay coordinates. More details can be found about this here.

Other types of mentoring which we see within the school is more informal, and ad hoc. Individuals might ask senior colleagues or peers for advice surrounding a particular issue such as promotion, teaching evaluations, or sabbatical or maternity leave. Meetings might take place regularly or as required and are usually prompted by a request from the mentee rather than a ‘nag’ from the mentor.

If you would like to find out more about what the School currently offers you can find this here. The University of Auckland also has a number of formal mentoring programmes in operation which you can read about on the University of Auckland Mentoring and Coaching resources website.

Would you like a mentor within the School of Environment?

We would like all forms of mentoring especially peer mentoring and SMART objective setting type mentoring to be available to everyone and are looking to pilot new schemes and build new partnerships based on demand. If you would like a mentor to help with a specific process or issue or just general advice on career progression and time management please let me know.

Would you like to be a mentor? 

If you would like to be a mentor and support colleagues please also let me know. More information about the mentoring process can also be found here.

Do you have an experience of mentoring (either formal or informal)?

I’m really keen to hear any comments that you may have (positive or negative) about your experience either as a mentor or mentee. I’d like to understand better what works and what doesn’t, and what you think is currently missing from the process, from both perspectives. Any suggestions regarding the future development of the mentoring programme would also be warmly received.

Teaching Cultures Survey

The University of Auckland is taking part in the Teaching Cultures Survey, a survey in which 13 universities across the world are participating. Like this wider group of universities, we are looking to understand more about how the status of teaching and learning is viewed by the academic community.  This will help inform the ongoing development of the University’s teaching and learning strategy.  Following this 2019 survey, our aim is to repeat the survey in 2021 and 2023 to track any changes in staff views.

The survey (here) is seeking your views about the status of university teaching at the University of Auckland.  The survey comprises 22 check box response items.  It should take no longer than 6 minutes to complete.  It will be open from 18 February to 6 March.

Taking part is voluntary and confidential: aside from Faculty affiliation, gender and years of service at the University no personal information is collected. Your data are anonymous, stored and transferred securely and used only for the purpose of this survey. The University will not have access to these data.  The study is being conducted by independent researchers based in the United Kingdom, who will manage the data collection and storage in accordance with established research standards. By completing the survey you are giving consent for your responses to be used in the study. Your data will not be shared with the university nor with any third party and it will not be used for anything other than this research.  Further information about the survey is given on the attached information sheet.

The university will receive a report setting out the findings from their own institution and be able to compare these with the aggregated results from other participating universities. Where the number of survey participants in a particular group at Auckland is small, findings will be presented in ways that protect anonymity, for example, by combining groups.

We very much hope that you will support this study by completing the survey.  Should you have any questions about the survey please feel free to contact me – g.aitken@auckland.ac.nz

You can read the information leaflet here

Sustainability teaching module

As most of you know the sustainability teaching module starts this year with SUSTAIN 100 running in the second semester. I’ve attached two flyers – one about SUSTAIN 100 and one about the module as a whole. Please feel free to share these and promote the module as appropriate.

If you are interested in contributing to the teaching of any of the courses, you are invited to a meeting on Wednesday 27 February from 10 – 11.30am in 302.230. If you can’t make the meeting but are interested, please email me. We will also approach people for one-off guest lectures or to be on a panel about our case studies on water, population (SUSTAIN 100), food, inequality (SUSTAIN 200) and atmosphere (SUSTAIN 300).

Read here for more information 

Introductory GIS Workshop

Introductory GIS course is being organised for the interested graduate and postgraduate students during the semester break.

Click here to complete the expression of interest survey 

Service Delivery Model for Libraries and Learning Services – Te Tumu Herenga

In 2018 Libraries and Learning Services – Te Tumu Herenga undertook a review of its services and structure. As a result of this review there are now four new functions that deal directly with staff and students:

1. Client Services: Deal with questions raised through the Ask us portal on the LLS – TTH home page or face to face through libraries and information commons, connecting you with the correct functional expert as necessary
2. Research Services: Provide advice to you and PhD students on resources and tools to help shape your research projects by enabling discovery, use, sharing, and management of information.
3. Learning and Teaching Development: Work with you and students to design, develop and integrate resources which foster students’ academic skills development
4. Academic Engagement: Work with faculty and LSRI leadership and committees to identify strategic areas of need, promote new and existing services, resources and technologies and connect you with functional experts, services and collections

To facilitate working together our faculty has a support team comprising an Academic Engagement Adviser and at least one Research Services Adviser and one Learning and Teaching Development Adviser. Our team is listed below. You can also find their details on the Contact us section of the LLS – TTH website. Please feel free to contact them directly with research or learning and teaching questions.

