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Issue 83 – Monday 15th August 2022

August 15, 2022 • igom365

HeadsUp


The days are lengthening just enough to remind us that spring is not far away. So too are two deadlines in the Head of School’s (HoS) calendar: first, in September, forming an advisory committee and considering promotion applications; and second, by early October, needing to have completed all of the School’s Annual Development & Performance Interviews (ADPRs). Each of these tasks is a weighty responsibility and pleasure. Considering each of the people in our team, along with their aspirations and frustrations is all part of the duty of care vested in the HoS role.

I would like to make a plea, however: if Patricia contacts you to book an ADPR appointment, please say yes and not “can I wait a few weeks, I’m busy”.  If you feel completing the form on Career Tools is a burden, spare a thought for the HoS: I am currently at 14 done, 32 to go. The next 6 weeks are critical to completing these as its not humanly possible to do them all in the first week in October, especially as I am scheduled to take a few days annual leave then! 

Signs of spring also lead me to think ahead into the remainder of the year and an important date to note. We only have three all-staff meetings (aka ‘retreats’). The first (February) this year was zoom-only and focussed on the Review response; the second (June) was just an afternoon, wonderfully in-person and focussed on transdisciplinarity; the last will be a fuller-day event on Friday November 11th. Please save the date. Remember you are part of a School that only asks you to gather en masse three times a year. It will be, as it should be, enjoyable!

Robin Kearns.


General Announcements


House sitter / dog sitter wanted: Are you good with dogs, have a driver’s license, and interested in a holiday at a gorgeous seaside village (Leigh) from 17-27 December? If so, please get in touch with JR for further details (j.rowland@auckland.ac.nz).

 

A new Environment online access and key request (updated link)

All Environment staff, student, visitor, can now use the an online access and keys process.

We are trialling a new online access request process with the School of Environment to assess its suitability and performance.  

Students and staff can now apply online Environment Access Request Form using Microsoft Edge.

Fill in your details, choose the access you require, hit submit. You will receive a confirmation email of your request.

If you are the supervisor of the person requesting access, you will receive an email to approve or reject the request.

When lab access is also requested, the lab manager will receive an email to approve or reject. When your facilities coordinator has all the approvals, we can send the request to Access Control.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact facilities coordinator

Lynette l.carter@auckland.ac.nz  or Indigo indigo.rhrer@auckand.ac.nz

 

The ENV Outreach Committee is compiling data on your outreach efforts!

If you are a staff member linked to ENV Research it would greatly help us if you can please take 2 minutes to fill three items in this form

1) Do you have a webpage where the target audience is the community, iwi and/or schools/kura? [outreach webpage]

2) Are you active on social media? [twitter or facebook handle]

3) Do you have a research webpage?  [research webpage]

 

Transitional Facility -School of Environment

The Transitional Facility in the Environmental Chemistry Laboratory (302-730), will be closed from Monday 1st of August. If you need to import samples from outside NZ you use the Transitional Facilities at SBS or Anthropology.

For more information please contact Blair Sowman (b.sowman@auckland.ac.nz)

 

Field Friendly Software Trial

As some of you may be aware: over the last couple of years we have been working towards finding alternatives to our current form based fieldwork management system. Due to various obstacles along the line this process has been delayed severely multiple times, however, we are delighted to finally announce that we are starting a trial of the Field Friendly software in September 2022. This software offers an online database approach to managing field work and promises to significantly simplify and streamline our existing processes.

The setup phase of the trial has already begun and we are currently working with the developer to set up the software to our needs and requirements. Peter Schlegel (SBS) is leading the trial in collaboration with Blair Sowman and Andres Arcila-Rivera.

Some info on the scope and intentions of the trial:

  • The aim of this trial is to test the Field Friendly software and find out whether it would be a suitable alternative to replace our current fieldwork management system. We will be asking for and collecting feedback throughout this process, which will be used to refine the software itself during the trial as well as to create a report at the end.
  • Our aim is to run a variety of field trips through the software in order to capture as many scenarios as possible, e.g. teaching field trips (single-day and multi-day), research field trips (urban, remote, single-day, multi-day, …). We have selected several teaching field trips in ENV and SBS in Semester 2 which we would like to use for this purpose.
  • The trial will run over 4 months, 2 for set up and 2 for the actual trial. The setup phase has begun already, and the actual trial will start mid-September and conclude mid-November 2022.
  • We will get 15 trial user accounts and 45 field trips (which will be split between SBS and SoE), which we can utilise to test the software and gather feedback.
  • The trial will focus on field trips in the terrestrial realm. In order to streamline the trial and get the most out of it we have decided to not include boating or diving trips. While the software is more than capable to support these activities (UTas/IMAS in Tasmania use it exclusively to manage their dive operations, for instance), both boating and diving come with a slew of rules, regulations, and certifications, which would disproportionately increase the workload required to get the trial underway.

 

Call for volunteers to participate in the trial

We are looking for trial participants. If you have upcoming field work, are keen to test out this software, and are willing to provide feedback on your experiences with and thoughts about the software I would like to invite you to contact me!

We will organise user training sessions for participants with the developer and will guide you throughout the trial. Please be aware that we have only a limited amount of accounts and trips for this trial, so you may not get chosen to participate. However, you are still welcome to provide feedback on the software output even if you will not receive a trial user account, so please let me know if you are keen on  this. All feedback helps and will be greatly appreciated!

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas.

Regards,

Blair Sowman
Technical Manager | School of Environment

 

Health and Safety Responsibilities

All staff and students have a responsibility in supporting health, safety and wellbeing. For academic supervisors, this means: 

  • Being aware of what work their students are doing and supporting them to do this until they are competent  
  • Directing students under their supervision to follow protocols, inductions and procedures for the work they are undertaking.  
  • Respecting laboratory rules which are in place in the interests of everyone’s safety, including that of technical staff and other students who may be working in the same spaces. 
  • Where lab and/or field work requires risk assessments, ensuring that these are carried out to the necessary standard and approved in advance of work commencing.  
  • Regularly reviewing or updating risk assessments while work is underway. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to ensure this is completed and that updated copies are shared with affected people.  
  • Ensure that identified control measures, included PPE, are implemented and are effective. 
  • Raise any issues of non-compliance through their line management structure. 
  • Ensure that where the need for health surveillance is identified in a risk assessment, staff within their remit are referred to the occupational health provider and, where required, attend appointments. 
  • Reporting all incidents, injuries and unsafe observations on behalf of students. Damstra. 
  • For more information refer to the UOA HSW Policy

 

School IT budget requests for 2023

The ENV IT Committee is seeking expressions of interest for software or data purchases in 2023. If you are planning to request any new or major software that may potentially be covered by this budget, please let us know using this form by the end of August. Please note, these expressions of interest are for planning only and does not mean the purchase will be funded. Any questions please contact Blair Sowman.

 

R Workshop

An introductory R Workshop is being run on Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd of September. This will be led by Daniel Walsh and Jessica McLay, from the Statistical Consulting Centre, in the Department of Statistics.

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 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 handy 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 re how to do this in our pre-workshop information email.

  • Access to computers and 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 1st and 2nd September, and we look forward to seeing you there.

Kind regards,

Joei Mudaliar | Group Services Coordinator

Department of Statistics | Faculty of Science

The University of Auckland | Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau

 


Whakawhanaungatanga – Communities 


Coastal and Marine Geoscience Group Meeting/Seminar

Today’s Coastal-Marine Geoscience Group seminar will be held at 12:00 to 1:00 pm in the Ontology Lab (302-551).  

News will be shared and talks given from:

Anthony Shorrock (PhD Candidates, ENV): “Evolution of northern Hikurangi margin gravity flow processes over the past 42 ka: Insights from IODP Expedition 372B/375, Site U1520”. Anthony will share outcomes of a unique sedimentary record acquired from Site U1520 in the northern Hikurangi Trough as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 375.

Fynn Warnke (PhD Candidates, ENV): “Towards high-resolution pseudo-3D imaging of seafloor pockmarks using dense echosounder profiles”. Fynn will present a novel approach to create a pseudo-3D volume from high-resolution 2D profiles to enable detailed investigation of buried pockmarks in the shallow subsurface and potential fluid-flow pathways.

The next Coastal-Marine Geoscience Group seminar will be held on Monday, August 29th at 12:00 to 1:00 pm in the Ontology Lab (302-551). Talks about coastal-related themes will be given.
All welcome to attend – please email Emma Ryan at e.ryan@auckland.ac.nz if you wish to attend and don’t have the calendar invite already.  

 

The School of Environment Outreach Committee is looking at hiring 2-3 students to help with our social media and graphic design tasks.

The job would involve flexible 2-3  hours per week with the goal of promoting SoE research, public lectures and outreach opportunities to the community and schools.  If interested please email Mila Adam l.adam@auckland.ac.nz

 

Can Seismic Wave Speeds and Attenuation Detect Water in the Martian Crust? Jirapat Charoensawan (PhD Proposal) Thursday, August 18 10:00 AM

Identifying water on Mars is an important step that makes landing humans on Mars possible. The NASA InSight project has recorded over 700 marsquakes since early 2019. These marsquakes provide important information regarding Mars’ crustal structure, rock and fluid type. However,  how changes in moisture and temperature affect the seismic velocity and attenuation of Mars’ rocks is largely unknown. This makes interpreting marsquake signals challenging.

This study aims to provide geophysical constraints for marsquake interpretation and investigate how rock seismic properties and crustal structure affect seismic signals. To do this, I will measure seismic wave speeds and attenuation of Mars-analog rocks at different moisture and temperature. The laboratory measurements will be used to build a 3D numerical model to simulate seismic wave propagation.

 

Postgraduate Science Research Showcase

Are you enrolled in postgraduate research? Are you keen to learn how to communicate your project effectively to a wide range of audiences? Enter the Faculty of Science Research Showcase and participate in the poster competition!

The Science Research Showcase will feature postgraduate posters displayed in the Faculty of Science, Building 302, Ground Floor (Foyer) during the week of Monday, September 26th to Friday, September 30th. The Science Research Showcase provides an excellent opportunity for research students to present their research to the University of Auckland staff and student community. 

The poster competition awards that will be given is our Judges’ Choice awards that will be deliberated by the judging panel made of academics across the faculty, and our People’s Choice awards that will be voted for by university staff and students! The twenty top-ranked posters from the Science Research Showcase will be automatically entered into School of Graduate Studies Research Showcase 2022. 

Registration and submission of digitals poster closes on Friday, September 16th at 4PM.  Submission of poster size A1 hardcopy of the digital posters closes on Wednesday, September 21st at 2:00PM.

Please find the registration link, full competition details, and eligibility on the Science research showcase webpage.

Available workshops and online resources for the showcase:

Designing Research Posters Workshop: Wednesday 17 August, 10AM

Designing your Posters: Lessons from the World Comics: 22 August, 2PM

Online resources:

Designing academic posters

Making an Impact with your poster

 

MBIE Writing Workshops

Date & Time: August 22nd
Run Time: 1 hour per session
Location: Online
Link of session (if online): https://auckland.zoom.us/j/99229703314?pwd=RElyeHVTZ0I1SDFSWm85aFh2aVZBQT09
https://auckland.zoom.us/j/99364977466?pwd=ZVlJUHlmWjQvdGhlMEFBT2x4Q29ndz09
https://auckland.zoom.us/j/98903279547?pwd=QlBydDlmSXZUaERWcEF4a1M1bExoQT09
EventBrite Link: https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/mbie-writing-workshops-registration-308438898047
Recorded: No
Speakers: Write Ltd
Confirmation of speaker: Yes
Audience: AUDIENCE: Open to UoA research staff only
Session description: General Description:
Write Limited is a plain language consultancy. Their writing and editing services connect you with your audience and get your messages across clearly. They work with a wide variety of material from across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors.In these workshops, Write Limited will share tips and techniques to help you to make your writing more effective and engaging for your readers. They’ll deliver short, focused sessions to the group, mostly focussing on clarity of messaging and quality writing but there will be additional funder specific sessions and advice to enhance your proposal development. Feel free to register for all 3 or just the 1 or 2 topics of your choice. Participation is limited so don’t delay- secure your spot!
Notes: Potentially split into three sessions
Will need 3 tickets as there will be 3 webinars and they can sign up to each one
We will limit the tickets to 25 and put a waiting list.
Writing Webinar #3: Monday August 22, 3pm-4pm
8 tips on emphasising the impact of your research
It’s easy to focus so much on the science that the impact is lost. We give you 8 quick tips for making sure you emphasise the impact your research will have.

 

Teaching Breather & Tutor Skill Workshop Planning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Academic Consulting Winter Webinar Series

The Academic Consulting 2022 Winter Webinar series is open to all interested researchers – there is no charge to attend the sessions.

Can’t make the date and time? Register anyway, and you’ll be sent a copy of the recording. Register at: https://www.academic-consulting.co.nz/winterwebinars.

  • Making the Most of NVivo

Date: Wednesday 24 August, 11am–12noon NZST

Unsure if you’re making the most of NVivo for your qualitative data analysis? This webinar will discuss some strategies for project set-up and coding which will ensure you maximise your use of the software. We’ll also cover the NVivo functionality that will help you avoid using the software as merely a tool for coding and retrieving. While this webinar is aimed at those with some experience of NVivo, those who are new to the software are welcome to attend.

To register for any of the above webinars visit: https://www.academic-consulting.co.nz/winterwebinars

Enquiries about the webinars can be directed to:

Academic Consulting

info@academic-consulting.co.nz

http://www.academic-consulting.co.nz

 

Honours Research Projects and sub-90 points Masters dissertations 

Dear colleagues,

Thank you to everyone who supervised and/or examined Honours Research projects and sub-90-point Masters projects/dissertations in 2021. Your time and effort in supervising students and/or examining projects in what was a disrupted year, protracted by deadline extensions, is greatly appreciated. The 2021 cohort should now be all finished and moving onto new things.

In 2022, we have students completing Honours and MENVSCI 30-point research projects, and Bachelor of Advanced Science 60-point dissertations, with submissions in Semester 1 (Monday 27 June) and Semester 2 (Monday 14 November).

For your diary: 

S2 Honours, MENVSCI and BAdvSci Oral Presentations – Wednesday 26 October. Time and venue to be confirmed.

These are on the same day as Masters presentations and every effort will be made to avoid clashes.

Finally, if you are supervising Honours/MENVSCI/BAdvSci students this year, please ensure their project is achievable within the one- or two-semester timeframe and that it can be completed under pandemic conditions. Please encourage your student(s) to meet the end-of-semester submission date too, even if Covid-19 extensions are again offered by the Faculty; it is helpful to the students, for getting grades back in time to go on to further study or work, and to those involved in the examination process if we can all stick to the schedule.

Kind regards

Gretel Boswijk, (Honours coordinator)

 


Funding


Post-doctoral Research Award Opportunity 

Applications are now open, closing date: 19 August 2022

The Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust offers Post Doctoral Research Awards (Dame Joan Metge & Emeritus Professor Dame Charmian J O’Connor Post-Doctoral Research Awards) of $16,000 each to assist women who have qualified to graduate with a doctoral degree within the last two years to carry out research on a specified, independent project at an approved Institute in the Auckland area.

Eligibility Criteria: NZ Citizens or Permanent Residents for a specified, independent, limited term research project.

The successful awardee should not undertake more than 20 hours per week paid employment during tenure of the award.

For further details see: www.academicdresshire.co.nz /Academic Awards. Any enquiries, please email awards@kateedgertrust.org.nz

 

2022 Contestable Research Development Fund Main Round

Deadline:  5pm, 7 September 2022

There are three award types offered in the 2022 contestable round in the Faculty of Science

Award type Duration Minimum and maximum funding available per application
Research Fellowship Award Up to 3 years $100,000 – $200,000
Staff Research Award Up to 2 years $10,000 – $40,000
Aronui Pūtaiao Award Up to 2 years  $10,000 – $40,000

Do let your school/department Research Programme Coordinator know if you intend applying for any of these awards.

Full details including guidelines and the application form are available on the research page of the staff intranet.  

For general queries please contact your Research Programme Coordinator (RPC), or Dee Nolan Fos-researchadmin@auckland.ac.nz

Queries about the Aronui Pūtaiao Award can be directed to Te Taura Here Pūtaiao, and/or the Associate Dean Māori, Jade Le Grice j.legrice@auckland.ac.nz.

 

2022 Scholarship AINSE ANSTO French Embassies (SAAFE): applications now open (applications close 30 September 2022)

AINSE, in partnership with ANSTO, the Embassy of France in Australia and the Embassy of France in New Zealand, are delighted to announce that applications for the next round of the 2022 SAAFE Program are now open, for international travel in the period 1st January 2023 – 31st December 2023.

The Scholarship AINSE ANSTO French Embassies (SAAFE) Program is an exciting international exchange opportunity open to Early Career Researchers at the PhD and postdoctoral level. Up to $7,500 AUD is provided to each successful applicant towards supporting travel and/or accommodation expenses associated with a visit from:

  • Australia/New Zealand to France, or
  • France to Australia.

The SAAFE Program supports Early Career Researchers to expand research and innovation activities with Human Health, Environment and the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, and to initiate sustainable research networks and linkages to support Australia, New Zealand and France in research and innovation.

Eligible applicants must be a PhD student in, or hold a postdoctoral appointment at, a French university or AINSE-member university.

The research internship is required to take place between 1st January 2023 and 31st December 2023.

Applications close 30th September 2022.

For more information, including the application form and terms & conditions, please visit the SAAFE website or contact AINSE on +61 2 9717 3376 / enquiries@ainse.edu.au.

 

AINSE Scholar Gold Medals (nominations received until 31 August 2022).

The AINSE Scholar Gold Medal is awarded for impact and excellence in research on the basis of publications that acknowledge AINSE support. At the presentation of the medals, the newly-awarded Gold Medallists are invited to deliver an address on their research.

To nominate an early career researcher or postgraduate student for a Scholar Gold Medal, please complete the Scholar Gold Medal Nomination form 2022 (available online as well at this link) and return via email to enquiries@ainse.edu.au prior to the close of nominations at 11:59 pm AEST Wednesday 31st August 2022.

For more information please visit the AINSE Scholar Gold Medal page or contact AINSE.

 

Funding for class meet and greets 

The Student Experience Committee has limited funding available for class related activities. If you want to run a class event, online or otherwise (challenging given the current restrictions), and would benefit from some funds, please contact Joe (j.fagan@auckland.ac.nz). The Committee would prefer to fund several small events rather than one big one (but we are open to suggestions).

 

Scholarships for students to undertake research at the SoE

The Rangahau Committee coordinates the distribution of three new scholarships to support students in undertaking research in our School. If you know potential applicants or if you are a potential applicant, make sure you contact the people below. There is no strict deadline at this stage, but the earlier we hear from you, the better. Note that these scholarships are also advertised via other channels.

  1. Moana PG Research Scholarship: NZ$500-1000 (5-10 awards available) to support Pacific students to do research at the SoE at the post-grad level (Master or Hons). Contact Sonia Fonua s.fonua@auckland.ac.nz
  2. Māori PG Research Scholarship: NZ$500-1000 (5-10 awards available) to support Māori students to do research at the SoE at the post-grad level (Master or Hons). Contact Kimoro Taiepa kimoro.taiepa@auckland.ac.nz
  3. Undergrad Research Experience: NZ$800 (up to 10 awards available) for undergraduate students to shadow a researcher (Master/PhD student, research fellow etc.) for a period equivalent to 2 weeks (as a block or spread over a longer period that suits the research). Contact Melanie Kah melanie.kah@auckland.ac.nz

 

The Research Committee Funding available

This is for activities to benefit Postdocs and RFs and allow them to connect. To all those who fall into the following categories, we invite you to contact the new RF rep in the Rangahau/Research committee Joa Paredes-Mariño (for RFs/postdocs) joa.paredes.marino@auckland.ac.nz, for further information.

