Issue 102 – Monday 19 June 2023
HeadsUp
This week sees the winter solstice roll around on the 21st June and Matariki to follow shortly after on 14th July. Time flies as they say, but the darker shorter days of winter also bring delights….the crispness of the stars on clear nights, the fog that enveloped the harbour this morning, the clarity of the sea.
Being Environment people
After heavy rain it was great conditions for tree planting on Waiheke on Saturday. The commitment of some environment-focussed citizens inspires me. We were planting 4 year old saplings raised by a neighbour of mine from seed he’d collected on the island. And this was the 30th anniversary of the reserve near Matiatia (Atawhai Whenua) being established by Don Chapple, another visionary resident.
While a morning’s planting is not necessarily going to change the world, it can nonetheless change one’s own world. After the reclusiveness that winter can bring, the conviviality and cross-generational conversations were heartening. There is always a social dimension to environmental action. To that end, please consider taking time out of your usual Thursday routine and come along (registering first!) on the School of Environment tree planting trip (organised by Emma Sharp with the support of Outreach Committee). Details by earlier email and below.
Congratulations
I am delighted to announce that Dr Rachael Boswell has accepted a position of PTF in the School after an international search. Rachael will be known to some of you. She recently completed her award-winning PhD in Geography in our School (on DIY urbanism in post-quake Christchurch) and has had a distinguished career teaching high school Geography at Rangitoto and Taylors Colleges. Most recently, Rachael has been working with me on a postdoctoral fellowship. She will be involved in a range of undergraduate courses but particularly the TFC programme. We will especially value Rach’s enthusiasm, fresh ideas and knowledge of the secondary school system. Please join me in welcoming Rachael.
In other congratulations, Neil Lindsay, a recent MSc graduate of our School (supervised by Tara Coleman and myself) has been awarded the accolade of the best NZ Masters thesis in Geography by the New Zealand Geographical Society for his exploration of “Music festivals: Geographies of place-creation and attendee experience”.
Teaching
I am happy to report than some of the most glowing SET results and comments I have seen recently have been in response to the work of two recent appointments. Big congratulations to Anthony Gampell and Salene Schloffel-Armstrong on your dedication, commitment and creativity.
Research
Anyone interested in applying for MBIE funding this year please contact Kelly Kilpin.
Leave
As Head of School, I am always learning about policies and processes. It appears I have been rather too liberal in my signing off on leave of absence. This is a category of Leave that, if granted, allows academic staff to attend conferences; conduct research-related field work such as supervising graduate students; undertake other research activities; conduct approved professional activity; and be away on compassionate grounds.
The part I was unaware of and that I now need to maintain closer scrutiny over is
“For absences exceeding:
- Two weeks, approval must be given by the dean on the recommendation of the academic head
- Three weeks, it is unlikely to be approved unless an especially strong case is made
- Four weeks, staff will be expected to utilise their research and study leave entitlement by taking condensed leave (for leave other than compassionate leave) or else to take leave without pay.”
Please take these guidelines into account in your future planning.
Till next time. Have a good wintery fortnight.
Robin Kearns, HoS
General Announcements
As you will have seen in the news in recent weeks, New Zealand’s University sector is facing a financial crisis. Plans to cut staff and teaching recently announced at Victoria University of Wellington and Otago University will have a significant negative impact on the country’s science teaching and research capability.
Statements have been released by the Geoscience Society of New Zealand, New Zealand Institute of Physics and New Zealand Institute of Chemistry (all constituent societies of the RSNZ). You can read these here.
Financial Crisis facing New Zealand Universities » Geoscience Society of New Zealand (gsnz.org.nz)
https://nzic.org.nz/press-releases
What can you do to help?