Academic Engagement Adviser: Justene McNeice
Learning and Teaching Development Advisers: Liz Hardley, Sumia Quazi
Research Advisers: Jo Simons, Derryl Hayman
Māori Academic Engagement Adviser: Manuhiri HuatahiPacific Academic Engagement Adviser: Judy McFall-McCaffery

Any general queries can be raised through Ask us or directly with a Client Services team member when you visit LLS – TTH in person. If you wish to order a new resource for the collection this can be done via the online recommendation form.

Welcome new MSc Student

Please welcome intern MSc student Thibault Romao visiting from the University of Bordeaux, France.  Thibault is visiting us for 5 months and working on Antarctic marine sediment core and bathymetry data from offshore Adelie Land with Dr Lorna Strachan and Dr Helen Bostock (NIWA). He is based on the 4th floor of building 302, please say hello!

The 2019 Darcy Lecture Series in Groundwater Science

Click here to read more information

Classified Ads

Sabbatical Accommodation

Three bedroom furnished house in Mt Albert available for 3-12 month period from mid-June 2019. Family-friendly large yard, fenced with trees and gardens. Modern kitchen, two bathrooms. Easy (20-30min) travel to city campus by train and/or bus. Close to primary and secondary schools, parks, and shopping. Further information, contact: Robin Kearns   r.kearns@auckland.ac.nz

HeadSUP

Exciting news this week, with Brendon Blue winning post-doc funding from the George Mason Centre and Kathy Campbell and Te Ao Mārama getting the nod for the next Vice-Chancellor’s Lecture Series.

Geoff Lerner’s excellent Bulletin of Volcanology paper on the explosive history of Mt Taranaki generated media interest, and George Perry featured in the UK Guardian’s piece on the Nelson fires.

Last week the ENV staff got together over lunch for the first meeting of the year, a chance to reflect on our shared and individual objectives for 2019 in the context of the school’s three pillars – Ako (Teaching & Learning), Rangahau (Research) and Whanaungatanga (Communities).

Robin Kearns will continue working with the academic committee in the Head of Ako role, Giovanni Coco is Head of Rangahau and working with the research committee, and Karen Fisher is heading Whanaungatanga, which will involve the outreach, student experience and equity committees.

Lastly, well done and fingers-crossed for everyone who submitted a Marsden application, good luck to those of us who are on the final sprint to the MBIE Endeavour funding deadline, and enjoy your last days of quiet in the run-up to Semester 1!

Ngā mihi
JR

ENV Strategic Plan 2019-2021

Every year come August the School submits a 3-year rolling strategic plan to Faculty. The plan includes objectives for the years ahead, a review of progress against objectives previously set, and a wish-list for resourcing, generally related to staffing and infrastructure.

Operation of the school plan is shared, right down to the individual, via our committee structure and academic groups. This year’s plan, much like the plans before, sets out aspirational objectives. Effective operation of the plan requires creative and strategic input by everyone.

The plan is always developed through consultation via the academic groups and executive committee (now steering group). This year we will create space in the mid-year retreat for discussion of progress against the 2019-2021 plan and priorities for the 2020-2022 plan.

Perspectives on Life in the Universe

Te Ao Mārama – Centre for Fundamental Enquiry, with Kathy Campbell of ENV as director, has been awarded the VC Lecture Series for 2019/2020.