  • Postdocs/Research Fellows
  • People conducting research on non-permanent contracts at the post-doctoral level

 

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.

 


Rangahau – Research


 

The George Mason Centre for Natural Environment Call for Proposals 2022

 

Types of Grant
Seed Projects

 

Up to $10,000 to cover research expenses for one year (including travel, equipment etc. but not salary or buyout)
PhD Scholarships

 

$33,000 per annum for 3 years plus fees  ($126,000.00 total)
MSc Fees  

 

$10,000
Post-Doctoral fellowships

 

$95,075 (1 year of L/RF1 including ACC and Superannuation) – up to 2 years available 
Workshop

 

$5,000
Purpose The GMCNE is a multi-disciplinary research centre in the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland with a focus on environmental restoration, conservation and sustainability.

 

This Call for Proposals is looking to support projects that enhance the aims of the George Mason Centre and focus on environmental solutions.

 

The Expert Advisory Panel will be looking to foster connections between projects that lead to thematic research and to expanded funding opportunities for research and application. This is an opportunity to extend and link your research. The GMCNE is looking to foster capacity and capability in finding solutions to environmental problems.

 

The underlying theme for all proposals should align with supporting

a diverse range of research projects to address questions within and across different natural ecosystems that demonstrate a direct impact on issues of environmental restoration, conservation and/or sustainability

 

Please find more in-depth information in the 2022 guidelines attached.

 

Grant Value and Duration A total of $750,000 is available in this round, with that sum in total spread over up to 3 years.

 

Successful projects will be funded from 1 January 2023 at the earliest and run for the appropriate time period from your chosen start date.

 

Information/Q&A Session We will be holding an Information/Q&A Session via Zoom on 23 August 11.00 – 12.00. The format of this session will be a 15 minute presentation from the Director, Simon Thrush followed by questions and answers.

 

https://auckland.zoom.us/j/95072246463

 

Submission Deadline 12 Noon, Monday 5 September 2022

 

Submission Process The completed application form is submitted to gmcne@auckland.ac.nz. Please put the PI name in the email subject. You will receive a confirmation email upon submission.

 

2023 MBIE Endeavour Support Sessions

If you are thinking of applying for either a MBIE Smart Idea or Research Program this year, please get in touch with your RPC (Franca, Dianne or Kelly) to register your interest.  The round will open in October, however there are a number of support initiatives underway across the Faculty and University, and we can talk you through these.

Details on the central support for MBIE Endeavour Fund 2023 is available on the Research Hub (including recordings of past events).  The upcoming workshops (registration is required to get a ZOOM link):

Government Engagement – general overview – 17 August 2022, 13:00 – 14:30

Rebecca Adams, Director Government Relations, Auckland UniServices, will be hosting a webinar to give you a general overview and practical advice on how to plan for successful Government engagement in an MBIE Endeavour funding context and focussing on other funding opportunities in Government that might also be relevant. She will cover how to engage with Government, with tips on framing of opportunities, how to stand out in a crowded landscape and latest information on what MBIE people really want.

Registration link

MBIE Endeavour 2023 Registration (October, date TBC)

Thinking of applying to the MBIE Endeavour fund this year? Not sure if your application should be a Smart Idea or a Programme application? Not clear on what is required in the Registration (due 22 October for Smart Ideas and 30 November for Programmes). Wonder how the Registration affects what you write in your application? And what to do once you have registered to get your Concept (for Smart Ideas) or Application (for Programmes) moving forward? This webinar will give you a steer and help answer your questions.

MBIE Endeavour 2023 Smart Ideas Concepts (October, date TBC)

You’ve submitted your Smart Idea registration document and have just over a month to write your Concept. What is required in all those sections of the document? Where do you start and how do you make it all hang together? This webinar will talk through the sections of the Smart Idea Concept, explain how they relate to one another and identify some of the critical points for writing a good Concept document.

 

EURAXESS ROADSHOW – Wed, 17 August 2022

The EURAXESS Co-ordinator for NZ and Australia, Nishant Shandilya will present on Horizon Europe funding opportunities. This will be a good opportunity for researchers to meet and talk to the EURAXESS Co-ordinator and establish initial understanding of and relations with the Horizon Europe funding opportunities.

The roadshow will run as a hybrid event, accessible both online and in person in 505-511 Lecture Theatre 1, AMRF Auditorium, Grafton which can hold up to 300 people. The session will be recorded, except for the Q&A section (as requested by EURAXESS).

Audience: Early and Mid-Career Researchers and Senior Researchers from any research discipline and research support professionals.

Registration link

 

Catalyst: Seeding (Round 3, July 2022)

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: A maximum of NZ$80,000 (excl. GST) is available per proposal for projects lasting up to two years. 

 

NZ – Japan Joint Research Projects: Funding for research exchanges, research activities, and expenses related to hosting meetings in collaboration with Japanese researchers

              Value: Up to $30,000 (excl. GST) per annum for up to two years.

Guidelines and further info can be found here.

Internal Deadline for both funding schemes is: 5pm Tuesday 11 October 2022.

If you are interested, please get in touch with your RPC and we will pass on the details on how to register in the portal.

 

Catalyst Leaders (Round 3, July 2022)

HOPE Meetings are held for excellent graduate students and young researchers selected from countries/areas around the Asia-Pacific and Africa region. These meetings give an opportunity for the participants to engage in interdisciplinary discussions with Nobel Laureates and other distinguished scientists pioneering the frontiers of knowledge.

Grant Value: Supports excellent PhD students and/or young researchers to attend the HOPE meetings with Nobel Laureates for 5 days including flights, accommodation, and meeting registration.

Guidelines and eligibility criteria can be found here.  If you are interested, please get in touch with your RPC and we will pass on the details on how to register in the portal.

Internal Deadline: 5pm Tuesday 11 October 2022

 

Transdisciplinary Ideation Fund 2022 – Call for Proposals and Workshops (Internal Funds)

The purpose of the TIF is to cultivate cross-faculty and transdisciplinary collaborations and generate new projects that respond to the four priority areas identified within Taumata Teitei : sustainability, health and well-being, social justice, and innovating secure knowledge systems.  The fund encourages research staff from across the University to develop cross-faculty research partnerships, aspiring toward high-quality Transdisciplinary Research outputs, research learning initiatives, and successful applications to external research funders.

  • Applications must include researchers from at least two Faculties / LSRIs, and evidence the transdisciplinary aspects of the research.
  • Application Teams must be a diverse mix of early career researchers, as well as established researchers where possible.
  • Applicants must be members of the academic staff, employed by the University of Auckland, and have an employment contract that specifies that they must undertake research.
  • Staff members employed on fixed-term or part-time contracts are eligible to apply as a PI provided that:

– the duration remaining of their contract is sufficient to complete the project or initiative;

– their appointment is 0.5 FTE or greater.

Grant Value: Applicants may apply for small grants ($10,000–$20,000) or large grants ($20,000–$60,000)

Internal Deadline: 5pm, 14 November 2022

Enquiries should be directed to ORSI via internalawards@auckland.ac.nz.

Application Form, Guidelines and FAQs can be accessed via the Research Hub at the link:  Transdisciplinary Ideation Fund.  Please get in touch with your RPC if you intend to apply as we can help with the submission process.

 

Transdisciplinary Ideation Workshops – The University will deliver five 2-hour thematic Transdisciplinary Ideation Workshops on the 8th and 9th September, focused on Taumata Teitei’s four impact priorities: sustainability, health and well-being, social justice, and innovating secure knowledge systems.  These will support staff to apply for a Small Grant ($10,000–$20,000) or Large Grant ($20,000–$60,000) from the Transdisciplinary Ideation Fund

The Transdisciplinary Ideation Workshops will gather academic staff from across all Faculties and Large-Scale Research Institutes, attracting a diverse mix of attendees spanning early, mid to senior career researchers.  The workshops are designed to cultivate cross-faculty, transdisciplinary collaborations and generate new project teams that respond to government priorities and major policy issues facing Aotearoa New Zealand. You will be encouraged to delve into problems, uncover innovative solutions, identify research projects and initiate new collaborative working partnerships. Each workshop will be hosted by facilitators who will be multidisciplinary and will include the Associate Deans Research. 

To participate in these workshops and extend your collaborative networks, please register here: Transdisciplinary Ideation Workshops.  It is not a requirement to attend the workshops to submit an application for funding, however, attendance is encouraged as an opportunity to connect with colleagues from across the University.

Applications for the Transdisciplinary Ideation Fund are due by November 14. Funding decisions will be announced in December 2022 for a 1st March 2023 start with an 18 month funding window. The Transdisciplinary Ideation Fund and Transdisciplinary Ideation Workshops have emerged from a collaboration between the Associate Deans Research, the Office of Research Strategy & Integrity and UniServices.

 

TE PŪNAHA HIHIKO VISION MATAURANGA CAPABILITY FUND (VMCF) 2023 – Scoping and Support on offer

UniServices and ORSI are planning a support programme for the upcoming MBIE 2023 Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund (VMCF). Applications will open mid- September and close mid-November (exact dates TBC by MBIE).

This fund invests in activities that strengthen capability, capacity, skills and networks between Māori organisations and the science and innovation system, to deliver benefit to Aotearoa.

 For researchers who have previously been unsuccessful, or have well-formed relationships with Māori organisations, there is a more targeted package that takes a researcher-centric approach focused on providing support that researchers identify. This more targeted package is in addition to the webinars and application templates, and provides panel reviews of proposal, writing support, business development support, and funding for a facilitator or catering for Hui with established partners.

 UniServices would like to identify potential interest – if this applies to you please get in touch with Kelly Kilpin asap.

 

Rangahau Committee Funding

The Rangahau Committee has a small amount of funds set aside ($5,000 total) 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.


Health, Safety and Wellbeing


Health & Safety Tip

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Publications 


Tom Baker & Nick Lewis. The case for bolder – why Auckland Council needs more ambiton. https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/129532620/the-case-for-bolder-government–why-auckland-council-needs-more-ambition 

Bruce W. Hayward, Ashwaq T. Sabaa, Jamie D. Howarth, Alan R. Orpin & Lorna J. Strachan (2022) Foraminiferal evidence for the provenance and flow history of turbidity currents triggered by the 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake, New Zealand, New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, DOI: 10.1080/00288306.2022.2103157.  https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/KGMARCXEYMXNSPVBC2S6/full?target=10.1080/00288306.2022.2103157

Bertin, D., Lindsay, J.M., Cronin, S.J., de Silva, S.L., Connor, C.B., Caffe, P.J., Grosse, P., Báez, W., Bustos, E., Constantinescu, R. (2022). Probabilistic volcanic hazard assessment of the 22.5-28°S segment of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes. Frontiers in Earth Science, 10:875439. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.875439

Leighton A, Brook MS, Cave M, Rowe MC, Stanley A, Tunnicliffe JF. (2022) Engineering geomorphological reconnaissance of the December 2018 Waimata Valley mud volcano eruption, Gisborne, New Zealand. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology https://doi.org/10.1144/qjegh2021-149

Cook M, Brook MS, Tunnicliffe J, Cave M., Gulick N (2022). Preliminary investigation of emerging suburban landsliding in Gisborne, New Zealand. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology https://doi.org/10.1144/qjegh2021-087

Bevan D, Beresford J, Arthurs J, Gasston C, Brook MS, Prebble W, Brideau M-A. (2022). Ohuka landslide, New Zealand: a low angle bedding-controlled coastal landslide at Port Waikato, North Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 65(2): 299-314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288306.2020.1865414

Le Heron,,R; Lundquist, CLogie, J; Blackett, P; Le Heron, E; Awatere, S; Hyslop J. “A socio-ecological appraisal of perceived risks associated with mangrove (manawa) management”NZ Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research (in press) Open access: https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.2022.2097270

Categories: Uncategorised
Comments Off on Issue 83 – Monday 15th August 2022

Issue 82 – Monday 1st August 2022

July 28, 2022 • igom365

HeadsUp


I doubt if many undergraduate students know what ‘softening EFTS’ are. Nor ‘onboarding’, ‘edge courses’ or any of the jargon that is used as we navigate through these uncertain times. All they want, I suspect, is clarity around what is expected and an engaging learning experience.

But like it or not, recruiting and retaining students is our best route to securing our future as a thriving School. And how we conduct ourselves in teaching and learning settings is a vital ingredient. This is especially the case around enticing undergraduates to return into our Honours or Masters programmes. Now we at least have in-person teaching on our side. Zoom-based teaching may help reduce our carbon footprint, but it is a poor substitute for the opportunities encountered at live full-embodied personhood teaching.

I was reminded of this last week. I’d been feeling a little grumpy in advance of a day when delivering a 50-minute lecture was my only in-person commitment. It was going to take me 4.5 hours of travel and ‘dead’ time in between ferries etc to front up to that class. But, when the time came, I felt a great ‘buzz’ to offer a lively delivery on a topic that’s been central to recent research efforts. In addition to a handful of appreciative students who shyly offered thanks at the end as they left, one engaged me in conversation on the comparative situation in her country of origin. An email followed. I sent on an extra paper to read. Who knows? Maybe that day’s after-lecture conversation could be a new Honours enrolment next year. Take home message? Unless it’s necessary, don’t rush away from a lecture too quickly. Allow those after-conversations to happen. They might just be the makings of a future PG supervision and aid our softening EFTS….!

On another matter, in a large School like ours there will always be comings and goings. But the goings invariably occur with a touch of sadness as people leave, who have been enthusiastic contributors and have become part of the team when they announce they need to move on. In addition to Ingo’s departure, we have another. Michael Martin has decided to end his time with us at the end of 2022.  His recent decision came close to his departure to Canada on RSL and fell within the teaching break so unfortunately there wasn’t an opportunity for an in-person farewell. However, Michael has offered to join an on-zoom farewell virtual drinks later in the year so we can thank him and offer some appreciative thoughts that way. Michael’s stellar efforts and gentle good-humoured manner have been central in developing new GISc courses and his absence will be greatly felt…..

Robin Kearns.

 


General Announcements


A new Environment online access and key request.

All Environment staff, student, visitor, can now use the an online access and keys process.

We are trialling a new online access request process with the School of Environment to assess its suitability and performance.  

Students and staff can now apply online Environment Access Request Form (office.com) using Microsoft Edge.

Fill in your details, choose the access you require, hit submit. You will receive a confirmation email of your request.

If you are the supervisor of the person requesting access, you will receive an email to approve or reject the request.

When lab access is also requested, the lab manager will receive an email to approve or reject. When your facilities coordinator has all the approvals, we can send the request to Access Control.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact facilities coordinator

Lynette l.carter@auckland.ac.nz  or Indigo indigo.rhrer@auckand.ac.nz

 

Transitional Facility -School of Environment

The Transitional Facility in the Environmental Chemistry Laboratory (302-730), will be closed from Monday 1st of August. If you need to import samples from outside NZ you use the Transitional Facilities at SBS or Anthropology.

For more information please contact Blair Sowman (b.sowman@auckland.ac.nz)

 

Field Friendly Software Trial

As some of you may be aware: over the last couple of years we have been working towards finding alternatives to our current form based fieldwork management system. Due to various obstacles along the line this process has been delayed severely multiple times, however, we are delighted to finally announce that we are starting a trial of the Field Friendly software in September 2022. This software offers an online database approach to managing field work and promises to significantly simplify and streamline our existing processes.

The setup phase of the trial has already begun and we are currently working with the developer to set up the software to our needs and requirements. Peter Schlegel (SBS) is leading the trial in collaboration with Blair Sowman and Andres Arcila-Rivera.

Some info on the scope and intentions of the trial:

  • The aim of this trial is to test the Field Friendly software and find out whether it would be a suitable alternative to replace our current fieldwork management system. We will be asking for and collecting feedback throughout this process, which will be used to refine the software itself during the trial as well as to create a report at the end.
  • Our aim is to run a variety of field trips through the software in order to capture as many scenarios as possible, e.g. teaching field trips (single-day and multi-day), research field trips (urban, remote, single-day, multi-day, …). We have selected several teaching field trips in ENV and SBS in Semester 2 which we would like to use for this purpose.
  • The trial will run over 4 months, 2 for set up and 2 for the actual trial. The setup phase has begun already, and the actual trial will start mid-September and conclude mid-November 2022.
  • We will get 15 trial user accounts and 45 field trips (which will be split between SBS and SoE), which we can utilise to test the software and gather feedback.
  • The trial will focus on field trips in the terrestrial realm. In order to streamline the trial and get the most out of it we have decided to not include boating or diving trips. While the software is more than capable to support these activities (UTas/IMAS in Tasmania use it exclusively to manage their dive operations, for instance), both boating and diving come with a slew of rules, regulations, and certifications, which would disproportionately increase the workload required to get the trial underway.

Call for volunteers to participate in the trial

We are looking for trial participants. If you have upcoming field work, are keen to test out this software, and are willing to provide feedback on your experiences with and thoughts about the software I would like to invite you to contact me!

We will organise user training sessions for participants with the developer and will guide you throughout the trial. Please be aware that we have only a limited amount of accounts and trips for this trial, so you may not get chosen to participate. However, you are still welcome to provide feedback on the software output even if you will not receive a trial user account, so please let me know if you are keen on  this. All feedback helps and will be greatly appreciated!

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas.

Regards,

Blair Sowman
Technical Manager | School of Environment

 

Health and Safety Responsibilities

All staff and students have a responsibility in supporting health, safety and wellbeing. For academic supervisors, this means: 

  • Being aware of what work their students are doing and supporting them to do this until they are competent  
  • Directing students under their supervision to follow protocols, inductions and procedures for the work they are undertaking.  
  • Respecting laboratory rules which are in place in the interests of everyone’s safety, including that of technical staff and other students who may be working in the same spaces. 
  • Where lab and/or field work requires risk assessments, ensuring that these are carried out to the necessary standard and approved in advance of work commencing.  
  • Regularly reviewing or updating risk assessments while work is underway. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to ensure this is completed and that updated copies are shared with affected people.  
  • Ensure that identified control measures, included PPE, are implemented and are effective. 
  • Raise any issues of non-compliance through their line management structure. 
  • Ensure that where the need for health surveillance is identified in a risk assessment, staff within their remit are referred to the occupational health provider and, where required, attend appointments. 
  • Reporting all incidents, injuries and unsafe observations on behalf of students. Damstra. 
  • For more information refer to the UOA HSW Policy

 

Positions Vacant 

  • Petrology Technician – VUW

There is currently a vacancy for a Petrology Technician in the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences at Te Herenga Waka (Victoria University of Wellington) .

If you are interested in applying or know of anyone that might be interested, please click on the below link, locate the Technician – Petrology vacancy and apply!!  The EOI process closes on 7 August.

https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/about/working-here/current-vacancies-broadbean

You would be part of a small but dedicated team of 8 technical staff that look after the needs and requirements of their students and staff.

If you have any questions or would like to further discuss the role, please do not hesitate to contact Kosta (Kosta.tashkoff@vuw.ac.nz)

 

School IT budget requests for 2023

The ENV IT Committee is seeking expressions of interest for software or data purchases in 2023. If you are planning to request any new or major software that may potentially be covered by this budget, please let us know using this form by the end of August. Please note, these expressions of interest are for planning only and does not mean the purchase will be funded. Any questions please contact Blair Sowman.

 

ENV Lab User Survey 2022

The School Technical Team is currently running our annual survey of experiences working within the ENV laboratories.

Invitations will be sent today (Monday 1 August) to postgraduate students. Please check your email for further instructions.