The Tertiary education Union have started a petition calling for action to staffing and teaching programme cuts. You can sign it here:
There is also an open letter to the TEC and the Minister of Education which you can sign as well.
https://www.savingtertiary.nz/
Whakawhanaungatanga – Communities
| MBIE Endeavour Support Sessions 2024 – Smart Ideas and Research Programmes |
| Support for the 2024 MBIE Endeavour round is currently underway. UniServices have organised a number of events to support your application, please refer to the Research Hub for further details and register at the links below:
· Research Impact with Dr Faith Welch scheduled on June 20th at 10:00am to 11:00am. https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/mbie-impact-session-with-orsi-tickets-624976671047 · Industry Engagement with Howard Zheng scheduled on July 6th at 10:00am to 11:30am · MBIE Real Stores with Johan Verbeek scheduled on 11th July at 10:00am https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/real-stories-panel-sesssion-tickets-641679459537 We anticipate that the round will open in October, however if you do intend to apply this year for either a Smart Idea or Research Programme please get in touch with Kelly Kilpin asap so we can keep you up to date with support offerings and changes for the 2024 round. Please reach out if you have any questions: aul.researchdevelopment@uoa.auckland.ac.nz |
| ResBaz Aotearoa 2023, 26-30th June – register for sessions |
| ResBaz Aotearoa is designed for postgraduate students, researchers and those that support them in any discipline (all of the Aotearoa NZ research community). This is a free, online, week-long series of 40+ digital research skills sessions. Topics will include designing posters, programming languages, LaTeX, impact of ChatGPT in research, and using NVIVO, Qualtics, Dropbox, and Google Colab. |
| Key Information
– Date: Monday 26th of June – Friday 30th of June (5days) – Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm (please check the scheduled sessions via the registration link below) – Location: Online via Zoom Registration Link: Event schedule • Research Bazaar Aotearoa (auckland.ac.nz) |
Faculty of Science Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Forum
This is an invitation to the 2023 Faculty of Science Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Forum on Monday July 10th at 10am. The idea for this is to connect with others interested in this space, to share what we are doing, and to increase the profile and understanding of what Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity actually are. We would love for you to join us to meet, connect, share, and learn.
Workshops will be run by our different working groups who focus on targeted equity groups. This will be an opportunity to choose two sessions that interest you to learn more about engaging with people with disabilities, rainbow staff and students, people from refugee backgrounds, constrained economic backgrounds, and diverse genders. We are looking forward to seeing you there, feel free to share with your friends, colleagues or networks in the faculty
We will also be celebrating our inaugural Faculty of Science Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity awards which you are able to nominate your colleagues and postgraduate students for, more information on these will follow
The School of Environment and Ngā Ara Whetū – Centre for Climate, Biodiversity & Society, are excited to invite you for not just one, but two extraordinary seminars.
Seminar 2:
Professor Rachael James, School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, UK, will deliver a thought-provoking talk titled “Negative Emissions: Removing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide from the Atmosphere.”
Don’t miss this important discussion on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, in the Federation Room, OGH. To ensure your participation, kindly reserve your spot by registering through Eventbrite using the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/636264292627 .
These seminars offer a unique opportunity to gain valuable insights and engage with leading experts in their respective fields. Save the dates and join us for these incredible talks.
Auckland Dialogues – Tuesday 20 June Building 302, Room 551 Ontology Lab – 4.00pm to 5.30pm
Gender and Disaster JC Gaillard with Aditi Sharan and Louise Baumann
Nowadays, disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) must be ‘inclusive’, ‘accessible’ and ‘non-discriminatory’. This is, for example, an expectation of the 2019 NZ National Disaster Resilience Strategy that encourages disaster practitioners to pay special attention to ‘people disproportionately affected by disasters.’ This injunction reflects the broader institutional discourse embedded in international disaster legal frameworks such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) that calls for a “whole-of-society” approach to Disaster Risk Reduction. Gender and ‘gender-mainstreaming’ are often associated with this idea of building ‘inclusive’ DRRM practices. In practice, the approach to questions of gender and inclusion in DRRM policies and practices is often characterized by binary and narrow understanding of factors influencing disaster experience, including gender, and by largely arbitrary lists of supposedly homogeneous ‘vulnerable groups’. During this presentation, we will discuss the inbuilt incoherence of this mainstream approach, looking at its disconnection with people’s understanding and experience of emergency situations and at how its underpinning narrative, by reproducing Eurocentric/Western normative practices of othering, tends to reinforce hegemonic modes of power identified as conditions of violence, risk and vulnerability by queer, feminist and radical disaster scholars worldwide.