Leading international astrophysicists and astrobiologists will be brought together with researchers at the University of Auckland to explore fundamental questions about the nature and evolution of the universe and its life.  Te Ao Mārama—Centre for Fundamental Inquiry, a new research centre in the Faculty of Science with members from across the University, is committed to addressing big questions — the search for life in the universe, the origin and nature of life itself, and the understandings of such questions across cultures, and underpinning philosophical issues — in a way that transcends disciplinary boundaries. The series will include lectures, as well as a planned panel discussion moderated by Kim Hill, contingent on scheduling later this year.

“Watch this space” for more information later in the year.

Annual Leave

All staff including research fellows and research assistants accrue annual leave at a rate of 25 days per year, pro-rata according to FTE. This total includes the standard university holidays at Easter and over the Christmas-New Year break. Note that leave accrues when on Research and Study Leave, and Maternity Leave.

Annual leave is important for health and wellbeing and we encourage everyone, including those on R&SL, to take their full entitlement every year. It is ENV policy to complete a LEAVE PLANNER and return it to Samantha (Samantha.huang@auckland.ac.nz), who will enter these dates into PeopleSoft HR on your behalf.

Thank you to those who have sent through your leave planners for 2019.

Have you accrued leave from previous years? Accrued leave poses a significant financial risk to the school. If you have leave owing, please make a plan to clear this leave within the current year or within the term of your contract, whichever comes up first.

From the Research Committee

Board Award

Marian Cranwell Prize ($3,000)

The Prize will be awarded annually to the student who, in the opinion of the selection panel, completed the best thesis or dissertation focusing on the areas of environmental or ecological science, including the cultural history of environmental areas, in fulfillment of the requirements for a Masters or PhD degree.
This is open to SoE students!

PBRF 2019

The call is out! Apply, apply and apply!

Conference Fund

Here are some useful details.

• Each PBRF eligible member of staff is entitled to apply for up to $3500 to support the attendance at a conference within a three-year window.
• We are currently within the 2018-2020 conference fund window.
• The University and School allocate money to the fund on an annual basis. As such, it is possible for us to exhaust the annual allocation.
• Once the annual funds are exhausted, no further applications will be considered during that year.
• You must pay for travel expenses and conference registration in 2019.

Did you know that…

The Faculty has two internal support mechanisms to help you with your funding applications.

1. Supporting the development of high quality applications for large research projects.

There is a limited fund to support the preparation of large applications to for example MBIE. While there is no official limit on each proposal the fund would generally expect to provide support between $500 and $8000.  This could be used for writing assistance, hosting/attending meetings with collaborators, stakeholder engagement, matching other support from for example Funds and Submission, and accessing data that will help the case for maximum benefit to NZ (eg market reports).

Please email Wendy Rhodes (w.rhodes@auckland.ac.nz) with a short description of the project, the funding agency, what the funds are to be used for, when you plan to resubmit and whether you have other support to develop the proposal.

  2. Near-miss Funding

This funding is for PI’s who have successfully progressed to the second stage of a major funding round, but missed out at the final stage.  Information and an application form can be found here

VGP Meeting

The Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology (VGP) research group is beginning to meet again now that the semester has started! Our first meeting of the year will be on 14 March from 11 to 12 in 302-140. Talks will be given by Daniel Bertin and by Danielle Charlton. Please feel free to come along! 

If you would like to be added to the VGP mailing list or have questions, please contact Sophia Tsang (s.tsang@auckland.ac.nz). Speakers and events will also be posted on our website: https://vgp.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/

DPM Seminar

Title: Indigenous people in disaster: an insider’s perspective

When/Where: 303-G15, 26 February 11AM

Celebration

It is the 30^th anniversary of a book I co-authored with a mate from doctoral days (we had the same supervisor), a research text ‘Karst Geomorphology and Hydrology’ (Unwin, 1989). The book, including its second edition ‘Karst Hydrogeology and Geomorphology’ (Wiley, 2007) and its Chinese translation (China University of Geosciences Press, 2015), has had about 5000 citations according to Google – and still going strong – making it probably the most influential book in its field ever published.

[For the uninitiated, karst covers 14.7% of the ice-free continental area and supplies water to about 20-25% of the world’s population, but covers less than 3% of NZ which is why we don’t hear much about it here].

Paul Williams, Emeritus Prof

Research Updates

If you are an AI on a MBIE proposal, please let our RPCs know, Vanessa and Amy can provide a costing and prepare a MOU.