If you did not receive an email, you can complete the survey at this link: https://auckland.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6GaLmnlH5zveaBE

 

R Workshop

An introductory R Workshop is being run on Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd of September. This will be led by Daniel Walsh and Jessica McLay, from the Statistical Consulting Centre, in the Department of Statistics.

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 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 handy 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 re how to do this in our pre-workshop information email.

  • Access to computers and 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 1st and 2nd September, and we look forward to seeing you there.

Kind regards,

Joei Mudaliar | Group Services Coordinator

Department of Statistics | Faculty of Science

The University of Auckland | Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau

 

July Update from ORSI

Topic/Project Details you can use to share with your teams Timing More details available
Research Ethics training

 

Training opportunities to refresh your ethics knowledge.

An open invitation from The Ethics and Integrity Team to researchers intending to submit an ethics application to register for the training workshops that will explore the process for creating and submitting applications at the University of Auckland.

The workshop will discuss core ethical concepts and policies which should be considered during an application’s creation, as well as provide an in-depth review of the online Infonetica Ethics RM platform used during submission.

 

Please contact Hannah.neale@auckland.ac.nz for further information.

Session every 2 weeks, first spaces available on 28 July For more information see Research involving human participants | ResearchHub (auckland.ac.nz)

 

Open Access updates

 

New policy and publishing agreement to support Research open access.

 

Waipapa Taumata Rau has a new Open Access Policy.  You can read more about open access and find a link to the policy here.  The Open Access Policy replaces the Open Access Guidelines.

Complementing the new policy, several ‘Read and Publish’ open access publishing agreements have been signed with nine major academic publishers, covering over 4,500 journal titles.

These agreements allow researchers to publish their work openly without incurring any article processing charges (APCs) as the University covers this cost directly via the agreements.

 

Find out which publishers and journal titles are included in the agreements in the ResearchHub.

 

Please contact Rachel Chidlow r.chidlow@auckland.ac.nz for further information

As soon as possible For more information on Open Access see Open Access | ResearchHub (auckland.ac.nz)
R&I Portfolio short and near-term activities

 

 

Updated map available for 2022 Quarter 3 and Quarter 4.

 

The maps of the RI activities underway have been updated to reflect progress made since May and new initiatives started.

 

You can access the document here.

 

Please contact Alex Thomas or Nick Kearns for any questions.

 

As soon as practical For more information on the RI portfolio work and progress see Research & innovation strategic portfolio initiatives | ResearchHub (auckland.ac.nz)

 


Whakawhanaungatanga – Communities 


Coastal and Marine Geoscience Group Meeting/Seminar

The next Coastal-Marine Geoscience Group seminar will be held on Monday August 1st at 12:00 to 1:00 pm in the Ontology Lab (302-551).

News will be shared and a talk given from visiting researcher Valentina Spanu:

“Seagrass: curse or blessing? Management in the European context”

All welcome to attend – please email Emma Ryan at e.ryan@auckland.ac.nz if you wish to attend and don’t have the calendar invite already. 

Coastal-Marine Geoscience Group seminar

 

Science doctoral social night

The Faculty of Science will have a doctoral social night and would like to invite all our science doctoral candidates for a fun night of connecting and networking with fellow doctoral candidates through some fun games. Free drinks and nibbles will be provided, with some awesome science-branded merchandise and prizes up for grabs 🥂🌟

Date & Time: Thursday 11 August 5 pm to 7 pm

Location: Science Foyer 302 G60 (Ground Level, Building 302, 23 Symonds St)

Please use the RSVP link below to secure your spot. Registration closes on Tuesday 9 August at 5 pm. The maximum number of attendees is 100. We encourage everyone to register as early as possible, as you will be put on the waiting list once we reach the capacity limit. We look forward to seeing you on 11 August!

RSVP for the Doctoral Social Night

Science Doctoral Social Night

Science Doctoral Social Night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NZGS Auckland August newsletter

You can read the New Zealand Geographical Society August Newsletter here, where you will be able to find the poster for their next Dialogues with Martin Brook.

 

Academic Consulting Winter Webinar Series

The Academic Consulting 2022 Winter Webinar series is open to all interested researchers – there is no charge to attend the sessions.

Can’t make the date and time? Register anyway, and you’ll be sent a copy of the recording. Register at: https://www.academic-consulting.co.nz/winterwebinars.

  • Organising Research Ideas and Information

Date: Tuesday 9 August 2022, 11am–12noon NZST

Dealing with the ever-increasing volume of information we deal with as researchers can be overwhelming. This webinar will cover some tips and tricks for dealing with information overload and introduces some of our favourite tools for managing tasks, ideas and information. We’ll demonstrate Trello for task-management, Evernote for information management, XMind for managing ideas and Zotero for reference management.

  • Making the Most of NVivo

Date: Wednesday 24 August, 11am–12noon NZST

Unsure if you’re making the most of NVivo for your qualitative data analysis? This webinar will discuss some strategies for project set-up and coding which will ensure you maximise your use of the software. We’ll also cover the NVivo functionality that will help you avoid using the software as merely a tool for coding and retrieving. While this webinar is aimed at those with some experience of NVivo, those who are new to the software are welcome to attend.

To register for any of the above webinars visit: https://www.academic-consulting.co.nz/winterwebinars

Enquiries about the webinars can be directed to:

Academic Consulting

info@academic-consulting.co.nz

http://www.academic-consulting.co.nz

 

MBIE Writing Workshops

Date & Time: August (1st, 8th & 22nd)
Run Time: 1 hour per session
Location: Online
Link of session (if online): https://auckland.zoom.us/j/99229703314?pwd=RElyeHVTZ0I1SDFSWm85aFh2aVZBQT09
https://auckland.zoom.us/j/99364977466?pwd=ZVlJUHlmWjQvdGhlMEFBT2x4Q29ndz09
https://auckland.zoom.us/j/98903279547?pwd=QlBydDlmSXZUaERWcEF4a1M1bExoQT09
EventBrite Link: https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/mbie-writing-workshops-registration-308438898047
Recorded: No
Speakers: Write Ltd
Confirmation of speaker: Yes
Speaker Rates:
Internal Facilitator:
Audience: AUDIENCE: Open to UoA research staff only
Brief Overview Decription:
Session description: General Description:
Write Limited is a plain language consultancy. Their writing and editing services connect you with your audience and get your messages across clearly. They work with a wide variety of material from across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors.In these workshops, Write Limited will share tips and techniques to help you to make your writing more effective and engaging for your readers. They’ll deliver short, focused sessions to the group, mostly focussing on clarity of messaging and quality writing but there will be additional funder specific sessions and advice to enhance your proposal development. Feel free to register for all 3 or just the 1 or 2 topics of your choice. Participation is limited so don’t delay- secure your spot!
Notes: Potentially split into three sessions
Will need 3 tickets as there will be 3 webinars and they can sign up to each one
We will limit the tickets to 25 and put a waiting list.
Writing Webinar #1: Monday August 1, 3pm-4pm
Top five things you can do to improve your writing
Description: Based on insights we’ve gained from working on academic papers and proposals. 
• Start with your reader
• Be clear about your purpose
• Write informative, compelling titles and headings where possible
• Create short, straightforward sentences
• Choose precise words and explain technical terms
Writing Webinar #2: Monday August 8, 3pm-4pm
Engaging your readers, explaining the science
You’re all subject matter experts, but your readers might not be. How do you explain complex science information in a meaningful and engaging way?
• Shape your opening to hook the reader
• Bring the science alive
• Prefer active voice
• Create a compelling story by bringing it all together
Writing Webinar #3: Monday August 22, 3pm-4pm
8 tips on emphasising the impact of your research
It’s easy to focus so much on the science that the impact is lost. We give you 8 quick tips for making sure you emphasise the impact your research will have.

 

Honours Research Projects and sub-90 points Masters dissertations 

Dear colleagues,

Thank you to everyone who supervised and/or examined Honours Research projects and sub-90-point Masters projects/dissertations in 2021. Your time and effort in supervising students and/or examining projects in what was a disrupted year, protracted by deadline extensions, is greatly appreciated. The 2021 cohort should now be all finished and moving onto new things.

In 2022, we have students completing Honours and MENVSCI 30-point research projects, and Bachelor of Advanced Science 60-point dissertations, with submissions in Semester 1 (Monday 27 June) and Semester 2 (Monday 14 November).

For your diary: 

S2 Honours, MENVSCI and BAdvSci Oral Presentations – Wednesday 26 October. Time and venue to be confirmed.

These are on the same day as Masters presentations and every effort will be made to avoid clashes.

Finally, if you are supervising Honours/MENVSCI/BAdvSci students this year, please ensure their project is achievable within the one- or two-semester timeframe and that it can be completed under pandemic conditions. Please encourage your student(s) to meet the end-of-semester submission date too, even if Covid-19 extensions are again offered by the Faculty; it is helpful to the students, for getting grades back in time to go on to further study or work, and to those involved in the examination process if we can all stick to the schedule.

Kind regards

Gretel Boswijk, (Honours coordinator)

 


Funding


MPI Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research Fund 2022

The Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research Fund supports the reporting of emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land use by funding continuous research. This informs policy decisions and helps the agriculture and forestry sectors manage their greenhouse gas emissions.

Eligibility: Applications must align with one of the key priorities as outlined. They may either be original projects or one of the suggested projects from the list.

Submission process: . To receive an application template, register your intent to apply with the submissions@auckland.ac.nz

Contact your local support (FIRST) team and create a record in the Research Funding Module (RFM) uploading all application documents and submit for faculty sign off by the 5pm, Wednesday 3rd August 2022.

Submit your application to submissions@auckland.ac.nz no later than 5pm, Wednesday 3rd August 2022 to allow sufficient time for the Funds Advisor team to submit your application to MPI by the external deadline. 

Guidelines: View the GHGIR 2022 Priorities paper here

View website here.

 

Chinese Scholarship Council PhD Projects Supervisors are invited to send a description of available PhD projects to Sharon Chen (phdscience@auckland.ac.nz) by August 8th for inclusion in the material for the recruitment fair later in the year.

Project descriptions should include:

  • the name of the researcher or researchers associated with the project, their email addresses, and Department/School
  • a name for the project and a short paragraph about the project

 

Post-doctoral Research Award Opportunity 

Applications are now open, closing date: 19 August 2022

The Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust offers Post Doctoral Research Awards (Dame Joan Metge & Emeritus Professor Dame Charmian J O’Connor Post-Doctoral Research Awards) of $16,000 each to assist women who have qualified to graduate with a doctoral degree within the last two years to carry out research on a specified, independent project at an approved Institute in the Auckland area.

Eligibility Criteria: NZ Citizens or Permanent Residents for a specified, independent, limited term research project.

The successful awardee should not undertake more than 20 hours per week paid employment during tenure of the award.

For further details see: www.academicdresshire.co.nz /Academic Awards. Any enquiries, please email awards@kateedgertrust.org.nz

 

2022 Contestable Research Development Fund Main Round

Deadline:  5pm, 7 September 2022

There are three award types offered in the 2022 contestable round in the Faculty of Science

Award type Duration Minimum and maximum funding available per application
Research Fellowship Award Up to 3 years $100,000 – $200,000
Staff Research Award Up to 2 years $10,000 – $40,000
Aronui Pūtaiao Award Up to 2 years  $10,000 – $40,000

Do let your school/department Research Programme Coordinator know if you intend applying for any of these awards.

Full details including guidelines and the application form are available on the research page of the staff intranet.  

For general queries please contact your Research Programme Coordinator (RPC), or Dee Nolan Fos-researchadmin@auckland.ac.nz

Queries about the Aronui Pūtaiao Award can be directed to Te Taura Here Pūtaiao, and/or the Associate Dean Māori, Jade Le Grice j.legrice@auckland.ac.nz.

 

2022 Scholarship AINSE ANSTO French Embassies (SAAFE): applications now open (applications close 30 September 2022)

AINSE, in partnership with ANSTO, the Embassy of France in Australia and the Embassy of France in New Zealand, are delighted to announce that applications for the next round of the 2022 SAAFE Program are now open, for international travel in the period 1st January 2023 – 31st December 2023.

The Scholarship AINSE ANSTO French Embassies (SAAFE) Program is an exciting international exchange opportunity open to Early Career Researchers at the PhD and postdoctoral level. Up to $7,500 AUD is provided to each successful applicant towards supporting travel and/or accommodation expenses associated with a visit from:

  • Australia/New Zealand to France, or
  • France to Australia.

The SAAFE Program supports Early Career Researchers to expand research and innovation activities with Human Health, Environment and the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, and to initiate sustainable research networks and linkages to support Australia, New Zealand and France in research and innovation.

Eligible applicants must be a PhD student in, or hold a postdoctoral appointment at, a French university or AINSE-member university.

The research internship is required to take place between 1st January 2023 and 31st December 2023.

Applications close 30th September 2022.

For more information, including the application form and terms & conditions, please visit the SAAFE website or contact AINSE on +61 2 9717 3376 / enquiries@ainse.edu.au.

 

AINSE Scholar Gold Medals (nominations received until 31 August 2022).

The AINSE Scholar Gold Medal is awarded for impact and excellence in research on the basis of publications that acknowledge AINSE support. At the presentation of the medals, the newly-awarded Gold Medallists are invited to deliver an address on their research.

To nominate an early career researcher or postgraduate student for a Scholar Gold Medal, please complete the Scholar Gold Medal Nomination form 2022 (available online as well at this link) and return via email to enquiries@ainse.edu.au prior to the close of nominations at 11:59 pm AEST Wednesday 31st August 2022.

For more information please visit the AINSE Scholar Gold Medal page or contact AINSE.

 

Funding for class meet and greets 

The Student Experience Committee has limited funding available for class related activities. If you want to run a class event, online or otherwise (challenging given the current restrictions), and would benefit from some funds, please contact Joe (j.fagan@auckland.ac.nz). The Committee would prefer to fund several small events rather than one big one (but we are open to suggestions).

 

Scholarships for students to undertake research at the SoE

The Rangahau Committee coordinates the distribution of three new scholarships to support students in undertaking research in our School. If you know potential applicants or if you are a potential applicant, make sure you contact the people below. There is no strict deadline at this stage, but the earlier we hear from you, the better. Note that these scholarships are also advertised via other channels.

  1. Moana PG Research Scholarship: NZ$500-1000 (5-10 awards available) to support Pacific students to do research at the SoE at the post-grad level (Master or Hons). Contact Sonia Fonua s.fonua@auckland.ac.nz
  2. Māori PG Research Scholarship: NZ$500-1000 (5-10 awards available) to support Māori students to do research at the SoE at the post-grad level (Master or Hons). Contact Kimoro Taiepa kimoro.taiepa@auckland.ac.nz
  3. Undergrad Research Experience: NZ$800 (up to 10 awards available) for undergraduate students to shadow a researcher (Master/PhD student, research fellow etc.) for a period equivalent to 2 weeks (as a block or spread over a longer period that suits the research). Contact Melanie Kah melanie.kah@auckland.ac.nz

 

The Research Committee Funding available

This is for activities to benefit Postdocs and RFs and allow them to connect. To all those who fall into the following categories, we invite you to contact the new RF rep in the Rangahau/Research committee Joa Paredes-Mariño (for RFs/postdocs) joa.paredes.marino@auckland.ac.nz, for further information.

  • Postdocs/Research Fellows
  • People conducting research on non-permanent contracts at the post-doctoral level

 

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.

 


Rangahau – Research


 

The George Mason Centre for Natural Environment Call for Proposals 2022

 

Types of Grant
Seed Projects

 

Up to $10,000 to cover research expenses for one year (including travel, equipment etc. but not salary or buyout)
PhD Scholarships

 

$33,000 per annum for 3 years plus fees  ($126,000.00 total)
MSc Fees  

 

$10,000
Post-Doctoral fellowships

 

$95,075 (1 year of L/RF1 including ACC and Superannuation) – up to 2 years available 
Workshop

 

$5,000
Purpose The GMCNE is a multi-disciplinary research centre in the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland with a focus on environmental restoration, conservation and sustainability.

 

This Call for Proposals is looking to support projects that enhance the aims of the George Mason Centre and focus on environmental solutions.

 

The Expert Advisory Panel will be looking to foster connections between projects that lead to thematic research and to expanded funding opportunities for research and application. This is an opportunity to extend and link your research. The GMCNE is looking to foster capacity and capability in finding solutions to environmental problems.

 

The underlying theme for all proposals should align with supporting

a diverse range of research projects to address questions within and across different natural ecosystems that demonstrate a direct impact on issues of environmental restoration, conservation and/or sustainability

 

Please find more in-depth information in the 2022 guidelines attached.

 

Grant Value and Duration A total of $750,000 is available in this round, with that sum in total spread over up to 3 years.

 

Successful projects will be funded from 1 January 2023 at the earliest and run for the appropriate time period from your chosen start date.

 

Information/Q&A Session We will be holding an Information/Q&A Session via Zoom on 23 August 11.00 – 12.00. The format of this session will be a 15 minute presentation from the Director, Simon Thrush followed by questions and answers.

 

https://auckland.zoom.us/j/95072246463

 

Submission Deadline 12 Noon, Monday 5 September 2022

 

Submission Process The completed application form is submitted to gmcne@auckland.ac.nz. Please put the PI name in the email subject. You will receive a confirmation email upon submission.

 

2023 MBIE Endeavour Support Sessions

If you are thinking of applying for either a MBIE Smart Idea or Research Program this year, please get in touch with your RPC (Franca, Dianne or Kelly) to register your interest.  The round will open in October, however there are a number of support initiatives underway across the Faculty and University, and we can talk you through these.

Details on the central support for MBIE Endeavour Fund 2023 is available on the Research Hub (including recordings of past events).  The upcoming workshops (registration is required to get a ZOOM link):

Government Engagement – general overview – 17 August 2022, 13:00 – 14:30

Rebecca Adams, Director Government Relations, Auckland UniServices, will be hosting a webinar to give you a general overview and practical advice on how to plan for successful Government engagement in an MBIE Endeavour funding context and focussing on other funding opportunities in Government that might also be relevant. She will cover how to engage with Government, with tips on framing of opportunities, how to stand out in a crowded landscape and latest information on what MBIE people really want.

Registration link

MBIE Endeavour 2023 Registration (October, date TBC)

Thinking of applying to the MBIE Endeavour fund this year? Not sure if your application should be a Smart Idea or a Programme application? Not clear on what is required in the Registration (due 22 October for Smart Ideas and 30 November for Programmes). Wonder how the Registration affects what you write in your application? And what to do once you have registered to get your Concept (for Smart Ideas) or Application (for Programmes) moving forward? This webinar will give you a steer and help answer your questions.

MBIE Endeavour 2023 Smart Ideas Concepts (October, date TBC)

You’ve submitted your Smart Idea registration document and have just over a month to write your Concept. What is required in all those sections of the document? Where do you start and how do you make it all hang together? This webinar will talk through the sections of the Smart Idea Concept, explain how they relate to one another and identify some of the critical points for writing a good Concept document.

 

EURAXESS ROADSHOW – Wed, 17 August 2022

The EURAXESS Co-ordinator for NZ and Australia, Nishant Shandilya will present on Horizon Europe funding opportunities. This will be a good opportunity for researchers to meet and talk to the EURAXESS Co-ordinator and establish initial understanding of and relations with the Horizon Europe funding opportunities.

The roadshow will run as a hybrid event, accessible both online and in person in 505-511 Lecture Theatre 1, AMRF Auditorium, Grafton which can hold up to 300 people. The session will be recorded, except for the Q&A section (as requested by EURAXESS).

Audience: Early and Mid-Career Researchers and Senior Researchers from any research discipline and research support professionals.

Registration link

 

TE PŪNAHA HIHIKO VISION MATAURANGA CAPABILITY FUND (VMCF) 2023 – Scoping and Support on offer

UniServices and ORSI are planning a support programme for the upcoming MBIE 2023 Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund (VMCF). Applications will open mid- September and close mid-November (exact dates TBC by MBIE).