School of Environment Tree Planting Day – 6th July 2023ent Tree Planting Day – 6th July 2023
The Faculty of Science will be holding their 3MT hear on Thursday, 6 July.
About 3MT
Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an exciting, fast-paced research communication competition. It was developed by the University of Queensland and is now held annually in over 900 universities across the globe. Participants take up the challenge to share the story of their research with a general audience in under three minutes, supported by nothing more than a single, static slide.
Entries are open to all currently enrolled research masters students and doctoral candidates.
Date: Thursday, 6 July
Time: 1pm
Registrations close: 10am, Thursday 1 June
| Webinar: Writing Workshops with Write Ltd |
| We invite you to join us for a three-part online workshop series with Write Ltd, who will share tips and techniques to help you make your proposal and academic paper writing more effective and engaging for your readers. They’ll deliver three short, focused sessions to the group, mostly focussing on clarity of messaging and quality of writing. Feel free to register for all 3 or just the 1 or 2 topics of your choice. |
| Key Information
Workshop #1: 26 June 2023, 12pm – 1pm: Top five things you can do to improve your writing. Workshop #2: 3 July 2023, 12pm – 1pm: Engaging your readers, explaining the science. Workshop #3: 10 July 2023, 12pm – 1pm: 8 tips on emphasising the impact of your research. Location: Online via Zoom link Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/writing-workshops-2023-registration-636251143297 Please reach out if you have any questions: aul.researchdevelopment@uoa.auckland.ac.nz |
An introductory R Workshop is being run on Thursday 29th and Friday 30 th of June 2023. The course will be run by the Statistical Consulting Centre (SCC) in the Department of Statistics.
What’s covered in the workshop?
Introduction
Getting familiar with R
- Using R Studio and loading projects/scripts
- Basic functions using R
- Reading in Data Files (.csv, .xls/.xlsx)
- Introduction to R Objects. How R thinks (vectors, matrices, basic data formats)
Working with data(sets)
- Cleaning and subsetting
- Merging datasets and reformatting
- Grouping variables and summarising
R graphics
- Starting with plots in R (boxplots, histograms, bar graphs)
- Graphics in R with ggplot2 (customising plots)
Data analysis
- Introduction to performing t-tests, chi-square tests, ANOVA, and general linear models
As per our previous introductory R workshops, the cost is $300 for UoA students and staff.
You can pay using your PRESS account, research grant, or other UoA account.
You can also opt to use a debit/credit card (however we will have to also add GST for this type of payment and payment can only be made at the Student Resource Centre on main campus).
The payment authorisation form for UoA participants paying from a UoA account is attached.
The cost for non-UoA attendees is $500 + GST. Please contact Joei Mudaliar (j.mudaliar@auckland.ac.nz) for payment instructions.
We will be sending out a pre-workshop information email the week prior to the course, however here are some of the details:
Location
We will be in room 302.190. Building 302 is on the corner of Symonds St and Wellesley St. The room we will be using is on level 1, room 190.
Time and schedule
The approximate schedule for both days is attached (since this is the schedule from our previous course, it may yet be altered very slightly).
We will start at 9am and finish at 5pm.
Morning and afternoon tea will be provided, and there are cafes nearby for lunch.
Computers
We will be using a Faculty of Science computer lab.
You are also welcome to use your own laptop. However, please make sure that you have downloaded R and RStudio onto your machine before the workshop (they are free to download).
We will also include some instructions on how to do this in our pre-workshop information email.
Access to computers and the internet
We will arrange access to the lab computers for all non-UoA participants.
We will also have a guest wireless password for non-UoA participants who are bringing their own laptops.
UoA staff and students will be able to access the FoS computers using their normal UoA upi and password.
I hope you can make it on the 29th and 30th June 2023, and we look forward to seeing you there.