Vanessa Castro v.castro@auckland.ac.nz
Amy Weir amy.weir@auckland.ac.nz

Arts Cross-faculty Collaborations

The Faculty of Arts has funded ten new diverse and innovative projects to encourage research collaboration within Arts, and between Arts and other faculties.
Click here for further information

Auckland Antarctic Science Meet Up

Seminar – Prof. Peter Barrett
Title: How the Antarctic Ice Sheet formed, then waxed and waned over the last 30 million years – secrets revealed from the drilling programs, 1973 to today
When/Where: Thursday 21 Feb – 6PM. MacGregor Seminar Room, Old Biology Building, University of Auckland, 3 Symonds St. 

Further details can be found on facebook here
Meet Up details here

Geoscience Society of NZ Auckland Branch and Geology Club

Next meeting: Epsom Community Center, 200 Gillies Ave, Epsom. Opens at 7.30 PM for 7.45 PM start

Further information here

Short Course in Japan – by Geodiscovery 

Applications are now open for the Postgraduate short course in 3D Structural Geology, Paleoenvironmental and Geophysical Methods, for Scientific Drilling

Venue: Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
Dates: 17 – 30 June 2019 (+ optional field trip around Hokkaido 1-5 July)

The short course course comprises three individual Hokkaido Summer Institute papers. You can apply for any one of these but we strongly recommend you join all three.

If you think you’d like to participate, note that applications must be submitted online between 1 Feb and 28 Feb 2019 at
https://hokkaidosummerinstitute.oia.hokudai.ac.jp/applications/admission.html
Submitting an application doesn’t commit you to attending, but if you don’t apply at this time you absolutely cannot attend!

More information can be found here

Call for papers

“In collaboration with our team of Guest Editors, PLOS ONE is calling for submissions spanning the intersection of ecological, climatological, and sociological patterns and processes within urban systems. Urbanisation is a key aspect of anthropogenic global change in the 21st century, and understanding its impacts is a critical challenge for contemporary science.”

Please see here for further information

From Previous Issue

The Award board

Have you nominated a colleague for the UoA Early Career Research Excellence Awards?
The 2019 guidelines and application form are here. But if you have no time, please make a suggestion to any of the RC members.

School staff meetings and events 2019

Now that we have P-cubed up and running we don’t need to spend so much time listening to notices and updates in monthly staff meetings. Instead, this year we will trial limiting our whole school meetings and events to the following (*staff attendance expected unless on leave):

• *Pre-S1 Setting the kaupapa (strategic plan) for the year and lunch (currently scheduled for  12-2pm Feb 13)
• *Two Strategic Engagement Forums in lieu of the current HoS Seminar Series (under the auspices of the Research committee), timing to be advised.
• *One one-day offsite retreat (to be held in the week following the end of teaching in Semester 1, week starting 10 June)
• *End-S2 Wrap-up and lunch (to be held from 10-2pm in the week following the end of teaching Semester 2)
• ENV Awards ceremony (early November)
• School End of Year Party

In addition, we will kick-off brownbag lunches with various groupings of people (lecturers, senior lecturers, APs, Profs, technical and professional staff, PTFs/STs, students) to provide opportunity for discussion and reflection on topics of relevance to the school.

Wednesday morning teas will continue in the Level 6 common space – a box of chocolate biscuits can be collected from Simrin at 10.30 am.

PBRF and Conference Funds

Adverts and guideline are about to be sent out. Stay tuned.

Seminar – Geoffrey Lerner

The PhD Student Committee invites you to Geoffrey Lerner’s PhD Seminar on

When/Where: February 21st 4-5pm in 320-G20.

Title:“Applying multiple methods to understand lava dome growth and destruction, Mt Taranaki, New Zealand”

Please bring along your favorite nibbles to share. Following the talk, there will be an opportunity to ask plenty of questions and celebrate Geoffrey’s achievement at Old Government House.

Please see details in the attached flyer and get ready for a great talk.

Seminar – Software

The PhD Student Committee invites you to the first Software Seminar in 2019 focusing on presentation skills, graphics, and video making. Come along if you’d like to learn more about recording and editing videos, making easy but great vector graphics and the presentation software Prezi.