This fund invests in activities that strengthen capability, capacity, skills and networks between Māori organisations and the science and innovation system, to deliver benefit to Aotearoa.

 For researchers who have previously been unsuccessful, or have well-formed relationships with Māori organisations, there is a more targeted package that takes a researcher-centric approach focused on providing support that researchers identify. This more targeted package is in addition to the webinars and application templates, and provides panel reviews of proposal, writing support, business development support, and funding for a facilitator or catering for Hui with established partners.

 UniServices would like to identify potential interest – if this applies to you please get in touch with Kelly Kilpin asap.

 

Rangahau Committee Funding

The Rangahau Committee has a small amount of funds set aside ($5,000 total) 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.


Health, Safety and Wellbeing


Health & Safety Tip

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Publications 


Collins, N., Rowe, M. C., Kilgour, G., Nichols, A. R., Schipper, C. I., Tari, D., & Garaebiti, E. (2022). A petrologic insight into transitioning eruption styles from the Devil’s Rock region, Ambae, Vanuatu. Journal of Petrology63(7), egac050. https://academic.oup.com/petrology/article/63/7/egac050/6607491?login=true

Woodhouse, A., Barnes, P.B., Shorrock, A., Strachan, L.J., Crundwell, M., Bostock, H.C., Hopkins, J., Kutterolf, S., Pank, K., Behrens, E., Greve, A., Bell, R., Cook, A., Petronotis, K., LeVay, L., Jamieson, R.A., Aze, T., Wallace, L., Saffer, D. & Pecher, I. (2022) Trench floor depositional response to glacio-eustatic changes over the last 45 ka, northern Hikurangi subduction margin, New Zealand, New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, DOI: 10.1080/00288306.2022.2099432

2022  COLLINS, F.L. and FRIESEN, W.  Excess aspirations: migration and urban futures in post-earthquake Christchurch. Urban Studies. doi: 10.1177/00420980221105982.

Vila-Concejo, A., Splinter, K.D., Harley, M.D., Lowe, R., Fellowes, T.E., McCarroll, R.J. and Coco, G., 2022. Creating communities and communicating science during COVID-19: From Coast2Coast to Coast2Cast. Continental Shelf Research, p.104794. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278434322001479

Montgomery, J.M., Bryan, K.R. and Coco, G., 2022. The role of mangroves in coastal flood protection: The importance of channelization. Continental Shelf Research, p.104762. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278434322001169

Zhou, Z., Wu, Y., Fan, D., Wu, G., Luo, F., Yao, P., Gong, Z. and Coco, G., 2022. Sediment sorting and bedding dynamics of tidal flat wetlands: Modeling the signature of storms. Journal of Hydrology, p.127913. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169422004887

Ruju, A., Buosi, C., Coco, G., Porta, M., Trogu, D., Ibba, A. and De Muro, S., 2022. Ecosystem services of reed and seagrass debris on a urban Mediterranean beach (Poetto, Italy). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, p.107862. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272771422001214

Categories: Uncategorised
Comments Off on Issue 82 – Monday 1st August 2022

Issue 81 – Monday 18 July 2022

July 18, 2022 • igom365

HeadsUp


Last week I attended the (usually annual, but covid-postponed) ‘VC Recognition Dinner’. At first, I wondered why I didn’t recognise more people. As the evening unfolded, it became apparent why. Rather than an occasion dominated by accolades for recipients of research medals and mega grants most awards were presented to teams of professional staff working behind the scenes to enhance the innovative edge of the university.

Many of these initiatives were new to me. For instance, Stanley Jones was acknowledged for cataloguing all 8,000+ significant botanical specimens on the various university campuses; Jodi Salinsky, the university’s Animal Welfare Officer was recognised for championing enhancements in how animals are managed in teaching and research, leading to NZ becoming the first country outside of Europe to  adopt an Openness Agreement on the use of Animals in Research and Teaching; and Josephina Ah Sam and Katalina Ma were applauded for developing the South Auckland Mathematics Challenge: an easy-to-access opportunity for Years 9 and 10 students to build numeracy skills and confidence. This is but a sample of the diversity, creativity and innovation by professional staff. All seemed to echo, in some way, the theme of the VC’s mihi that evening: that even difficult times can be replete with signs of hope.   

Closer to home in our School, I see signs of hope too: staff across all job descriptions who remain cheerful; colleagues who say yes without hesitation to requests; committee members who beam in to critical meetings from different time zone if they are travelling; and those who soldiered on marking exams when they felt under the weather (when they should have been resting up!).

I even had one colleague contact me on the last day of their Research and Study Leave asking what service role I would like them to take up on return. I’m glad I was working from home that day with a good soft carpet beneath me; I was at risk of falling off my seat in delight and surprise. But such is the goodwill I note. And such are the signs of hope that we continue to be part of  a team (and not a collection of lone rangers). May hope and goodwill continue to prevail and we sail on into Semester 2!

Robin Kearns

 


General Announcements


ENV PhD and Staff Morning Tea – Including welcome/introductions of new PhDs

A variety of new PhD students started during the Delta and Omicron lockdowns and haven’t really had a chance to get to know staff and other PhDs at the school so we will have a catered morning tea Wednesday 20th July at 10.30 am in the Building 302 6th floor tearoom to welcome them to the community.

See you there!

 

Carolyn Lundquist was nominated by New Zealand and selected as a member of the Multidisciplinary Expert Panel of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). This is recognition of Carolyn’s long term contributions to IPBES, including serving as cochair of the task force on scenarios and models of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The IPBES is an independent intergovernmental body established by States to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development. She also presented the Nature Futures Framework which was welcomed by IPBES governments last week at the 9th Plenary session. The NFF is a novel framework for developing transformative scenarios to reduce declines in biodiversity and ecosystem services, and its development was initiated at a stakeholder workshop hosted by the University of Auckland in 2017.

 

NEW! Library Drop-In Sessions for Science Staff, Doctoral Researchers, & Postgrads

Berit Anderson and Alissa Hackett from Research Services (Te Tumu Herenga | Libraries & Learning Services) will be starting a monthly drop-in Q&A session for Science faculty staff, doctoral researchers, and postgrads on July 21 from 12-1:30 in the Level 6 Staff Breakout Lounge. They will be there to help answer any questions you may have about search strategies, databases, researcher profiles & IDs, metrics, and open access. These sessions will recur monthly on the third Thursday of the month, from 12-1:30 in the L6 Staff Breakout Lounge. Session dates for the rest of 2022 are:

Thursday 21 July, 12-1:30p

Thursday 18 August, 12-1:30p

Thursday 15 September, 12-1:30p

Thursday 12 October, 12-1:30p

Thursday 17 November, 12-1:30p

Thursday 15 December, 12-1:30p

If you have any questions about these drop-in sessions please contact Berit onberit.anderson@auckland.ac.nz

 

Some news on UoA Doctoral Scholarships

UEC has considered an options paper on the number and value of Doctoral Scholarships we are
able to offer. This has been in response to the acknowledged pressure on costs of living for
students, particularly in Auckland and the more strategic use of these scholarships. They are
recognised as an important component in addressing our research ambitions as a University, in
addressing equity considerations in our research workforce and working towards our objectives in
size, shape and composition. UEC have determined:

  • That the stipend of the University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship will increase to
    $33,000 from 1 January 2023.
  •  That from 1 January 2024 an annual CPI based adjustment is made to the stipend of the
    University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship.
  • That the number of new University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarships is increased from the
    current 200 to 225 a year.
  • That new funding is secured for a University of Auckland Doctoral Bridging Scholarship.
    This last bullet recognises the opportunity to assist students, particularly from equity groups, who
    might lack the research component necessary to qualify for Doctoral programs and would benefit
    from assistance while this is undertaken.

 


Whakawhanaungatanga – Communities 


Pūatatangi Te Mana Whititua – Te Reo Māori weekly workshops. Please come join us!

Tēnā tatou katoa e te whanau,

For those interested in beginning their Te Reo journey, the school is running an initiative Te Manu Whititua. As part of that we are offering beginner lessons in the Māori language.

Even if you have not joined us in semester 1, there is still time to join us in semester 2. We have three offerings of the same workshop each week. This will allow you to find a time and a mode of delivery which suits you best and you are welcome to switch between them.

Weekly academic and professional staff zoom workshop:

Tuesday 10-11

https://auckland.zoom.us/j/97478439371?pwd=M09uQW81TkYrc2w1NzZWNTZNcnY3Zz09

Weekly staff and postgraduate student in-person workshop:

Friday 11-12 (followed by pizza)

Room: 302-130

Weekly postgraduate student zoom workshop:

Friday 2-3

https://auckland.zoom.us/j/93207635221?pwd=UEUydUhBczMzYTYrcjRucit5NXExQT09

Please contact Kimoro if you have any questions, kimoro.taiepa@auckland.ac.nz

 

Academic Consulting Winter Webinar Series

The Academic Consulting 2022 Winter Webinar series is open to all interested researchers – there is no charge to attend the sessions.

Can’t make the date and time? Register anyway, and you’ll be sent a copy of the recording. Register at: https://www.academic-consulting.co.nz/winterwebinars.

Keep Calm and Carry On Researching

Date: Tuesday 19 July 2022, 11am–12noon NZST

For many people, research plans for 2022 haven’t quite turned out as expected. You might be behind on project timeframes, needing to rethink your research design, feeling disorganised or even a bit unmotivated (which is all perfectly understandable!). This session will discuss strategies to help you get back on track, stay organised and put your best foot forward for the remainder of 2022. We’ll discuss research planning, creating workflows, tips for finding your research “mojo”, technology tools to help stay on top of your research and more!

NVivo from Start to Finish

Date: Friday 29 July 2022, 11am–12noon NZST

NVivo has such a wide range of tools it’s easy to lose track of them all, and the bigger picture context of your research project can get lost in some of the detail. While there’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ NVivo project, this webinar aims to demonstrate a possible sequence of steps that you might follow if you’re using NVivo for qualitative data analysis. We’ll briefly touch on preparing and importing data, developing a coding framework and conducting basic coding, exploration via queries/visualizations, and moving from NVivo to a written product. This webinar will be perfect for both NVivo novices and experienced users of the software.

Organising Research Ideas and Information

Date: Tuesday 9 August 2022, 11am–12noon NZST

Dealing with the ever-increasing volume of information we deal with as researchers can be overwhelming. This webinar will cover some tips and tricks for dealing with information overload and introduces some of our favourite tools for managing tasks, ideas and information. We’ll demonstrate Trello for task-management, Evernote for information management, XMind for managing ideas and Zotero for reference management.

Making the Most of NVivo

Date: Wednesday 24 August, 11am–12noon NZST

Unsure if you’re making the most of NVivo for your qualitative data analysis? This webinar will discuss some strategies for project set-up and coding which will ensure you maximise your use of the software. We’ll also cover the NVivo functionality that will help you avoid using the software as merely a tool for coding and retrieving. While this webinar is aimed at those with some experience of NVivo, those who are new to the software are welcome to attend.

To register for any of the above webinars visit: https://www.academic-consulting.co.nz/winterwebinars

Enquiries about the webinars can be directed to:

Academic Consulting

info@academic-consulting.co.nz

http://www.academic-consulting.co.nz

 

MBIE Endeavor Proposal: Responsiveness 2 Māori Session- Vision Mātauranga

Jaylene Wehipeihana (ORSI) will host a webinar providing an overview for Responsiveness to Māori and responding to VM for MBIE Endeavour.

Session Name: Responsiveness 2 Māori Session: Vision Mātauranga and Your MBIE Endeavour Proposal
Session description REGISTRATION OF INTEREST:  Please register your interest and we will send the details and calendar invite once they have been confirmed.   This webinar aims to raise awareness about ways to demonstrate how your MBIE Endeavour funding application is responding to the Vision Mātauranga policy.
Research Manager Vision Mātauranga, Jaylene Wehipeihana will be hosting the hour-long webinar.
AUDIENCE: Open to UoA research staff and research support staff (FIRST).
Date & time: 20-Jul-22
Run Time: 11 to 12pm (1 hour)
Location: Online
EventBrite Link: https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/responsiveness-2-maori-workshop-vision-matauranga-mbie-endeavour-tickets-309081790957
Recorded: Yes
Speakers: Jaylene Wehipeihana
Confirmation of speaker: Yes
Audience: AUDIENCE: Open to UoA research staff and research support staff (FIRST).

 

MBIE Writing Workshops

Date & Time: August (1st, 8th & 22nd)
Run Time: 1 hour per session
Location: Online
Link of session (if online): https://auckland.zoom.us/j/99229703314?pwd=RElyeHVTZ0I1SDFSWm85aFh2aVZBQT09
https://auckland.zoom.us/j/99364977466?pwd=ZVlJUHlmWjQvdGhlMEFBT2x4Q29ndz09
https://auckland.zoom.us/j/98903279547?pwd=QlBydDlmSXZUaERWcEF4a1M1bExoQT09
EventBrite Link: https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/mbie-writing-workshops-registration-308438898047
Recorded: No
Speakers: Write Ltd
Confirmation of speaker: Yes
Speaker Rates:
Internal Facilitator:
Audience: AUDIENCE: Open to UoA research staff only
Brief Overview Decription:
Session description: General Description:
Write Limited is a plain language consultancy. Their writing and editing services connect you with your audience and get your messages across clearly. They work with a wide variety of material from across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors.In these workshops, Write Limited will share tips and techniques to help you to make your writing more effective and engaging for your readers. They’ll deliver short, focused sessions to the group, mostly focussing on clarity of messaging and quality writing but there will be additional funder specific sessions and advice to enhance your proposal development. Feel free to register for all 3 or just the 1 or 2 topics of your choice. Participation is limited so don’t delay- secure your spot!
Notes: Potentially split into three sessions
Will need 3 tickets as there will be 3 webinars and they can sign up to each one
We will limit the tickets to 25 and put a waiting list.
Writing Webinar #1: Monday August 1, 3pm-4pm
Top five things you can do to improve your writing
Description: Based on insights we’ve gained from working on academic papers and proposals. 
• Start with your reader
• Be clear about your purpose
• Write informative, compelling titles and headings where possible
• Create short, straightforward sentences
• Choose precise words and explain technical terms
Writing Webinar #2: Monday August 8, 3pm-4pm
Engaging your readers, explaining the science
You’re all subject matter experts, but your readers might not be. How do you explain complex science information in a meaningful and engaging way?
• Shape your opening to hook the reader
• Bring the science alive
• Prefer active voice
• Create a compelling story by bringing it all together
Writing Webinar #3: Monday August 22, 3pm-4pm
8 tips on emphasising the impact of your research
It’s easy to focus so much on the science that the impact is lost. We give you 8 quick tips for making sure you emphasise the impact your research will have.

 

MBIE Smart Ideas Webinar Link

This webinar (https://youtu.be/9YDCUxNwObc) was for last year’s talking through the sections of the Smart Idea Concept, explaining how they relate to one another and identify some of the critical points for writing a good Concept document. 

Dr Jane Shearer brought her broad experience as a writer of research proposals, developed through her work in the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, establishing and running the University of Canterbury Research Office, and twenty years as an independent consultant assisting hundreds of researchers.

 

Honours Research Projects and sub-90 points Masters dissertations 

Dear colleagues,

Thank you to everyone who supervised and/or examined Honours Research projects and sub-90-point Masters projects/dissertations in 2021. Your time and effort in supervising students and/or examining projects in what was a disrupted year, protracted by deadline extensions, is greatly appreciated. The 2021 cohort should now be all finished and moving onto new things.

In 2022, we have students completing Honours and MENVSCI 30-point research projects, and Bachelor of Advanced Science 60-point dissertations, with submissions in Semester 1 (Monday 27 June) and Semester 2 (Monday 14 November).

For your diary: 

S2 Honours, MENVSCI and BAdvSci Oral Presentations – Wednesday 26 October. Time and venue to be confirmed.

These are on the same day as Masters presentations and every effort will be made to avoid clashes.

Finally, if you are supervising Honours/MENVSCI/BAdvSci students this year, please ensure their project is achievable within the one- or two-semester timeframe and that it can be completed under pandemic conditions. Please encourage your student(s) to meet the end-of-semester submission date too, even if Covid-19 extensions are again offered by the Faculty; it is helpful to the students, for getting grades back in time to go on to further study or work, and to those involved in the examination process if we can all stick to the schedule.

Kind regards

Gretel Boswijk, (Honours coordinator)

 


Funding


MPI Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research Fund 2022

The Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research Fund supports the reporting of emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land use by funding continuous research. This informs policy decisions and helps the agriculture and forestry sectors manage their greenhouse gas emissions.

Eligibility: Applications must align with one of the key priorities as outlined. They may either be original projects or one of the suggested projects from the list.

Submission process: . To receive an application template, register your intent to apply with the submissions@auckland.ac.nz

Contact your local support (FIRST) team and create a record in the Research Funding Module (RFM) uploading all application documents and submit for faculty sign off by the 5pm, Wednesday 3rd August 2022.

Submit your application to submissions@auckland.ac.nz no later than 5pm, Wednesday 3rd August 2022 to allow sufficient time for the Funds Advisor team to submit your application to MPI by the external deadline.

Guidelines: View the GHGIR 2022 Priorities paper here

View website here.

 

2022 Contestable Research Development Fund Main Round

Deadline:  5pm, 7 September 2022

There are three award types offered in the 2022 contestable round in the Faculty of Science

Award type Duration Minimum and maximum funding available per application
Research Fellowship Award Up to 3 years $100,000 – $200,000
Staff Research Award Up to 2 years $10,000 – $40,000
Aronui Pūtaiao Award Up to 2 years  $10,000 – $40,000

Do let your school/department Research Programme Coordinator know if you intend applying for any of these awards.

Full details including guidelines and the application form are available on the research page of the staff intranet.  

For general queries please contact your Research Programme Coordinator (RPC), or Dee Nolan Fos-researchadmin@auckland.ac.nz

Queries about the Aronui Pūtaiao Award can be directed to Te Taura Here Pūtaiao, and/or the Associate Dean Māori, Jade Le Grice j.legrice@auckland.ac.nz.

 

Post-doctoral Research Award Opportunity 

Applications are now open, closing date: 19 August 2022

The Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust offers Post Doctoral Research Awards (Dame Joan Metge & Emeritus Professor Dame Charmian J O’Connor Post-Doctoral Research Awards) of $16,000 each to assist women who have qualified to graduate with a doctoral degree within the last two years to carry out research on a specified, independent project at an approved Institute in the Auckland area.

Eligibility Criteria: NZ Citizens or Permanent Residents for a specified, independent, limited term research project.

The successful awardee should not undertake more than 20 hours per week paid employment during tenure of the award.

For further details see: www.academicdresshire.co.nz /Academic Awards. Any enquiries, please email awards@kateedgertrust.org.nz

 

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Unlocking Curious Minds Contestable Fund

For the Fund’s 2023 investment round, approximately $1.6 million (excluding GST).The funding available per project is between $50,000 (minimum) and $150,000 (maximum).

  • Registration: 12 noon, Friday 22 July 2022.
  • Full Proposal:12 noon, Monday 22 August 2022.

Duration: Projects will run for up to 11 months from 1 February 2023 until 31 December 2023

All registration and proposal submissions should be made through the MBIE IMS Portal with existing login details. New applicants Contact submissions@auckland.ac.nz

For more information regarding this fund, please visit here. For help developing your application, please contact your local support (FIRST) team. If you have any funder specific queries or require funder portal help, please contact the UniServices Funds Advisor Team via submissions@auckland.ac.nz

 

Rutherford Foundation Fellowships and Scholarships

Internal Deadline: 5pm Tuesday 26 July 2022

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.