Ngā mihi (Kind regards),
Joei Mudaliar | Group Services Coordinator
Department of Statistics | Faculty of Science
The University of Auckland | Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau
Sign up and join the student association RTEA and the Compass programme
1/ Please do encourage your students to join our student association RTEA. The new roster of officers is planning exciting activities for this year and they welcome support and contribution from fellow students. To encourage students to join just use the QR codes for the Facebook page and a Google form to formally sign up: https://rtea.auckland.ac.nz/
2/ Do encourage your PG students to also join our Compass programme. Larissa and her team of captains have planned regular activities to foster students’ wellbeing throughout the year.
3/ The Student Experience Committee (SEC) offers a small budget to course coordinators who would like to order some kai to share with their class. Reach out to JC should you be interested.
3k writing grant available for students
Funds are available to support students writing up their thesis as publication(s). Each grant is worth $3000 (120 hours at 25$ all included). There is no deadline to apply. Applications are evaluated as they come by members of Rangahau (2 weeks turn over max.), until we use all the funds available.
Do you have a good candidate in mind? Please complete this form and submit to melanie.kah@auckland.ac.nz.
Proposal development support
The Rangahau Committee has a small fund set aside to help with proposal development (e.g. writing support, support to scope proposals etc). If you have an idea that fits within this scope please get in touch with Kelly Kilpin to discuss further.
Funding
| The Prime Minister’s Science Prize | |
| This Prize is for a transformative scientific advance, which has had a significant economic, health, social, political, cultural and/or environmental impact on New Zealand, or internationally. It will be awarded to a team or an individual instrumental in creating the impact. The transformative scientific advance may have occurred over any time-period and there must be a clear indication that the impact on New Zealand or internationally has taken place. | |
| Value/Duration: | Deadlines: |
| · The total value of the Prize is $500,000.
· $100,000 of this will go directly to the team or individual with no expectations. · $400,000 will be used to support ongoing research. |
Internal Deadline: N/A
External Deadline for applications: 5th of September 2023 (by 1pm) |
| More details about this process can be found here: The Prime Minister’s Science Prizes (pmscienceprizes.org.nz)
If you are interested, please inform your FIRST team (Kelly or Sophie). |
|
| The Prime Minister’s MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize | |
| The Prize is for an outstanding emerging scientist who has had their PhD conferred within the past eight (8) years. | |
| Value/Duration: | Deadlines: |
| · The total value of the Prize is $200,000.
· $50,000 is for the recipient and can be used with no conditions. · $150,000 must be used for the recipient’s ongoing research. |
Internal Deadline: N/A
External Deadline for applications: 5th of September 2023 (by 1pm) |
| More details about this process can be found here: The Prime Minister’s Science Prizes (pmscienceprizes.org.nz)
If you are interested, please inform your FIRST team (Kelly or Sophie). |
|
| The Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize | |
| This Prize is for either a practising scientist who can demonstrate an interest, passion and aptitude for science communication and public engagement, or to a person who has developed expertise in public engagement or communication of complex scientific or technological information to the public. | |
| Value/Duration: | Deadlines: |
| · The total value of the Prize is worth $75,000.
· $55,000 of the Prize money is to be used to support the recipient to carry out a programme of activities/professional development to further their understanding of science communication. · $20,000 of the Prize money is available to the recipient with no expectations on its use. |
Internal Deadline: N/A
External Deadline for applications: 5th of September 2023 (by 1pm) |
| More details about this process can be found here: The Prime Minister’s Science Prizes (pmscienceprizes.org.nz)
If you are interested, please inform your FIRST team (Kelly or Sophie). |
|
| Rutherford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships | |
| These fellowships aim to build human capability in research, science and technology, including social sciences and the humanities, by providing early career support for New Zealand’s brightest and most promising researchers. | |
| Value/Duration: | Internal Deadlines: |
| Per annum, the 2-year Fellowship will award $80,000 towards the researcher’s salary and $40,000 for research related expenses (GST exclusive). | Internal Deadline: 5pm, Tuesday 25 July 2023 |
| Further Information (funding call, guidelines, registration info):
· Website If you are interested, please communicate with Robin Kearns in the first place for a preliminary assessment. |
|
| Te Tahua Taiao Ngā Taonga – Lottery Environment and Heritage grants (Round One) | |
| Lottery Environment and Heritage grants are available for projects that will help protect, conserve or care for our natural, cultural and physical heritage, or allow us to better understand and access these resources. | |
| Value/Duration: | Internal Deadlines: |
| • Small projects, where the grant requested is for less than $250,000.