When/Where: February 19th, 12pm in 302-G20

Everybody is welcome to attend and pizzas will be served.

Please see details in the attached flyer and don’t hesitate to contact us (enquiries to Leonie Peti lpet986@aucklanduni.ac.nz).

10th Workshop on Volcanic Lakes

In name of the IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Lakes and GNS Science, New Zealand, we are delighted to present you the SECOND CIRCULAR of our upcoming 10th WORKSHOP ON VOLCANIC LAKES, to be held from 17 to 25 MARCH 2019 in Taupo and Rotorua, New Zealand.

The Workshop will be built around 8 Scientific Symposia during the first three days, followed by field work at Ruapehu, Waimangu and Lake Rotomahana.  A post-CVL10 field trip to White Island is optional.

The second circular is attached, together with the official documentation of NZ Customs to enter your scientific gear. You can find a detailed program, the scientific symposia, online registration procedure and costs in the attached circular.

For any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact us through b.christenson@gns.cri.nz
We hope to meet you all at the shores of Lake Taupo in March 2019.

Comment from the Head of School

Kia ora koutou

The academic year is gearing up and the building is starting to feel alive again. Summer is a busy time for the school with field-based research in full swing, summer school underway, MSc students racing to meet thesis deadlines, and people coming and going. It’s lovely to have Gretel, Marie and Larry back from research and study leave. Brad, Hong-key and Jennifer E are about to head off on long-leave, and of course Jon T is still enjoying his time away. Melanie, Sila and Michael have arrived to the great delight of the Environmental Science and GI Science teaching teams.  And we have visitors. Matthew England is working with Sam on water allocation in majority world communities, Richard Williams is working with Gary on new technologies to inform river management. Paola Gomes de Silva is working with Giovanni on coastal flooding and Eric Palkovacs is working with Kevin on evolutionary ecology. Tama has finished up as Group Services Co-ordinator and Samantha Huang, who some of you may remember, has started in the role.

On behalf of the school, a warm welcome to all who have returned or arrived, happy travels to those who are heading off on leave or new adventures, and may the force be with everyone finishing up their theses!

Of course other changes are afoot as well. Last week, David concluded his term as Head of School and is beginning a new role as Associate Dean – Strategic Projects, and I moved my rock display into the Level 6 HoS office. Luckily for us the Dean has left David enough time to continue as Deputy Head of School with oversight of academic programmes.  

In the short term things will continue much as usual though with some modification to the ways in which we share information and come together. The P-cubed initiative is one way we can improve our information sharing efficiency and I look forward to seeing it become part of our way of doing things. In lieu of monthly staff meetings, we will come together less often but hopefully with more purpose, starting with our kaupapa meeting Wed 13^th February, which will include a catered lunch. It will be great to see all staff there.

Ngā mihi
JR

From the Research Committee

The research committee is: Tom Baker, Giovanni Coco, Shane Cronin, Murray Ford, Melanie Kah (starting in March), Lorna Strachan

Are you a PI?

This is a busy time and we are sure that many are preparing proposals (e.g., Marsden or MBIE) or waiting for results (e.g., Smart Ideas). While we know about proposals submitted by ENV staff as PI, we have little idea of our participation to projects with a PI external to the school. We wish to acknowledge these efforts but to be able to do it, you need to tell us. Vanessa is going to collect all info, please send her a message. This is what Giovanni sent:

“Kia ora Vanessa,
Here are proposals I have recently submitted or I am about to submit:

• co-PI, Australian Research Council (PI from UNSW). can’t remember the title. something coastal…
• co-PI smart idea entitled “A new machine learning algorithm to avoid overcooking spaghetti” (PI from UC)
• I will submit a marsden as co-PI (PI from Faculty of Engineering UoA)

ciao
Giovanni”

Round about Marsden

Do you need help? Would you want to hear how your one-page proposal reads? Contact the RC committee and we will help. Someone totally ignorant about the subject can still provide useful comments.

The Award board

Have you nominated a colleague for the UoA Early Career Research Excellence Awards?
The 2019 guidelines and application form are here. But if you have no time, please make a suggestion to any of the RC members.