Cambridge-Rutherford Memorial PhD Scholarship: These scholarships are intended to provide full support to enable completion of a PhD at the University of Cambridge in pure or applied science and the social sciences.

Application: Please discuss your intention to apply with Academic Head, Robin Kearns first, once approved, please proceed with the following:

  1. Email the following information to the Funds Advisor Team via submissions@auckland.ac.nzfor portal access: title, full name, email address, faculty and department.
  2. Contact your local support (FIRST) team for research support assistance for your application.
  3. Complete the application on the Portal and submit it to the Funds Advisor Team by 5pm Tuesday 26 July 2022.

 GUIDELINES
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Doctoral Scholarship

 

NZ Association of Scientists 2022 Science Medals

Closing date is 31 July 2022

 

Funding for class meet and greets 

The Student Experience Committee has limited funding available for class related activities. If you want to run a class event, online or otherwise (challenging given the current restrictions), and would benefit from some funds, please contact Joe (j.fagan@auckland.ac.nz). The Committee would prefer to fund several small events rather than one big one (but we are open to suggestions).

 

TE PŪNAHA HIHIKO VISION MATAURANGA CAPABILITY FUND (VMCF) 2023 – Scoping and Support on offer

UniServices and ORSI are planning a support programme for the upcoming MBIE 2023 Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund (VMCF). Applications will open mid- September and close mid-November (exact dates TBC by MBIE).

This fund invests in activities that strengthen capability, capacity, skills and networks between Māori organisations and the science and innovation system, to deliver benefit to Aotearoa.

 For researchers who have previously been unsuccessful, or have well-formed relationships with Māori organisations, there is a more targeted package that takes a researcher-centric approach focused on providing support that researchers identify. This more targeted package is in addition to the webinars and application templates, and provides panel reviews of proposal, writing support, business development support, and funding for a facilitator or catering for Hui with established partners.

 UniServices would like to identify potential interest – if this applies to you please get in touch with Kelly Kilpin asap.

 

Rangahau Committee Funding

The Rangahau Committee has a small amount of funds set aside ($5,000 total) 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.

 

Scholarships for students to undertake research at the SoE

The Rangahau Committee coordinates the distribution of three new scholarships to support students in undertaking research in our School. If you know potential applicants or if you are a potential applicant, make sure you contact the people below. There is no strict deadline at this stage, but the earlier we hear from you, the better. Note that these scholarships are also advertised via other channels.

  1. Moana PG Research Scholarship: NZ$500-1000 (5-10 awards available) to support Pacific students to do research at the SoE at the post-grad level (Master or Hons). Contact Sonia Fonua s.fonua@auckland.ac.nz
  2. Māori PG Research Scholarship: NZ$500-1000 (5-10 awards available) to support Māori students to do research at the SoE at the post-grad level (Master or Hons). Contact Kimoro Taiepa kimoro.taiepa@auckland.ac.nz
  3. Undergrad Research Experience: NZ$800 (up to 10 awards available) for undergraduate students to shadow a researcher (Master/PhD student, research fellow etc.) for a period equivalent to 2 weeks (as a block or spread over a longer period that suits the research). Contact Melanie Kah melanie.kah@auckland.ac.nz

 

The Research Committee Funding available

This is for activities to benefit Postdocs and RFs and allow them to connect. To all those who fall into the following categories, we invite you to contact the new RF rep in the Rangahau/Research committee Joa Paredes-Mariño (for RFs/postdocs) joa.paredes.marino@auckland.ac.nz, for further information.

  • Postdocs/Research Fellows
  • People conducting research on non-permanent contracts at the post-doctoral level

 

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.

 

2023 MBIE Endeavour Fund Support Sessions

Details on the support for MBIE Endeavour Fund 2023 is available on the Research Hub. There are a number of other events and workshops on offer, details of which can be found on the Research Hub.

 


Rangahau – Research


PhD Seminar – Exploring Institutional Arrangements to Improve Catchment Management

Heather Paterson-Shallard

The rise of complex socio-environmental challenges in Aotearoa NZ and globally prompts dynamic freshwater governance changes. Resource managers are experiencing increasing environmental challenges in conjunction with the need to manage evolving legislative requirements and the multiple values and priorities of stakeholders. In response, we are experiencing shifts to innovative forms of governance and management regimes. This project explores the regional policy and planning processes in the Canterbury and Hawke’s Bay regions. Specifically, it focuses on the ways that regional government are responding to the multi-level demands that they face from government and non-government actors.

To hear more, please join my PhD seminar on Monday 18th July at 2pm via Zoom: 
https://auckland.zoom.us/j/97009918423?pwd=ZE9PQks0V0NNSDNHZkpnVUIvWVVuUT09

 


Health, Safety and Wellbeing


Health & Safety Tip


Publications 


2022 SERJEANT, E., COLEMAN, T and KEARNS, R.  How tenants in New Zealand respond to winter weather indoors: A qualitative investigation. Health and Place. 10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102810

2022 MADDEN, L and KEARNS R . Performing encounters (and encountering performance) at Auckland Zoo. New Zealand Geographer https://doi.org/10.1111/nzg.12338

2022 EAGAR, E. and KEARNS, R. Contemplative practices: The body as a site linking health and place. Health & Place 10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102826

Cohen-Smith, H., Bickler, S. H., Jones, B., Larsen, B., & Apfel, A. (2022). New Tech for Old Jobs: Handheld LiDAR for Feature Recording. Archaeology14. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/SimonBickler/publication/361732720_New_Tech_for_Old_Jobs_Handheld_LiDAR_for_Feature_Recording_AINZ/links/62c252da0bf6950edea93e09/New-Tech-for-Old-Jobs-Handheld-LiDAR-for-Feature-Recording-AINZ.pdf

Categories: Uncategorised
Comments Off on Issue 81 – Monday 18 July 2022

P-Cubed Newsletter Issue 80 – Monday 4 July 2022

July 4, 2022 • asim086

HeadsUp


When I WFH (interesting how that abbreviation is suddenly a thing) my usual company is a quietly snoring dog. This week, campus didn’t seem much livelier. As I went in and out of my office I enjoyed some jolly laughter with the Group Services Team (and hearing their disbelief that I swim in the sea in winter) and there was some busyness with a Tuakana programme workshop happening in the Level 6 Common Area.  But otherwise, all quiet on Symonds St!  

Later this month the buzz will return, and I encourage you to take opportunities to (re)connect with colleagues. We’ll restart our 10am Wednesday morning teas with a little extra catering: the first week to welcome (back) PhD students; and in the second week to farewell Ingo Pecher who is leaving us for Texas. There’s rumour of further events as the weeks unfold.

For now, please do two things for the good of your wellbeing and that of the school:

  1. Plan on taking some annual leave and enter the days in Peoplesoft HR. If you don’t know how, ask Patricia. Heads of Schools are getting regular reminders that we have balances owing that are way too high.
  2. Do all you can to generate enthusiasm in your classes such that students might consider returning in 2023 to take our courses. Our EFTS are ‘soft’ and the imperatives of the School Review such as course rationalisation become stark as our student numbers fail to reach previous levels.

A few other unrelated matters:

  1. You may be looking towards conference participation as travel becomes easier again. Please in the first instance, consider the distance you are thinking of travelling against the returns in light of emissions.  But if it’s a compelling opportunity recall we have the PD fund ($4.5 k over 3 years) that can be drawn on:

[Cost centre – 4140, Project Code – 15890 (ENV Professional Development), Product code – your unique code (ask Michael if you have forgotten it)]

  1. Thanks for all your exam-marking efforts, especially those who soldiered on afflicted by winter illnesses. May the final-grade mop-up go well.
  2. Best wishes to those who are now on RSL for Sem2 (Jenny, Michael, Sila, Mark, Karen…) may it be a productive time.
  3. Job opportunity for a recent graduate:

Green Ideas Project (GIP) is conducting a study to explore the ways in which people living in Aotearoa interpret and understand the term ‘nature’ and the concept ‘connectedness to nature’. They are looking to hire a Qualitative Research Assistant. This role would suit someone who has completed their Honours or Masters with a qualitative focus. It is a 6 month full-time contract and will involve co-facilitating focus groups, qualitative analysis and supporting some other qualitative projects. Please pass the job description along to any one you think might be interested https://jobs.greenpeace.org.nz/o/research-assistant. Thank you very much for your support with this. 

Enjoy catching up on annual leave, research, and /or teaching prep in these quieter weeks till Semester 2 begins.

I’m looking forward to getting in front of students again and lecturing for the first time in a while. I hope you are too.

Robin Kearns


General Announcements


Amgen Scholars Program 2023

The University of Melbourne are pleased to advise that applications for the Amgen Scholars Program is now open from Friday 1 July, 2022.  

 The Amgen Scholars Program is part of a global program that gives undergraduate students research experience over an 8-week program. We are striving to host the best emerging scientists to help foster their future careers by enabling them to have real-world experience with all facilities provided. The program is open to students who are currently finishing their 2nd year of their undergraduate science degree (2nd year completed by start of program). There is no cost to students, as travel, food, accommodation and more is covered, so it’s a fantastic opportunity accessible to all students.     

  • The Amgen Scholars Program is a summer research program that gives high-achieving 2nd year undergraduate Science students real-world research lab experience from 4 January – 24 February 2023. 
  • Up to 23 students will be selected to undertake the eight week program, which includes free travel, accommodation, food, and cultural experiences, alongside an up to stipend of up to $3600. In addition to the research experience, scholars will attend industry, career and science workshops, tour elite research facilities and participate in social and cultural activities in Melbourne, the cultural and sporting capital of Australia. Hardship will be considered in applications.
  • Research areas include drug discovery, structural and chemical biology, medicinal chemistry, bioscience discovery genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, nano and materials science, biotechnology, neuroscience, biomedical engineering and clinical research and more.  
  • The Program was started by the Amgen Foundation in 2006 in the USA, and is now offered by 24 prestigious institutions across the globe, including Harvard and Cambridge. Get connected with a global community of research excellence with the Amgen Scholars Program.   

For further information about the Amgen Scholars Program and application details, please visit: https://amgenscholars.research.unimelb.edu.au/.  

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Ailsa Traves at amgen-scholars@unimelb.edu.au.   

 

Travel and carbon emissions

Colleagues,

Many of you are working through travel requests.

As you will be aware the sustainability strategy and the Net Carbon Zero strategy will be open for consultation in July/august. Both clearly identify that we need to reduce our air travel. The proposal to consultation is a 50% reduction by 2030. This document provides the carbon cost for some return flights to Europe US, Asia and Australia to help with staff travel conversations. I am happy for you to share this further.

Regards,

Gillian Lewis, AD Sustainability

 

Extension of expiry date – RDA and HOD accounts

Message from Nicholas Kearns, ORSI: In recognition of the need to reinvigorate research activity following protracted COVID-19 disruptions, the DVC(R) has agreed to extend the expiry date to 31 December 2023 for 50% of any residual balances in Research Development Accounts (RDAs) and/or Head of Department (HOD) accounts currently due to expire in 2022 (or before). Updates will be made to the RDA Policy, Expiry of HoD Accounts Policy and the RDA/HoD Accounts Dashboards in Strategic Management Reports (SMR) to reflect the above.

 


Whakawhanaungatanga – Communities 


Kia Ora Disaster Researchers!

Welcome to the Disastrous Doctorates 2022 has a new date! The DD2022 symposium is rescheduled for 11-13 July. It will be hosted by The University of Auckland in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. At this time, this conference is moving forward with in-person attendance.

Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the most up-to-date information.

Disastrous Doctorates is an annual multi-day symposium for PhD students enrolled at a New Zealand university who are directly studying disaster-related topics. It is organized by PhD students for PhD students. The symposium provides a forum for students to network and learn from each other and subject experts, share best practices and learn helpful tips on managing a PhD career and beyond. We welcome students from across the full range of disciplines, including social sciences, engineering, geology, geography, and law.

Please register on the link below;

Official Registration Form – Disastrous Doctorates (wordpress.com)

 

Honours Research Projects and sub-90 points Masters dissertations 

Dear colleagues,

Thank you to everyone who supervised and/or examined Honours Research projects and sub-90-point Masters projects/dissertations in 2021. Your time and effort in supervising students and/or examining projects in what was a disrupted year, protracted by deadline extensions, is greatly appreciated. The 2021 cohort should now be all finished and moving onto new things.

In 2022, we have students completing Honours and MENVSCI 30-point research projects, and Bachelor of Advanced Science 60-point dissertations, with submissions in Semester 1 (Monday 27 June) and Semester 2 (Monday 14 November).

For your diary: 

S2 Honours, MENVSCI and BAdvSci Oral Presentations – Wednesday 26 October. Time and venue to be confirmed.

These are on the same day as Masters presentations and every effort will be made to avoid clashes.

Finally, if you are supervising Honours/MENVSCI/BAdvSci students this year, please ensure their project is achievable within the one- or two-semester timeframe and that it can be completed under pandemic conditions. Please encourage your student(s) to meet the end-of-semester submission date too, even if Covid-19 extensions are again offered by the Faculty; it is helpful to the students, for getting grades back in time to go on to further study or work, and to those involved in the examination process if we can all stick to the schedule.

Kind regards

Gretel Boswijk, (Honours coordinator)


Funding


School of Environment DRDF funding call

Applications due 15 July 2022

The purpose of this fund is to increase the quality and international reach of our research output. It will support initiatives that produce tangible outcomes that are in line with the School strategic objectives and improve our future PBRF quality scores. The fund will be distributed in two contestable application rounds in March and July 2022.

You can apply for direct research costs up to $10,000 for a single applicant, and up to $15,000 for a group of applicants from the SoE.

Please refer to the attached Guidelines for DRDF applications for 2022 for further information or contact Katarzyna.sila-nowicka@auckland.ac.nz   with any questions.  Email your application using the attached application form to Katarzyna.sila-nowicka@auckland.ac.nz  by 15 July 2022.

 

Post-doctoral Research Award Opportunity 

Applications are now open, closing date: 19 August 2022

The Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust offers Post Doctoral Research Awards (Dame Joan Metge & Emeritus Professor Dame Charmian J O’Connor Post-Doctoral Research Awards) of $16,000 each to assist women who have qualified to graduate with a doctoral degree within the last two years to carry out research on a specified, independent project at an approved Institute in the Auckland area.

Eligibility Criteria: NZ Citizens or Permanent Residents for a specified, independent, limited term research project.

The successful awardee should not undertake more than 20 hours per week paid employment during tenure of the award.

For further details see: www.academicdresshire.co.nz /Academic Awards. Any enquiries, please email awards@kateedgertrust.org.nz

 

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Unlocking Curious Minds Contestable Fund

For the Fund’s 2023 investment round, approximately $1.6 million (excluding GST).The funding available per project is between $50,000 (minimum) and $150,000 (maximum).

  • Registration: 12 noon, Friday 22 July 2022.
  • Full Proposal:12 noon, Monday 22 August 2022.

Duration: Projects will run for up to 11 months from 1 February 2023 until 31 December 2023

All registration and proposal submissions should be made through the MBIE IMS Portal with existing login details. New applicants Contact submissions@auckland.ac.nz

For more information regarding this fund, please visit here. For help developing your application, please contact your local support (FIRST) team. If you have any funder specific queries or require funder portal help, please contact the UniServices Funds Advisor Team via submissions@auckland.ac.nz

 

Rutherford Foundation Fellowships and Scholarships

Internal Deadline: 5pm Tuesday 26 July 2022

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.

Cambridge-Rutherford Memorial PhD Scholarship: These scholarships are intended to provide full support to enable completion of a PhD at the University of Cambridge in pure or applied science and the social sciences.

Application: Please discuss your intention to apply with Academic Head, Robin Kearns first, once approved, please proceed with the following:

  1. Email the following information to the Funds Advisor Team via submissions@auckland.ac.nzfor portal access: title, full name, email address, faculty and department.
  2. Contact your local support (FIRST) team for research support assistance for your application.
  3. Complete the application on the Portal and submit it to the Funds Advisor Team by 5pm Tuesday 26 July 2022.

 GUIDELINES
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Doctoral Scholarship

 

NZ Association of Scientists 2022 Science Medals

Closing date is 31 July 2022

 

Funding for class meet and greets 

The Student Experience Committee has limited funding available for class related activities. If you want to run a class event, online or otherwise (challenging given the current restrictions), and would benefit from some funds, please contact Joe (j.fagan@auckland.ac.nz). The Committee would prefer to fund several small events rather than one big one (but we are open to suggestions).

 


Rangahau – Research


TE PŪNAHA HIHIKO VISION MATAURANGA CAPABILITY FUND (VMCF) 2023 – Scoping and Support on offer

UniServices and ORSI are planning a support programme for the upcoming MBIE 2023 Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund (VMCF). Applications will open mid- September and close mid-November (exact dates TBC by MBIE).

This fund invests in activities that strengthen capability, capacity, skills and networks between Māori organisations and the science and innovation system, to deliver benefit to Aotearoa.

 For researchers who have previously been unsuccessful, or have well-formed relationships with Māori organisations, there is a more targeted package that takes a researcher-centric approach focused on providing support that researchers identify. This more targeted package is in addition to the webinars and application templates, and provides panel reviews of proposal, writing support, business development support, and funding for a facilitator or catering for Hui with established partners.

 UniServices would like to identify potential interest – if this applies to you please get in touch with Kelly Kilpin asap.

 

Rangahau Committee Funding

The Rangahau Committee has a small amount of funds set aside ($5,000 total) 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.

 

Scholarships for students to undertake research at the SoE

The Rangahau Committee coordinates the distribution of three new scholarships to support students in undertaking research in our School. If you know potential applicants or if you are a potential applicant, make sure you contact the people below. There is no strict deadline at this stage, but the earlier we hear from you, the better. Note that these scholarships are also advertised via other channels.

  1. Moana PG Research Scholarship: NZ$500-1000 (5-10 awards available) to support Pacific students to do research at the SoE at the post-grad level (Master or Hons). Contact Sonia Fonua s.fonua@auckland.ac.nz
  2. Māori PG Research Scholarship: NZ$500-1000 (5-10 awards available) to support Māori students to do research at the SoE at the post-grad level (Master or Hons). Contact Kimoro Taiepa kimoro.taiepa@auckland.ac.nz
  3. Undergrad Research Experience: NZ$800 (up to 10 awards available) for undergraduate students to shadow a researcher (Master/PhD student, research fellow etc.) for a period equivalent to 2 weeks (as a block or spread over a longer period that suits the research). Contact Melanie Kah melanie.kah@auckland.ac.nz

 

The Research Committee Funding available

This is for activities to benefit Postdocs and RFs and allow them to connect. To all those who fall into the following categories, we invite you to contact the new RF rep in the Rangahau/Research committee Joa Paredes-Mariño (for RFs/postdocs) joa.paredes.marino@auckland.ac.nz, for further information.

  • Postdocs/Research Fellows
  • People conducting research on non-permanent contracts at the post-doctoral level

 

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.

 

2023 MBIE Endeavour Fund Support Sessions

Details on the support for MBIE Endeavour Fund 2023 is available on the Research Hub. There are a number of other events and workshops on offer, details of which can be found on the Research Hub.

 


Health, Safety and Wellbeing


Metro Testing 

Please note that staff from Metro Test will be around doing test and tag in offices during the next two weeks. Would appreciate if staff can allow access to their offices and any other collaboration they require.

 

Health & Safety Tip

 


Publications 


S. Bull, S. J. Watson, J. Hillman, H. E. Power, and L. J. Strachan (2022), “Landslide graveyard” holds clues to long-term tsunami trends, Eos, 103, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EO220263.