• Large projects, where the grant requested is for $250,000 or more. |
Internal Deadline: 5pm, Monday 24 July, 2023 |
| Further Information (funding call, guidelines, registration info):
· Website If you are interested, please inform your FIRST team (Kelly or Sophie). |
|
Funding for Research Retreats
The Rangahau Committee has a small amount of funding set aside to sponsor Research retreats (e.g grant writing workshops, paper writing). This can be up to 2k per team, with a minimum 2 SoE participants.
If you have an idea that you would like considered, please submit a short paragraph explaining the intention and benefits of the retreat to katarzyna.sila-nowicka@auckland.ac.nz.
| John Templeton Foundation – Core Funding Areas, Small and Large Grants | |
| The Foundation invests in bold ideas that cross disciplinary boundaries and challenge conventional assumptions. The Small and Large Grants are addressed under the 8 focus areas including
Life Sciences, Mathematics and Physical Science, and Human Sciences. |
|
| Value/Duration: | Internal Deadlines: |
| •Small grants can be up to US$234,800 (circa NZD373,000) and Large Grants are in excess of US$235,000 (circa NZD374,000).
•Project can be up to 36 months. •No more than 15% can be claimed for overheads. The overhead cost must be included in the total amount you requested |
Internal Deadline for First Stage: 12pm noon, Friday 11 August 2023. |
| Further Information (funding call, guidelines, registration info):
· Website If interested, please inform your FIRST team (Kelly or Sophie). |
|
| Catalyst: Leaders (Round 2) | |
| Catalyst: Leaders supports incoming and outgoing targeted international fellowships for exceptional individuals that cannot be supported through other means. The following funding scheme is open in Round 2:
Julius von Haast Fellowship Award (1 award) Supports an internationally recognised researcher from Germany to undertake research in New Zealand for a minimum of 4 weeks per year for up to 3 years. |
|
| Value/Duration: | Internal Deadlines: |
| Duration: Up to 3 years
Value: $20,000 stipend $20,000 research and travel allowance $10,000 host institution administration |
10 July 2023, 5pm |
| Further Information (funding call, guidelines, registration info):
· Website Email your title, full name, email address, faculty/department and the funder/scheme to the Funds Advisor Team via submissions@auckland.ac.nz to receive the instructions on how to initiate the letter of intent and the application template for the letter of intent. Please also inform your FIRST team (Franca, Dianne or Kelly). |
|
| Catalyst: Seeding (Round 2) | |
| Catalyst: Seeding facilitates new small and medium pre-research strategic partnerships that cannot be supported through other means, and with a view to developing full collaborations that could be supported through Catalyst: Strategic over time. Funding is for research exchanges, research activities, and expenses related to hosting workshops for new strategic research partnerships with international collaborators. | |
| Value/Duration: | Internal Deadlines: |
| Duration: 24 Months
Value: $80,000 |
5pm, Monday 10 July 2023 |
| Further Information (funding call, guidelines, registration info):
· Funding Call · Website To register to apply, please email the following information to the Funds Advisor Team via submissions@auckland.ac.nz: title (e.g. Dr, A/P, Professor), full name, email address, faculty and department. Please Also inform your FIRST team (Franca, Dianne or Kelly). |
|
| 2023 MBIE Catalyst: Strategic – New Zealand-China Strategic Research Alliance | |
| The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is calling for proposals for joint research collaborations between New Zealand and China.