School staff meetings and events 2019

Now that we have P-cubed up and running we don’t need to spend so much time listening to notices and updates in monthly staff meetings. Instead, this year we will trial limiting our whole school meetings and events to the following (*staff attendance expected unless on leave):

• *Pre-S1 Setting the kaupapa (strategic plan) for the year and lunch (currently scheduled for  12-2pm Feb 13)
• *Two Strategic Engagement Forums in lieu of the current HoS Seminar Series (under the auspices of the Research committee), timing to be advised.
• *One one-day offsite retreat (to be held in the week following the end of teaching in Semester 1, week starting 10 June)
• *End-S2 Wrap-up and lunch (to be held from 10-2pm in the week following the end of teaching Semester 2)
• ENV Awards ceremony (early November)
• School End of Year Party

In addition, we will kick-off brownbag lunches with various groupings of people (lecturers, senior lecturers, APs, Profs, technical and professional staff, PTFs/STs, students) to provide opportunity for discussion and reflection on topics of relevance to the school.

Wednesday morning teas will continue in the Level 6 common space – a box of chocolate biscuits can be collected from Simrin at 10.30 am.

PBRF and Conference Funds

Adverts and guideline are about to be sent out. Stay tuned.

Postgraduates Matter

Postgraduate committee will be meeting next week. If you have any that needs to be discussed, please send it to the appropriate advisor:

Anthony Fowler (Physical Geog.)
Ward Friesen (Geography – Honours)
Kevin Simon (Env Sci)
Karen Fisher (Env Mgt)
Jay Gao (GIS)
Mila Adam (Earth Sci/Geophys- Honours)
Ingo Pecher (MSc Coordinator)
Michael Rowe (Committee Chair – PhD)

Masters

Now is the time many are planning MSc/MA projects for the start of 2019. Please remember when planning projects that they need to be feasible in 9-10 months, with the remainder to finish off the writing. We’ve been having an increasing number of extensions (for multiple reasons) and as a result the timeframe for completion has been increasing – with those additional costs being carried by both the School and the student. It is important to have a feasible plan, and back-up plan in place. With only 12 months to completion, our Masters students don’t have time to weather significant delays.

PhD

Remember that the new PhD provisional year rules are in effect and will impact anyone starting after July 2018. The procedure is copied here for your “long-term” records.

Seminar – Geoffrey Lerner

The PhD Student Committee invites you to Geoffrey Lerner’s PhD Seminar on

When/Where: February 21st 4-5pm in 320-G20.

Title:“Applying multiple methods to understand lava dome growth and destruction, Mt Taranaki, New Zealand”

Please bring along your favorite nibbles to share. Following the talk, there will be an opportunity to ask plenty of questions and celebrate Geoffrey’s achievement at Old Government House.

Please see details in the attached flyer and get ready for a great talk.

Seminar – Software

The PhD Student Committee invites you to the first Software Seminar in 2019 focusing on presentation skills, graphics, and video making. Come along if you’d like to learn more about recording and editing videos, making easy but great vector graphics and the presentation software Prezi.

When/Where: February 19th, 12pm in 302-G20

Everybody is welcome to attend and pizzas will be served.

Please see details in the attached flyer and don’t hesitate to contact us (enquiries to Leonie Peti lpet986@aucklanduni.ac.nz).

10th Workshop on Volcanic Lakes

In name of the IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Lakes and GNS Science, New Zealand, we are delighted to present you the SECOND CIRCULAR of our upcoming 10th WORKSHOP ON VOLCANIC LAKES, to be held from 17 to 25 MARCH 2019 in Taupo and Rotorua, New Zealand.

The Workshop will be built around 8 Scientific Symposia during the first three days, followed by field work at Ruapehu, Waimangu and Lake Rotomahana.  A post-CVL10 field trip to White Island is optional.

The second circular is attached, together with the official documentation of NZ Customs to enter your scientific gear. You can find a detailed program, the scientific symposia, online registration procedure and costs in the attached circular.

For any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact us through b.christenson@gns.cri.nz
We hope to meet you all at the shores of Lake Taupo in March 2019.