Macnaughtan, M. T., Pecher, I. A., and Strachan, L. J. (2022) Sedimentary bottom simulating reflection muting — A new model of hydrate and fluid redistribution from the Pegasus Basin, New Zealand. Basin Research, 00, 1– 26. https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.12681

Zheng Chen, Melissa Bowen, Gaoyang Li, Giovanni Coco, Brendan Hall, Retention and dispersion of buoyant plastic debris in a well-mixed estuary from drifter observations, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 180, 2022, 113793, ISSN 0025-326X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113793. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X22004751)


Please email content to Anna-Marie Simcock for next edition of P-cubed by Friday

Categories: Uncategorised
Comments Off on P-Cubed Newsletter Issue 80 – Monday 4 July 2022

Issue 79 – Monday 20th June 2022

June 20, 2022 • asim086

HeadsUp


Interviewing candidates for an academic position always feels momentous. One will ultimately be a new colleague, bringing new ideas and energy to the School. This week we have four shortlisted candidates for the GISCi Lectureship based in four countries/time zones who will meet with us over the course of a four-day week. It’s been a complicated almost 4-D scheduling equation and I’m very grateful for Patricia’s patience and guidance getting it all sorted out.  Please tune in amid your exam marking and hear what they have to say in their seminars.

And then, on Friday, we break with the work week and honour Matariki for the first time. After a week of meetings with and hearing from stars in their fields, I eagerly anticipate looking up to fields of celestial stars (weather permitting). Here on the motu, a guided stargazing walk at 5am starts the day and will continue with various activities including learning raranga (weaving) and rongoa (plant-based medicine). May we all find ways to engage with the spirit of this new holiday that surely speaks to our environmental concerns more so than any other on the calendar….

A few notable notes:

Equity Committee is short of two members. Please be in touch if you can spare a little more of your 20% service FTE for a very important committee.

And congratulations to

Joe Fagan for acceptance into the EdD programme.

Karen Fisher and Nick Lewis for jointly being awarded the Distinguished Service award by the NZ Geographical Society

Rachael Boswell for being awarded the Year’s Best PhD Award by the NZ Geographical Society for he thesis “Play, politics and the production of space: DIY urbanism in post-earthquake Christchurch”

Have a great week! Robin


General Announcements


 

Call for PG research students: would you like a little hand to help with your research?

Survey deadline: Tuesday 21 June

The School is going to distribute small awards to motivated undergraduate students so they give a hand and shadow a researcher (Hons/Master/PhD students etc.) for a period equivalent to 2 weeks. The work can be carried out as a single block or spread over a longer period that suits the research. The idea is to match these UG students with PG researchers in a way that will maximize mutual benefits.

As a researcher: you will get an extra pair of hands (and a brain!) to do something that helps you and your research + you get an experience (and a line in your CV) about mentoring earlier career colleagues.

The UG student gets paid for their work (we are covering this) and their research experience with you will hopefully inspire them to do research with us in the future. It is OK to give them “boring tasks” in the field, lab or desk-based, as long as you spend some time with them to explain why they do it and to share your experience as a researcher.

Whether you are interested or not, I would really appreciate if you complete the following survey by Tuesday 21st June. It will take 5 minutes max.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdueuBDO_72FsapjWq9fcIeU9vzYUvmCWQz14VO44zC1FzOPw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Any questions, feel free to contact me (melanie.kah@auckland.ac.nz)

Thank you for your support!

 

New Zealand Geographical Society (NZGS) Auckland Branch

Here is the NZGS June newsletter and read about the next meeting on Tuesday 21 June, Building 302, Room 551 Ontology Lab – 4.00pm to 5.30pm

Auckland Dialogues – Speaker: Tom Baker

Innovatory urban governance: A research agenda

As ‘governance innovation’ is embraced as an imperative to address urban policy challenges, many cities are adopting novel governance arrangements, institutions, and mechanisms. Yet, innovatory urban governance—a distinctive set of urban governance practices and heterogeneous political project—is not well understood within critical urban scholarship. Stemming from a collaborative research project with Pauline McGuirk, Robyn Dowling, Sophia Maalsen and Alistair Sisson, this paper argues for such recognition and suggests engagement with public sector innovation literatures as a productive way forward. We build from this engagement to suggest a critical urban geography research agenda to drive systematic analysis of innovatory urban governance, its heterogeneous formation, politics and possibilities.

 

Travel and carbon emissions

Colleagues,

Many of you are working through travel requests.

As you will be aware the sustainability strategy and the Net Carbon Zero strategy will be open for consultation in July/august. Both clearly identify that we need to reduce our air travel. The proposal to consultation is a 50% reduction by 2030. This document provides the carbon cost for some return flights to Europe US, Asia and Australia to help with staff travel conversations. I am happy for you to share this further.

Regards,

Gillian Lewis, AD Sustainability

 

Extension of expiry date – RDA and HOD accounts

Message from Nicholas Kearns, ORSI: In recognition of the need to reinvigorate research activity following protracted COVID-19 disruptions, the DVC(R) has agreed to extend the expiry date to 31 December 2023 for 50% of any residual balances in Research Development Accounts (RDAs) and/or Head of Department (HOD) accounts currently due to expire in 2022 (or before). Updates will be made to the RDA Policy, Expiry of HoD Accounts Policy and the RDA/HoD Accounts Dashboards in Strategic Management Reports (SMR) to reflect the above.

 


Whakawhanaungatanga – Communities 


Faculty and School/Department Research Centres

A call for proposals is about to open for Faculty and School/Department Research Centres. This Faculty process follows on from the University-level process initiated last year to support the establishment and development of flagship University Research Centres.

There will be a two-stage process. Applicants should complete the EOI Form and submit to FoS-researchadmin@auckland.ac.nz by 5.00 pm on 1st July 2022. Full proposals will be due on Wednesday 31st August.  See the RFP for a more comprehensive process timeline.

For questions, please contact Wendy on  FoS-researchadmin@auckland.ac.nz.

 

Kia Ora Disaster Researchers!

Welcome to the Disastrous Doctorates 2022 has a new date! The DD2022 symposium is rescheduled for 11-13 July. It will be hosted by The University of Auckland in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. At this time, this conference is moving forward with in-person attendance.

Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the most up-to-date information.

Disastrous Doctorates is an annual multi-day symposium for PhD students enrolled at a New Zealand university who are directly studying disaster-related topics. It is organized by PhD students for PhD students. The symposium provides a forum for students to network and learn from each other and subject experts, share best practices and learn helpful tips on managing a PhD career and beyond. We welcome students from across the full range of disciplines, including social sciences, engineering, geology, geography, and law.

Please register on the link below;

Official Registration Form – Disastrous Doctorates (wordpress.com)

 

Honours Research Projects and sub-90 points Masters dissertations 

Dear colleagues,

Thank you to everyone who supervised and/or examined Honours Research projects and sub-90-point Masters projects/dissertations in 2021. Your time and effort in supervising students and/or examining projects in what was a disrupted year, protracted by deadline extensions, is greatly appreciated. The 2021 cohort should now be all finished and moving onto new things.

In 2022, we have students completing Honours and MENVSCI 30-point research projects, and Bachelor of Advanced Science 60-point dissertations, with submissions in Semester 1 (Monday 27 June) and Semester 2 (Monday 14 November).

For your diary: 

S2 Honours, MENVSCI and BAdvSci Oral Presentations – Wednesday 26 October. Time and venue to be confirmed.

These are on the same day as Masters presentations and every effort will be made to avoid clashes.

Finally, if you are supervising Honours/MENVSCI/BAdvSci students this year, please ensure their project is achievable within the one- or two-semester timeframe and that it can be completed under pandemic conditions. Please encourage your student(s) to meet the end-of-semester submission date too, even if Covid-19 extensions are again offered by the Faculty; it is helpful to the students, for getting grades back in time to go on to further study or work, and to those involved in the examination process if we can all stick to the schedule.

Kind regards

Gretel Boswijk, (Honours coordinator)


Funding


Auckland Museum Institute Postgraduate Scholarships

 The 2022 round of Auckland Museum Institute Postgraduate Scholarships is currently open for applications.

EOI deadline 20 June 2022

Some general details on the scholarships. Open for Masters and PhD level students

 

Plastics Innovation Fund

***Application Deadline 20 June 2022***

The purpose of the Plastics Innovation Fund is to support projects that will minimise plastic waste and its harm on the environment. The fund is seeking to fund projects that find ways to use less plastic and make what we do use reusable or recyclable.  It is targeted at projects that: minimise plastic waste; support circular solutions; protect the environment from harm; support the reduction of imported plastic; and improve the behaviour of people and businesses (up the waste hierarchy).  For further information visit the funder website or refer the Funder guidelines.  You can also view a One-hour webinar about the fund

 

Waka Kotahi Innovation Fund

Internal Deadline for application: 5pm Wednesday 22 June 2022.

Waka Kotahi Innovation Fund has been set up by Waka Kotahi (NZTA) to support the private sector to develop and accelerate innovative solutions that will help to solve some of New Zealand’s biggest transport challenges. Hoe ki angitū is only open to the private sector which includes: Start-ups, Iwi, Domestic and international companies, Community groups, Research institutions, and University groups. The funding available for round one of Hoe ki angitū is $3.5 million.

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 application template.

 

The inaugural 2022 round for Waipapa Taumata Rau | the University of Auckland Research Impact Award is now open

Application deadline 30 June 2022

The Research Impact Award celebrates the transformative impacts of research and engagement. Individuals or small teams who have had an impact beyond academia in the last five years are welcome to apply.

This is a University of Auckland Research Committee (UARC) award, and there are up to five awards annually. Awards can be up to $10,000 in value and will support future impact and engagement activities.

Applications are to be submitted to your faculty contact (see application form for details) by the deadline of 30th June 2022. 

The 2022 guidelines and application form are available from the ResearchHub page. Any questions related to the award can be directed to internalawards@auckland.ac.nz.

 

FoS New Staff Grant

Closing date for application submission is 30 June 2022

 Eligible new staff will be able to apply for a New Staff grant of $20k.As we are transitioning to a new internal funding process, all new staff who have joined the Faculty since 1 January 2020 will be eligible to apply in 2022. Applications are now open and the closing date for submission is 30th June 2022. Full details, guidelines and the application form are available on the Faculty of Science Staff Intranet – New Staff Research Grant page.

 

Call for Applications: New Zealand-German Academic Exchange Programme

Applications will close on 30 June at 11:59 PM NZT.

Education New Zealand supports early-career researchers from New Zealand to collaborate on research projects in Germany. The call for the Programmes for Project-Related Personal Exchange (PPP) opened on 6 April 2022 (CET). You can find more information about the programme, application requirements, and the link to the application portal on the Education New Zealand Scholarships and Grants site. For any questions, please contact Jina Kim, International Networks Coordinator on jina.kim@auckland.ac.nz

Background information: New Zealand-German Academic Partnership Event recording of the event.

For more information on the PPP mobility scheme, including requirements for applicants, please follow: https://www.daad.org/en/ppp/

 

School of Environment DRDF funding call

Applications due 15 July 2022

The purpose of this fund is to increase the quality and international reach of our research output. It will support initiatives that produce tangible outcomes that are in line with the School strategic objectives and improve our future PBRF quality scores. The fund will be distributed in two contestable application rounds in March and July 2022.

You can apply for direct research costs up to $10,000 for a single applicant, and up to $15,000 for a group of applicants from the SoE.

Please refer to the attached Guidelines for DRDF applications for 2022 for further information or contact Katarzyna.sila-nowicka@auckland.ac.nz   with any questions.  Email your application using the attached application form to Katarzyna.sila-nowicka@auckland.ac.nz  by 15 July 2022.

 

Scholarships for students to undertake research at the SoE

The Rangahau Committee coordinates the distribution of three new scholarships to support students in undertaking research in our School. If you know potential applicants or if you are a potential applicant, make sure you contact the people below. There is no strict deadline at this stage, but the earlier we hear from you, the better. Note that these scholarships are also advertised via other channels.

  1. Moana PG Research Scholarship: NZ$500-1000 (5-10 awards available) to support Pacific students to do research at the SoE at the post-grad level (Master or Hons). Contact Sonia Fonua s.fonua@auckland.ac.nz
  2. Māori PG Research Scholarship: NZ$500-1000 (5-10 awards available) to support Māori students to do research at the SoE at the post-grad level (Master or Hons). Contact Kimoro Taiepa kimoro.taiepa@auckland.ac.nz
  3. Undergrad Research Experience: NZ$800 (up to 10 awards available) for undergraduate students to shadow a researcher (Master/PhD student, research fellow etc.) for a period equivalent to 2 weeks (as a block or spread over a longer period that suits the research). Contact Melanie Kah melanie.kah@auckland.ac.nz

 

2023 MBIE Endeavour Fund Support Sessions

Details on the support for MBIE Endeavour Fund 2023 is available on the Research Hub. There are a number of other events and workshops on offer, details of which can be found on the Research Hub.

 

The Research Committee Funding available

This is for activities to benefit Postdocs and RFs and allow them to connect. To all those who fall into the following categories, we invite you to contact the new RF rep in the Rangahau/Research committee Joa Paredes-Mariño (for RFs/postdocs) joa.paredes.marino@auckland.ac.nz, for further information

– Postdocs/Research Fellows

– People conducting research on non-permanent contracts at the post-doctoral level

 

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.

 

Funding for class meet and greets 

The Student Experience Committee has limited funding available for class related activities. If you want to run a class event, online or otherwise (challenging given the current restrictions), and would benefit from some funds, please contact Joe (j.fagan@auckland.ac.nz). The Committee would prefer to fund several small events rather than one big one (but we are open to suggestions).

 


Health, Safety and Wellbeing



Publications 


S. Bull, S. J. Watson, J. Hillman, H. E. Power, and L. J. Strachan (2022), “Landslide graveyard” holds clues to long-term tsunami trends, Eos, 103, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EO220263.

Macnaughtan, M. T., Pecher, I. A., and Strachan, L. J. (2022) Sedimentary bottom simulating reflection muting — A new model of hydrate and fluid redistribution from the Pegasus Basin, New Zealand. Basin Research, 00, 1– 26. https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.12681

Zheng Chen, Melissa Bowen, Gaoyang Li, Giovanni Coco, Brendan Hall, Retention and dispersion of buoyant plastic debris in a well-mixed estuary from drifter observations, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 180, 2022, 113793, ISSN 0025-326X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113793. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X22004751)


Please email content to Anna-Marie Simcock for next edition of P-cubed by Friday

Categories: Uncategorised
Comments Off on Issue 79 – Monday 20th June 2022

Issue 78 – Tuesday 7th June 2022

June 2, 2022 • igom365

HeadsUp


I’m always grateful when someone alerts me to an interesting angle on what we are doing or could be doing differently.

This week, Mark Dickson sent me an extract from a commentary in The Listener. It spoke of the resignation of young people to a world whose contours are changed, possibly irrevocably, by influences such as Covid-19, the climate crisis and housing affordability. As Mark speculated in his email “I wonder if young people would enrol in what they perceive to be a positive programme that offers solutions, but may not enrol in something that they perceive as just offering more bad news”. Food for thought.

Do we risk our courses – whether dealing with covid, climate, housing or whatever to be a scholarly version of ‘doom-scrolling’? Do we perhaps have a duty to find ways to present and discuss windows of well-grounded hope – both for the sake of enrolments and sowing seeds of hope in the world?

Students are, on balance, of an age they will live with the ramifications of the times we are in longer than we will. Maybe they hunger for more positivity than we sometimes offer.

I’m sure we offer hope in various parts of our teaching programme. Environment people are mostly outward looking and problem-solvers. But the message of the snippet Mark sent was that young people want solutions not soliloquies to the past or more detail on how dire situations have become. They want to know there is hope and to learn of ways to become agents of change.

This reminds me of a geographer colleague, Bob Huish, in Nova Scotia who runs a well-received course on activism. It also leads me to reflect on a paper another Canadian colleague, Gavin Andrews, published on geographies of hope.  And I’m also led to recall a recent moment when a visitor saw a book at my house called ‘Covid-19 and similar futures’ in which I’d published a chapter. Their reaction? “I’m not sure I want to read that book”. 

How can we teach in a more hope-full register? Can we be more hopeful educators?  Worth pondering…..

Robin Kearns

 

On a more immediate note..

We continue to workaround forthcoming RSL absences and I am happy to report that

  • Jon Tunnicliffe has kindly agreed to temporarily be GISci advisor for Semester 2.
  • James Muirhead has kindly agreed to assume the PG Advisor in EarthSci role from Michel Rowe (who will be Head of EarthSci from July 1)

Please remember the great Pūatatangi learning opportunities in Te Reo being offered by Kimoro Taiepa at present. Contact him if you want the details…

And although they can be frustrating appendages, please remember to wear a mask in our buildings unless you are alone in your office.

 Travel:

Please note: Travel Insurance for accompanying family members/partner/spouse

As outlined on the staff intranet International travel insurance – The University of Auckland. Please note the UoA Allianz Premier Corporate Travel Insurance Policy does not cover accompanying family members. Accompanying Spouse/Partner must purchase their own travel insurance.

An exception to this is;

Dependent child and children are automatically covered under the travel insurance policy of the UoA parent travelling if they fit within the following criteria:

Dependent child and children

An insured person’s and their partner’s natural and legally adopted children under 16 years of age or under 25 years of age while they are full time students at an accredited institution of higher learning who are primarily dependent on the insured person for financial maintenance and support.

For staff who wish to purchase the same travel insurance to ensure continuity of cover for accompanying family members or pure leisure travel please contact the Risk Office for further advice riskoffice@auckland.ac.nz

For staff travelling on University business where their personal days exceed the number of days covered by the University Insurance policy it is recommended that you purchase the additional policy from the University’s insurance provider to ensure continuity of cover.  Please contact the Risk Office for further advice riskoffice@auckland.ac.nz

 


General Announcements


Metrotest will be undertaking the test and tag in early to mid-June weeks, electric testing is there to keep us safe please give them access to your offices when required. We’ll provide more details closer to the date.

Reminder – Field plans are required and need to be approved before undertaking any fieldwork

Field activity is any work carried out for the purpose of teaching, research or representing the University off-site, including site visits and reconnaissance trips.  A field activity plan is required where facility for health and safety is not managed by another institution.  

Any time you wish to undertake field work or a site visit you need to complete a Field Activity Plan and have it signed off by the appropriate people; Blair or Andres can do the final signoff.  

The use of private vehicles for University work is only approved in exceptional circumstances, and must have full/comprehensive insurance.  Please discuss this ahead of time.  Generally private vehicles are not approved for field activity outside of Auckland. 

There are two field activity plans, please choose the one appropriate to your activity.  These are located in the tech section of p-cubed.

Risk assessment information can be found here https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/health-safety-wellbeing/health-safety-topics/risk-assessments.html

Postgraduate Research administration after the reforms (sounds like a Human Geography PhD title)

We have entered the new post-Liana realm of post-graduate research administration. It’s a lesson in just how much work is required in making systems work … and just how good Liana was at that job. Short of somehow stealing her back as the go to person for all queries, here’s a PG research specific guide to complement the more general post-reform guide to administrative roles produced in an earlier issue of P-Cubed:

  1. Postgraduate student administrative queries – first step is to consult https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science/current-students/postgraduate-students.html. In practice, that site will direct you to direct most queries to sciencepg@auckland.ac.nz. Academic programme advisors, supervisors, and the relevant postgraduate advisors listed below are also points of contact for academic, pastoral and other queries.
  2. Staff administrative queries
    1. Matters to do with Honours and all sub-90 point masters theses – Gretel is normally the first port of call
    2. Matters to do with 90 and 120 masters theses – Phil Shane is first port of call
    3. PhD matters – Wahapū is the formal interface with the University for most students now and Jennifer Eccles is your contact in the School. For any students still on the old system please liaise with Jennifer.
    4. Anything that asks for an HoD (or nominee) signature – Nick Lewis is your first port of call
  3. Fire-fighting
    1. Masters’ supervisors will be receiving AS512 forms from sciencepg@auckland.ac.nz. Please complete Part A of the forms as quickly as possible and email to Phil Shane (ie recommend examiners and fill in any fields that are incomplete in terms of co-supervisors, student name and ID number, thesis title etc). DO NOT send AS512 forms to Robin. Phil will initiate the process of HoD nominee sign-off.
    2. More to come I’m sure….
  4. New processes are being developed centrally to administer Masters programmes, and we can expect to see something akin to Wahapū – especially given the changes to postgraduate programmes being signalled from Curriculum Transformation initiatives

Nick

Associate Professor, School of Environment

 


Whakawhanaungatanga – Communities 


Faculty and School/Department Research Centres

A call for proposals is about to open for Faculty and School/Department Research Centres. This Faculty process follows on from the University-level process initiated last year to support the establishment and development of flagship University Research Centres.