MBIE will fund up to 4 joint New Zealand-China research projects to support the New Zealand-China Strategic Research Alliance, 2 each in the areas of food science and environmental science. Up to $300,000 over 3 years is available to each successful applicant, with successful projects expected to start in March 2024. New Zealand and China have agreed to support four projects through this funding round, two in each priority area of: • Food Science; and • Environmental Science |
|
| Value/Duration: | Internal Deadlines: |
| Duration: 3 years
Value: $300,000 |
5pm, Monday 10 July 2023 |
| Further Information (funding call, guidelines, registration info):
· Funding Call · Website Submission process: · Applications are submitted via the MBIE IMS Portal. · Returning applicants log in using your existing login details. · New applicants contact the Funds Advisor Team submissions@auckland.ac.nz to create your User Profile. Please Also inform your FIRST team (Franca, Dianne or Kelly). |
|
| Ministry for the Environment – Plastics Innovation Fund Round 2 – Te Tahua Pūtea mō te Kirihou Auaha | |
| The Plastics Innovation Fund supports projects that will minimise plastic waste and its harm on the environment. They are seeking to fund projects that find ways to use less plastic and make what we do use reusable or recyclable. It should be noted that applicants are required to secure at least 50% co-funding. | |
| Value/Duration: | Internal Deadlines: |
|
· EOI deadline from 1 November 2022 to 30 June 2023
· The Funds Advisor team will accept EOIs at any time during this period for a QA check provided that you allow at least 7 working days before final submission to the funder. |
| Further Information (funding call, guidelines, registration info):
Please register or make contact with FIRST (Kelly, Dianne, Franca) if you wish to make a submission. |
|
Health, Safety and Wellbeing
- The test and tag audit almost completed, thanks for your assistance. Please get items that have failed testing fixed or discard. Please remove all fan heaters from our facilities.
- If you are cold please put a request with Property Services.
-
- Create Service Request (auckland.ac.nz)
- What service area is affected?
- Choose “Heating, cooling & ventilation”.
They will try to solve it. If you are still feeling uncomfortably cold after the request has been action, you may be allowed a personal heater. Remember they will need to be electrically tested.
- First Aid Kits are being restocked this week. Please return any you have on loan so they can be restocked!
- Happy to announce there were no significant incidents in the last quarter.
- Remember to report all incidents and near misses in Damstra.
- There was an incident at the Erionite Lab which resulted in an investigation from Worksafe. It was discovered the lab occupants were using bags labelled asbestos to store samples which did not contain asbestos. It was identified as a minor incident but highlights the need to use correctly labelled bags. Worksafe reviewed the Erionite procedure and were happy with them, only making a couple of minor suggestions. A big thank you to the tech team and lab users who produced such a robust set of procedures.
- Health and Safety Committee joining with the Equity committee in their Mental First Aid training initiative. We will organise as many training sessions as possible. Alternatively, you can attend Mental Health 101 (OD) coming dates June 28th, July 28, Sept 28, Nov 24.
- MIBE require all large organisations to participate in safe+. Please take part in this exercise to help the University improve its HSW practices. Not sufficient staff participating on this will impact our ACC accreditation.
Health, Safety and Wellbeing newsletter
Please find here the newly revamped newsletter from the Central HSW team.
Publications
PhD candidate, Angus Dowell, recently went on RNZ as part of radio series designed by the New Zealand Geographical Society The series aims to bring a geographical lens to important issues and last week Angus talked about the geographies of artificial intelligence. You can catch the interview here. here: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nights/audio/2018893291/artificial-intelligence-and-geography
Mālō, Talofa lava, Afio mai, Welcome!
Who: Beth is an ecosystem ecologist interested in wetland restoration, plant communities, and biogeochemistry. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Connecticut (USA), Department of Natural Resources & the Environment, and Center for Environmental Science & Engineering. Learn more about her research here: 
At a Faculty leadership retreat last week, a highlight was being led on a hikoi (walk) around parts of campus by Teariki Tuiono our Science Kaiarahi. It was a reminder that significant histories dwell within the ordinary landscapes of everyday life. There is always something to learn. To my shame, I hadn’t realised we had a symbol ion campus through which to remember the Christchurch mosque victims. Yet so many times I will have paced past nearby on a preoccupied A to B mission, unaware of Ngā Roimata o Ranginui, which was erected in solidarity with Muslim staff and students and paying tribute to lives lost. Mea culpa. Slow down and learn from others…