There will be a two-stage process. Applicants should complete the EOI Form and submit to FoS-researchadmin@auckland.ac.nz by 5.00 pm on 1st July 2022. Full proposals will be due on Wednesday 31st August.  See the RFP for a more comprehensive process timeline.

For questions, please contact Wendy on  FoS-researchadmin@auckland.ac.nz.

 

Honours Research Projects and sub-90 points Masters dissertations 

Dear colleagues,

Thank you to everyone who supervised and/or examined Honours Research projects and sub-90-point Masters projects/dissertations in 2021. Your time and effort in supervising students and/or examining projects in what was a disrupted year, protracted by deadline extensions, is greatly appreciated. The 2021 cohort should now be all finished and moving onto new things.

In 2022, we have students completing Honours and MENVSCI 30-point research projects, and Bachelor of Advanced Science 60-point dissertations, with submissions in Semester 1 (Monday 27 June) and Semester 2 (Monday 14 November).

For your diary:  

  • S1 Honours and MENVSCI Oral presentations– Wednesday 8 June. Time and venue to be confirmed.
  • S2 Honours, MENVSCI and BAdvSci Oral Presentations – Wednesday 26 October. Time and venue to be confirmed.

These are on the same day as Masters presentations and every effort will be made to avoid clashes.

Finally, if you are supervising Honours/MENVSCI/BAdvSci students this year, please ensure their project is achievable within the one- or two-semester timeframe and that it can be completed under pandemic conditions. Please encourage your student(s) to meet the end-of-semester submission date too, even if Covid-19 extensions are again offered by the Faculty; it is helpful to the students, for getting grades back in time to go on to further study or work, and to those involved in the examination process if we can all stick to the schedule.

Kind regards

Gretel Boswijk

(Honours coordinator)

 

Masters Research Seminars  8 June 2022 — Rm 302-G20

Students who started in S2, 2021 will present their preliminary results. These are 10 minute oral talks followed by 5 minutes of questions. They are designed to assist students with the direction that their project is going in. Supervisors should support their students and all staff should support the research culture in our school.. This is an on-campus seminar series. However, we may revert to Zoom if campus access is not possible. Below is a preliminary schedule.

Cheers,

Phil Shane (coordinator)

Time Name Topic
9.00 KoKo Lat rock mass quality from seismic refraction surveying
9.15 Adi Levy Engineering Geological and Liquefaction Assessment
9.30 James Wilson Rock Characteristics on foreshore morphology
9.45 Amber Peek Environmental Education and Data Generation
10.00 Kenzi Yee Insects as food (for who?)
10.15 Elliot Stevens ‘Voice of the River’ in catchment management
10.30 Jaynie Yang Root production and root exudations in kauri forests

 

Kia Ora Disaster Researchers!

Welcome to the Disastrous Doctorates 2022 has a new date! The DD2022 symposium is rescheduled for 11-13 July. It will be hosted by The University of Auckland in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. At this time, this conference is moving forward with in-person attendance.

Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the most up-to-date information.

Disastrous Doctorates is an annual multi-day symposium for PhD students enrolled at a New Zealand university who are directly studying disaster-related topics. It is organized by PhD students for PhD students. The symposium provides a forum for students to network and learn from each other and subject experts, share best practices and learn helpful tips on managing a PhD career and beyond. We welcome students from across the full range of disciplines, including social sciences, engineering, geology, geography, and law.

Please register on the link below;

Official Registration Form – Disastrous Doctorates (wordpress.com)

 

SouthSci and WeSTEM – STEM Partner Role Description
Participatory science platforms (PSP) connect STEM experts with school and community groups, to explore a research or design question and engage youth in STEM. Please see for more information: SouthSci WeSTEM STEM partner role – 2022.

 

Dustsafe Aotearoa: our new community programme

Are you interested to know the concentration of metals in your home dust and/or, would you like to support colleagues (Emma and Melanie) and PG student (Declan) in mapping metals in home dust across Aotearoa NZ?

It is a free and easy! You just need to complete a short survey online and bring your dust to reception Level 6 (we are happy to get your whole vacuum bag if that’s easier).

Feel free to share this opportunity with your family, friends and broader community. It is a time-limited programme, so we hope to receive your sample soon!

Check out the details on our website at http://dustsafe.auckland.ac.nz.

 


Funding


Scholarships for students to undertake research at the SoE

The Rangahau Committee coordinates the distribution of three new scholarships to support students in undertaking research in our School. If you know potential applicants or if you are a potential applicant, make sure you contact the people below. There is no strict deadline at this stage, but the earlier we hear from you, the better. Note that these scholarships are also advertised via other channels.

  1. Moana PG Research Scholarship: NZ$500-1000 (5-10 awards available) to support Pacific students to do research at the SoE at the post-grad level (Master or Hons). Contact Sonia Fonua s.fonua@auckland.ac.nz
  2. Māori PG Research Scholarship: NZ$500-1000 (5-10 awards available) to support Māori students to do research at the SoE at the post-grad level (Master or Hons). Contact Kimoro Taiepa kimoro.taiepa@auckland.ac.nz
  3. Undergrad Research Experience: NZ$800 (up to 10 awards available) for undergraduate students to shadow a researcher (Master/PhD student, research fellow etc.) for a period equivalent to 2 weeks (as a block or spread over a longer period that suits the research). Contact Melanie Kah melanie.kah@auckland.ac.nz

 

Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research – Greener Cattle Initiative

The Greener Cattle Initiative (GCI), facilitated by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), invites applications for cutting edge research projects that facilitate transformative strategies and innovation to benefit farmers, consumers and the environment through the sustainable decrease in enteric methane emissions from cattle.

Grant Value and Duration:

  • Up to USD4.67M (circa NZD7.3M) is available under this call for projects.
  • Applicants can request up to that amount or a portion of the funds available.
  • Project duration is 36 months or less.

Internal Deadline: 5pm, Tuesday 14 June 2022

To register to apply, please:

  1. 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 application template
  2. You will need to create your own proposal on the funder portal.

 

Plastics Innovation Fund

***Application Deadline 20 June 2022***

The purpose of the Plastics Innovation Fund is to support projects that will minimise plastic waste and its harm on the environment. The fund is seeking to fund projects that find ways to use less plastic and make what we do use reusable or recyclable.  It is targeted at projects that: minimise plastic waste; support circular solutions; protect the environment from harm; support the reduction of imported plastic; and improve the behaviour of people and businesses (up the waste hierarchy).  For further information visit the funder website or refer the Funder guidelines.  You can also view a One-hour webinar about the fund

 

Waka Kotahi Innovation Fund

Waka Kotahi Innovation Fund has been set up by Waka Kotahi (NZTA) to support the private sector to develop and accelerate innovative solutions that will help to solve some of New Zealand’s biggest transport challenges. Hoe ki angitū is only open to the private sector which includes: Start-ups, Iwi, Domestic and international companies, Community groups, Research institutions, and University groups. The funding available for round one of Hoe ki angitū is $3.5 million.

Internal Deadline for application: 5pm Wednesday 22 June 2022. 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 application template.

 

The inaugural 2022 round for Waipapa Taumata Rau | the University of Auckland Research Impact Award is now open.

The Research Impact Award celebrates the transformative impacts of research and engagement. Individuals or small teams who have had an impact beyond academia in the last five years are welcome to apply.

This is a University of Auckland Research Committee (UARC) award, and there are up to five awards annually. Awards can be up to $10,000 in value and will support future impact and engagement activities.

Applications are to be submitted to your faculty contact (see application form for details) by the deadline of 30th June 2022. 

The 2022 guidelines and application form are available from the ResearchHub page. Any questions related to the award can be directed to internalawards@auckland.ac.nz.

 

FoS New Staff Grant

 Eligible new staff will be able to apply for a New Staff grant of $20k.As we are transitioning to a new internal funding process, all new staff who have joined the Faculty since 1 January 2020 will be eligible to apply in 2022. Applications are now open and the closing date for submission is 30th June 2022. Full details, guidelines and the application form are available on the Faculty of Science Staff Intranet – New Staff Research Grant page.

 

Call for Applications: New Zealand-German Academic Exchange Programme

Education New Zealand supports early-career researchers from New Zealand to collaborate on research projects in Germany. The call for the Programmes for Project-Related Personal Exchange (PPP) opened on 6 April 2022 (CET). You can find more information about the programme, application requirements, and the link to the application portal on the Education New Zealand Scholarships and Grants site.

Applications will close on 30 June at 11:59 PM NZT.

For any questions, please contact Jina Kim, International Networks Coordinator on jina.kim@auckland.ac.nz

Background information:

New Zealand-German Academic Partnership Event recording of the event.

For more information on the PPP mobility scheme, including requirements for applicants, please follow: https://www.daad.org/en/ppp/

 

2023 MBIE Endeavour Fund Support Sessions

Details on the support for MBIE Endeavour Fund 2023 is available on the Research Hub. There are a number of other events and workshops on offer, details of which can be found on the Research Hub.

 

The Research Committee Funding available

This is for activities to benefit Postdocs and RFs and allow them to connect.

To all those who fall into the following categories:

– Postdocs/Research Fellows;

– People conducting research on non-permanent contracts at the post-doctoral level,

We invite you to contact the new RF rep in the Rangahau/Research committee Joa Paredes-Mariño (for RFs/postdocs) joa.paredes.marino@auckland.ac.nz, for further information

 

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.

 

Funding for class meet and greets 

The Student Experience Committee has limited funding available for class related activities. If you want to run a class event, online or otherwise (challenging given the current restrictions), and would benefit from some funds, please contact Joe (j.fagan@auckland.ac.nz). The Committee would prefer to fund several small events rather than one big one (but we are open to suggestions).

 


Health, Safety and Wellbeing


HSW minutes outline (meeting on 25/5/2022):

  • Masks in lab spaces.

It is the expectation (in line with University guidance for shared indoor spaces; Mask use on campus – The University of Auckland) for mask-wearing within the ENV laboratories. Although there may be exceptions within certain lab spaces, please consult the laboratory technician of the space if unsure, masks are expected to be worn properly so that they cover both the mouth and nose. It is always important to consider mask wearing given that anyone could be immunocompromised. Please note that while masks are expected, there are those who cannot wear masks for specific reasons/medical conditions.

  • Reporting Incidents

Please report any incidences to the technician/academic in charge of the space immediately.

To report an injury please follow the guidelines here: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/health-safety-wellbeing/report-concerns-hazards.html

  • General wellbeing

The universities Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a 24-hour confidential service that can help through personal or work problems. Services offered but are not limited to stress, support (financial advice or otherwise), personal development, trauma, and legal advice. Visit the link (Employee assistance programme – The University of Auckland) to know more.

  • Safety during field work

New objectives are being added to the committees overall aims: Mental health in the field and Cultural safety within the field. The details of each topic are under review, more information as the projects form.

 


Publications 


Wild, A. J., Bebbington, M. S., & Lindsay, J. M. (2022). Short-term eruption forecasting for crisis decision-support in the Auckland Volcanic Field, New Zealand. Frontiers in Earth Science, 874. 


 

Please email content to Anna-Marie Simcock for next edition of P-cubed by Friday

Categories: Uncategorised
Comments Off on Issue 78 – Tuesday 7th June 2022

Issue 77 – Monday 23rd May 2022

May 23, 2022 • igom365

HeadsUp


I was in the Bay of Plenty on the weekend hoping to get out to Moutohora Island. Unfortunately sea conditions did not comply. That’s the third thwarted island visit this year; earlier cancellations were due to Covid and that the vessel was Russian. Maybe it’s time to park my little Aotearoa’s Archipelago project for this year!  It’s certainly a time to roll with what is possible and what is not. I hope you are all finding ways to nimbly navigate ways back into your research projects.

Back closer to home, one of the pleasures of being on campus more frequently than in recent months has been meeting up with colleagues for a coffee and yarn. Away from the set agenda of a meeting and the face-to-face intensity of zoom, there is a convivial pleasure in the coffee encounter. A mutual sharing of hopes and plans, a hearing of how lives – work as well as the R.O.L. (rest of life) – have unfolded during the latest chapter of covid times. In these days when larger gatherings can still feel a bit surreal (or risky for some), do take opportunities to connect and have one-on-one conversations. Keep the coffee and conversation flowing!

But there does come a time to gather as a team in a suitably spacious place. So, on Friday 10th June, we’ll have a min-staff retreat 12noon -3pm, venue TBC. There will be a catered lunch with an opportunity to offer some overdue thanks to JR and David both of whom left their respective HoS and DHoS roles while we were not meeting in person.  Rangahau will then host a wananga /panel discussion on transdisciplinarity. This was a ‘deliverable’ in our School’s Implementation Plan so, as with the two other all-staff meetings each year (February and November) your attendance is respectfully requested.

Other reminders –

  • ‘Discovery profiles’ – these need to be reviewed and edited by the end of the month (see recent emails from Melanie and Jan for details…)
  • I would like to begin the cycle of interviews in June so that working through everyone in the school can proceed at a manageable pace. Please prepare your written reflection on Career Tools when requested.
  • Promotions: Now is the time to decide whether this is the year to apply and if so, starting to assemble materials in light of the relevant standard and have a preliminary conversation with me.
  • Thank you for the fulsome participation in our all-school workshop last week; 28 was a great attendance. The challenge seems to be being confronted with good ideas in the absence of knowing how they will be operationalised. George, Tom and I are assembling a submission and will circulate for comment prior to pushing ‘send’.

Have a great week!

Robin Kearns


General Announcements


Staff Please Read – Future University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarships

The University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship Scheme is under review. There is a high likelihood the Guaranteed Doctoral Scholarships for domestic students with GPA > 8 will end with the new scheme having some strategic scholarships and some scholarships that will sit with faculty and be competitively allocated in 4 rounds a year. While we will have to see what final shape takes form if you have got domestic graduates who would qualify for the guaranteed scholarship and are still thinking about if/when to do a PhD it may be good to encourage them to make the decision and apply sooner rather than later!”

 

Supervisors and PhD Students Pre-Confirmation Please Read – PhD Proposals

A reminder the word limit on PhD proposals is 5000 words (excluding references) with the full guidelines in the PD8 document students receive on induction (or can be found on the PG Coursebuilder https://www.coursebuilder.cad.auckland.ac.nz/flexicourses/4112/publish/1/). Students are encouraged to submit your PhD Proposal offline to j.eccles@auckland.ac.nz as soon as it is ready to get the review and feedback underway before the official Wahapu confirmation process. Supervisors please do not approve the PhD Proposal on Wahapu before it has been reviewed as once you approve it is then locked in and a revised version (if needed) cannot be uploaded without an extension to the provisional year. Please also look carefully at the milestones you are approving as for example the confirmation presentation should not be signed off before it is actually done! ”  

 

Postgraduate Research administration after the reforms (sounds like a Human Geography PhD title)

We have entered the new post-Liana realm of post-graduate research administration. It’s a lesson in just how much work is required in making systems work … and just how good Liana was at that job. Short of somehow stealing her back as the go to person for all queries, here’s a PG research specific guide to complement the more general post-reform guide to administrative roles produced in an earlier issue of P-Cubed:

  1. Postgraduate student administrative queries – first step is to consult https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science/current-students/postgraduate-students.html. In practice, that site will direct you to direct most queries to sciencepg@auckland.ac.nz. Academic programme advisors, supervisors, and the relevant postgraduate advisors listed below are also points of contact for academic, pastoral and other queries.
  2. Staff administrative queries
    1. Matters to do with Honours and all sub-90 point masters theses – Gretel is normally the first port of call
    2. Matters to do with 90 and 120 masters theses – Phil Shane is first port of call
    3. PhD matters – Wahapū is the formal interface with the University for most students now and Jennifer Eccles is your contact in the School. For any students still on the old system please liaise with Jennifer.
    4. Anything that asks for an HoD (or nominee) signature – Nick Lewis is your first port of call
  3. Fire-fighting
    1. Masters’ supervisors will be receiving AS512 forms from sciencepg@auckland.ac.nz. Please complete Part A of the forms as quickly as possible and email to Phil Shane (ie recommend examiners and fill in any fields that are incomplete in terms of co-supervisors, student name and ID number, thesis title etc). DO NOT send AS512 forms to Robin. Phil will initiate the process of HoD nominee sign-off.
    2. More to come I’m sure….
  4. New processes are being developed centrally to administer Masters programmes, and we can expect to see something akin to Wahapū – especially given the changes to postgraduate programmes being signalled from Curriculum Transformation initiatives

Nick

Associate Professor, School of Environment


Whakawhanaungatanga – Communities 


Halfway through transition period to public launch! 18% of faculty of science profiles have been reviewed!

We encourage everyone who has not done it yet, to complete the review of their profiles by the end of May, as Discovery Profiles will be visible publicly from early June. It is likely that irrelevant information was imported from your original profile. You may also want to update this profile picture you uploaded at the time you joined UoA! 😊

There are plenty of learning and support resources available. For more information please see the Discovery Profiles News and FAQs pages, or contact the Staff Service Centre.

Thanks for your continued support of this initiative.

 

Winds of Change 2022 – Applications Now Open for postgraduate students

Now in its third year, the Winds of Change programme has established a strong network of young leaders who come together online to investigate common climate change issues and how sustainable development strategies can be created for the future.

Who can apply?

Current and recently completed postgraduate students with an interest in climate change and a general background in the sciences, business, science communication, or the humanities. We will also consider applications for undergraduates in their final year of study that have demonstrated independent research experience. We expect that these candidates will discuss aspects of this research experience in their applications.

If you know potential candidates, encourage them to apply here by the 3rd of June: https://airtable.com/shr4YV9esGIabvDSG

 

Stories for world environment day

Central is pulling together some stories that focus on sustainability-linked projects/research at UoA, for multi-channel delivery to celebrate world environment day on 5 June. They are looking for 2 or 3 projects from FoS that focus on environmental sustainability. Would you like to have your project featured? Please email Stephanie Look

 

Geologize Practical Geocommunication online course

Last year, we acquired a 12 month site-license allowing all UoA staff and students, and limited alumni FREE access to Geologize’s critically acclaimed and widely accredited course, ‘Practical Geocommunication’. You also have FREE access to Geoscience Outreach in Schools mini-course (by Out There Learning Ltd) as part of the package until June 2022. All together this is worth $720 NZD per person, so please take advantage of this. Otago University are also now offering the course.

The training helps geoscientists become more effective and powerful public ambassadors for our field, something the geosciences urgently need. It will also look great on your CV, so there is nothing to lose and everything to gain from this opportunity. And as Warren Buffet, the famous American investor said “The one easy way to become worth at least 50 percent more than you are now, is to hone your communication skills”.

HOW TO ENROL ON THE COURSE

UoA’s unique access code is: auck-pggz-2122

1) Head over to https://training.geologize.org/courses/auckland (Links to an external site.)

2) Click on ‘UNIVERSITY ACCESS’
3) Register (Free. This MUST be your university address)
4) Click on the link ‘Have a coupon?’
5) Enter the code above. This will apply the discount.
6) Start learning!

The number of times this coupon can be used is limited to the those at UoA, so please do not share this code to those outside our institution. If you attempt to enrol with a non-UoA e-mail you will be unenrolled.

Learners follow the course at their own pace and you will have lessons, quizzes, assignments and the opportunity to interact directly Dr Haydon Mort, the course teacher through the forums. A certificate is provided at the end of the course, with the seals of the many international organisations who endorse this course.

Enjoy!

Martin Brook

 

Honours Research Projects and sub-90 points Masters dissertations 

Dear colleagues,

Thank you to everyone who supervised and/or examined Honours Research projects and sub-90-point Masters projects/dissertations in 2021. Your time and effort in supervising students and/or examining projects in what was a disrupted year, protracted by deadline extensions, is greatly appreciated. The 2021 cohort should now be all finished and moving onto new things.

In 2022, we have students completing Honours and MENVSCI 30-point research projects, and Bachelor of Advanced Science 60-point dissertations, with submissions in Semester 1 (Monday 27 June) and Semester 2 (Monday 14 November).

For your diary:  

  • S1 Honours and MENVSCI Oral presentations– Wednesday 8 June. Time and venue to be confirmed.
  • S2 Honours, MENVSCI and BAdvSci Oral Presentations – Wednesday 26 October. Time and venue to be confirmed.

These are on the same day as Masters presentations and every effort will be made to avoid clashes.

Finally, if you are supervising Honours/MENVSCI/BAdvSci students this year, please ensure their project is achievable within the one- or two-semester timeframe and that it can be completed under pandemic conditions. Please encourage your student(s) to meet the end-of-semester submission date too, even if Covid-19 extensions are again offered by the Faculty; it is helpful to the students, for getting grades back in time to go on to further study or work, and to those involved in the examination process if we can all stick to the schedule.

Kind regards

Gretel Boswijk

(Honours coordinator)

 

Masters Research Seminars  8 June 2022 — Rm 302-G20

Students who started in S2, 2021 will present their preliminary results. These are 10 minute oral talks followed by 5 minutes of questions. They are designed to assist students with the direction that their project is going in. Supervisors should support their students and all staff should support the research culture in our school.. This is an on-campus seminar series. However, we may revert to Zoom if campus access is not possible. Below is a preliminary schedule.

Cheers,

Phil Shane (coordinator)

Time Name Topic
9.00 KoKo Lat rock mass quality from seismic refraction surveying
9.15 Adi Levy Engineering Geological and Liquefaction Assessment
9.30 James Wilson Rock Characteristics on foreshore morphology
9.45 Amber Peek Environmental Education and Data Generation
10.00 Kenzi Yee Insects as food (for who?)
10.15 Elliot Stevens ‘Voice of the River’ in catchment management
10.30 Jaynie Yang Root production and root exudations in kauri forests

 

Kia Ora Disaster Researchers!

Welcome to the Disastrous Doctorates 2022 has a new date! The DD2022 symposium is rescheduled for 11-13 July. It will be hosted by The University of Auckland in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. At this time, this conference is moving forward with in-person attendance.

Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the most up-to-date information.

Disastrous Doctorates is an annual multi-day symposium for PhD students enrolled at a New Zealand university who are directly studying disaster-related topics. It is organized by PhD students for PhD students. The symposium provides a forum for students to network and learn from each other and subject experts, share best practices and learn helpful tips on managing a PhD career and beyond. We welcome students from across the full range of disciplines, including social sciences, engineering, geology, geography, and law.

Please register on the link below;

Official Registration Form – Disastrous Doctorates (wordpress.com)

 

Presentation of PhD research in EGU-2022

Niraj Bal Tamang, a third year PhD student at the School of Environment, is presenting his ongoing research titled “Network-scale analysis of sedimentary hotspots in dynamic, seismically-active steepland rivers” in the European Geosciences  Union (EGU) General Assembly 2022 at Vienna, Austria. The work is based upon the interaction of the network-scale sediment transport modelling and the individual channel classification in 16 catchments of the upper South Island, New Zealand, from where the sediment transport behavior in the form of sedimentary hotspots will be tied up with the respective channel type and the overall pattern is analyzed to give the response. The presentation (ID EGU22-1395) is scheduled under GM2.1 program within New approaches for monitoring and modelling sediment transport section, at 18:17-18:24 (CEST) on May 26, and also has been highlighted by the session convenors for public interest.

More details about the program and abstract can be accessed through the following link:

Tamang, N. B. and Tunnicliffe, J.: Network-scale analysis of sedimentary hotspots in dynamic, seismically-active steepland rivers, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-1395, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-1395

 

SouthSci and WeSTEM – STEM Partner Role Description
Participatory science platforms (PSP) connect STEM experts with school and community groups, to explore a research or design question and engage youth in STEM. Please see for more information: SouthSci WeSTEM STEM partner role – 2022.

 

Dustsafe Aotearoa: our new community programme

Are you interested to know the concentration of metals in your home dust and/or, would you like to support colleagues (Emma and Melanie) and PG student (Declan) in mapping metals in home dust across Aotearoa NZ?

It is a free and easy! You just need to complete a short survey online and bring your dust to reception Level 6 (we are happy to get your whole vacuum bag if that’s easier).

Feel free to share this opportunity with your family, friends and broader community. It is a time-limited programme, so we hope to receive your sample soon!

Check out the details on our website at http://dustsafe.auckland.ac.nz.

 


Funding


Plastics Innovation Fund

***Application Deadline 20 June 2022***

The purpose of the Plastics Innovation Fund is to support projects that will minimise plastic waste and its harm on the environment. The fund is seeking to fund projects that find ways to use less plastic and make what we do use reusable or recyclable.  It is targeted at projects that: minimise plastic waste; support circular solutions; protect the environment from harm; support the reduction of imported plastic; and improve the behaviour of people and businesses (up the waste hierarchy).  For further information visit the funder website or refer the Funder guidelines.  You can also view a One-hour webinar about the fund

 

Waka Kotahi Innovation Fund

Waka Kotahi Innovation Fund has been set up by Waka Kotahi (NZTA) to support the private sector to develop and accelerate innovative solutions that will help to solve some of New Zealand’s biggest transport challenges. Hoe ki angitū is only open to the private sector which includes: Start-ups, Iwi, Domestic and international companies, Community groups, Research institutions, and University groups. The funding available for round one of Hoe ki angitū is $3.5 million.

Internal Deadline for application: 5pm Wednesday 22 June 2022. 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 application template.

A webinar about this funding round will be held by the funder on 25 May 2022 at 12:30pm. To attend the webinar use this link to register with the funder

 

FoS New Staff Grant

Eligible new staff will be able to apply for a New Staff grant of $20k.As we are transitioning to a new internal funding process, all new staff who have joined the Faculty since 1 January 2020 will be eligible to apply in 2022. Applications are now open and the closing date for submission is 30th June 2022. Full details, guidelines and the application form are available on the Faculty of Science Staff Intranet – New Staff Research Grant page.

 

Call for Applications: New Zealand-German Academic Exchange Programme

Education New Zealand supports early-career researchers from New Zealand to collaborate on research projects in Germany. The call for the Programmes for Project-Related Personal Exchange (PPP) opened on 6 April 2022 (CET). You can find more information about the programme, application requirements, and the link to the application portal on the Education New Zealand Scholarships and Grants site.

Applications will close on 30 June at 11:59 PM NZT.

For any questions, please contact Jina Kim, International Networks Coordinator on jina.kim@auckland.ac.nz

Background information:

New Zealand-German Academic Partnership Event recording of the event.

For more information on the PPP mobility scheme, including requirements for applicants, please follow: https://www.daad.org/en/ppp/

 

2023 MBIE Endeavour Fund Support Sessions

Details on the support for MBIE Endeavour Fund 2023 is available on the Research Hub. There are a number of other events and workshops on offer, details of which can be found on the Research Hub.

 

The Research Committee Funding available

This is for activities to benefit Postdocs and RFs and allow them to connect.

To all those who fall into the following categories:

– Postdocs/Research Fellows;

– People conducting research on non-permanent contracts at the post-doctoral level,

We invite you to contact the new RF rep in the Rangahau/Research committee Joa Paredes-Mariño (for RFs/postdocs) joa.paredes.marino@auckland.ac.nz, for further information

 

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.

 

Funding for class meet and greets

The Student Experience Committee has limited funding available for class related activities. If you want to run a class event, online or otherwise (challenging given the current restrictions), and would benefit from some funds, please contact Joe (j.fagan@auckland.ac.nz). The Committee would prefer to fund several small events rather than one big one (but we are open to suggestions).

 


Health, Safety and Wellbeing



Please email content to Iliane Gomez Vilchis for next edition of P-cubed by Friday

Categories: Uncategorised
Comments Off on Issue 77 – Monday 23rd May 2022

Issue 76 – Monday 9th May 2022

May 9, 2022 • igom365

HeadsUp


I trust you are enjoying being back on campus more. Seeing many of you last Monday afternoon at the welcome back drinks reminded me of the first 3-D movie I saw as a child: it felt both real and unreal at the same time.  I’m sure the novelty may wear off, but not for a while. It was a long pause between time in the buildings and occasions like last Monday. Let us never take anything for granted!

During the many weeks off-campus I often took a break walking the beach. I’d often stop, finding myself staring at the waves for no particular reason. It seems a wonder that one always follows another. My fascination for waves has remained long after precise details of their origins and generation learnt in coastal geomorphology have receded.

Waves are such a pervasive metaphor for what rolls our way incessantly. Like organisational change.  Three such processes are upon us: one in each of teaching, research and admin. We need to stay alert to ensure they don’t wash over us.

First, the Curriculum Transformation Project. Next week we get the chance to being to consider and react to changes proposed by this university-wide Project. They may yet have implications as deep-reaching on our teaching programmes as the External School Review. Fortunately, in Murray, Mel and Marie we have colleagues deeply immersed in the process who can offer clarifications and elaborations. Please stay tuned for a hui (like those held for the Review but shorter and necessarily very soon) to consider and discuss aspects that will potentially most impact our teaching programmes.

Second, the way in which we present ourselves and the research we do to the world is under change. As Melanie describes below, as Rangahau Chair, we are asked to edit our individual profile which will be a public-facing account of what we do. As I found out last night, material imported certainly needs updating and amending. Again, an important wave of change to ride and not be overwhelmed by.

Third,  we also are now seeing the new landscape of Student Service provision. Assistance for a range of areas for which we were accustomed to having familiar in-School face to go to are now being handled by a team. That team does include some people known to us however: Min-Young Lee and Tim Wade-Yeo will be known to many.   But here below are the contact email addresses to which we are asked to direct queries. And if there is a domain of assistance not immediately apparent in the list below are asked to inform Sean Maguire, the Academic Services Manager for the Faculty s.maguire@auckland.ac.nz

Non-standard requests that require faculty approvals: scienceprogrammeadvisers@auckland.ac.nz

 Student Hubs all student enquiries: studentinfo@auckland.ac.nz

 Application for Admissions queries: admissions@auckland.ac.nz

 Non-doctoral related support: sciencepg@auckland.ac.nz

 Doctoral related support: phdscience@auckland.ac.nz

 Regulations Amendments, CUAP proposals: u.taylor@auckland.ac.nz

 Timetabling support: sciencetimetabling@auckland.ac.nz

 Faculty scholarships & prizes: sciencepg@auckland.ac.nz

So, embrace the waves and see you on campus soon!

 

Robin Kearns,

Acting Head of School

 


General Announcements


 

The 20th May is Pink Shirt Day for Mental Health Awareness. Check in with your desk or office neighbour and see how they’re going 🙂

Over the next couple of weeks look out for the Diversi-Tea cards around the School which you can use to get to know your colleagues.

 

Pacific Languages Week kicks off from the 8th May, to celebrate our cultural diversity! This event is part of the UNESCO Decade of Indigenous Languages

We’ll have some ways for you to practice your Pacific Language introductions over the next weeks – keep an eye out in the tea rooms on floors 4 and 5 of the School!

On behalf of the School of Environment Equity Committee

 

Postgraduate Research administration after the reforms (sounds like a Human Geography PhD title)

We have entered the new post-Liana realm of post-graduate research administration. It’s a lesson in just how much work is required in making systems work … and just how good Liana was at that job. Short of somehow stealing her back as the go to person for all queries, here’s a PG research specific guide to complement the more general post-reform guide to administrative roles produced in an earlier issue of P-Cubed:

 

  1. Postgraduate student administrative queries – first step is to consult https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science/current-students/postgraduate-students.html. In practice, that site will direct you to direct most queries to sciencepg@auckland.ac.nz. Academic programme advisors, supervisors, and the relevant postgraduate advisors listed below are also points of contact for academic, pastoral and other queries.
  2. Staff administrative queries
    1. Matters to do with Honours and all sub-90 point masters theses – Gretel is normally the first port of call
    2. Matters to do with 90 and 120 masters theses – Phil Shane is first port of call
    3. PhD matters – Wahapū is the formal interface with the University for most students now and Jennifer Eccles is your contact in the School. For any students still on the old system please liaise with Jennifer.
    4. Anything that asks for an HoD (or nominee) signature – Nick Lewis is your first port of call
  3. Fire-fighting
    1. Masters’ supervisors will be receiving AS512 forms from sciencepg@auckland.ac.nz. Please complete Part A of the forms as quickly as possible and email to Phil Shane (ie recommend examiners and fill in any fields that are incomplete in terms of co-supervisors, student name and ID number, thesis title etc). DO NOT send AS512 forms to Robin. Phil will initiate the process of HoD nominee sign-off.
    2. More to come I’m sure….
  4. New processes are being developed centrally to administer Masters programmes, and we can expect to see something akin to Wahapū – especially given the changes to postgraduate programmes being signalled from Curriculum Transformation initiatives

Nick

Associate Professor, School of Environment

 

Geocomputation lab update 

The School of Environment’s Geocomputation Lab has reopened following a major upgrade. The lab now features 16 new, high-spec workstations to support the computational needs of researchers in the School. A variety of specialist CAD, GIS, photogrammetry, data analysis, coding and transcription software is installed.

To learn more about this facility and to discuss how it can be of use in your next project, contact the technician in charge Thomas Mules.

 

Milk options update

Hi all,

Thanks to the work from Indigo there is now lactose free, soy milk available for floor 4-6 within building 302 (primarily delivered to level 6).

Deliveries of milk occur every Thursday and Sunday.

Hope you enjoy!

 


Whakawhanaungatanga – Communities 


10th ENV seminar: 9th of May, Monday 16:00 – 17:00  on Zoom + drinks in OGH 😊

Join us next Monday,   May, 9 from 4 pm to learn about research your colleagues do. All staff members and students from the School of Environment are warmly invited to attend this brilliant seminar. As you may be already aware we are running  the seminars every “three” months and so far they have been incredibly fascinating.

In the upcoming ENV Seminar, we will have three amazing presenters: Carolyn Lundquist, Larry Murphy and Joa Paredes Marino and their talks will be followed by in person and real drinks in OGH.

9th of May, Monday 16:00 – 17:00  on Zoom Location: Zoom Meeting

https://auckland.zoom.us/j/8698433089

 

Sustainability Research Awards for Students

A reminder that we welcome applications for the Faculty of Science Student Sustainability Research Awards. Awards of up to $2,000 each are available to postgraduate research students within the Faculty of Science to support the student’s living costs. 

The awards are open to applications from postgraduate Honours, Masters or PhD students who are currently undertaking their research project and are enrolled in the Faculty of Science (or whose primary discipline is administered through the FoS). Preference will be given to projects that are likely to lead to tangible impacts such as changes in culture, practice or process, or in facilities and capabilities that improve sustainable outcomes. Preference will also be given to non-doctoral students and those without an existing stipend.

For students who have not yet commenced their research project we ask that you instead wait to apply in our second 2022 round, which will open in October 2022.

Applications for this round will close at 5pm on Sunday 15 May.

For more details and the application form, please check this link: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science/about-the-faculty/sustainability/sustainability-network-research-awards.html

 

Newsletter of the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Geographical Society

Find the latest newsletter here where you will be able to find the “Geography Auckland Dialogues” event information that will take place on Tuesday 17th of May. 

 

Critical Questions for Urban Coastal Adaptation webinar and workshop  Malcolm Fraser from the i4 Programme (a collaborative network focussing on data science and artificial intelligence ) is preparing for a digital workshop for the Urban Coastal Adaptation to discuss what key questions should be asked about using data for urban coastal regions facing climate change concerns. 18th May, 1PM.

Here is all the information plus the invite link: https://www.i4.community/events/critical-questions-for-urban-coastal-adaptation

 

Halfway through transition period to public launch! 18% of faculty of science profiles have been reviewed!

We encourage everyone who has not done it yet, to complete the review of their profiles by the end of May, as Discovery Profiles will be visible publicly from early June. It is likely that irrelevant information was imported from your original profile. You may also want to update this profile picture you uploaded at the time you joined UoA! 😊

There are plenty of learning and support resources available. For more information please see the Discovery Profiles News and FAQs pages, or contact the Staff Service Centre.

Thanks for your continued support of this initiative.

 

Winds of Change 2022 – Applications Now Open for postgraduate students

Now in its third year, the Winds of Change programme has established a strong network of young leaders who come together online to investigate common climate change issues and how sustainable development strategies can be created for the future.

Who can apply?

Current and recently completed postgraduate students with an interest in climate change and a general background in the sciences, business, science communication, or the humanities. We will also consider applications for undergraduates in their final year of study that have demonstrated independent research experience. We expect that these candidates will discuss aspects of this research experience in their applications.

If you know potential candidates, encourage them to apply here by the 3rd of June: https://airtable.com/shr4YV9esGIabvDSG

 

Geologize Practical Geocommunication online course

Last year, we acquired a 12 month site-license allowing all UoA staff and students, and limited alumni FREE access to Geologize’s critically acclaimed and widely accredited course, ‘Practical Geocommunication’. You also have FREE access to Geoscience Outreach in Schools mini-course (by Out There Learning Ltd) as part of the package until June 2022. All together this is worth $720 NZD per person, so please take advantage of this. Otago University are also now offering the course.

The training helps geoscientists become more effective and powerful public ambassadors for our field, something the geosciences urgently need. It will also look great on your CV, so there is nothing to lose and everything to gain from this opportunity. And as Warren Buffet, the famous American investor said “The one easy way to become worth at least 50 percent more than you are now, is to hone your communication skills”.

HOW TO ENROL ON THE COURSE

UoA’s unique access code is: auck-pggz-2122

1) Head over to https://training.geologize.org/courses/auckland (Links to an external site.)

2) Click on ‘UNIVERSITY ACCESS’
3) Register (Free. This MUST be your university address)
4) Click on the link ‘Have a coupon?’
5) Enter the code above. This will apply the discount.
6) Start learning!

The number of times this coupon can be used is limited to the those at UoA, so please do not share this code to those outside our institution. If you attempt to enrol with a non-UoA e-mail you will be unenrolled.

Learners follow the course at their own pace and you will have lessons, quizzes, assignments and the opportunity to interact directly Dr Haydon Mort, the course teacher through the forums. A certificate is provided at the end of the course, with the seals of the many international organisations who endorse this course.

Enjoy!

Martin Brook

 

Honours Research Projects and sub-90 points Masters dissertations 

Dear colleagues,

Thank you to everyone who supervised and/or examined Honours Research projects and sub-90-point Masters projects/dissertations in 2021. Your time and effort in supervising students and/or examining projects in what was a disrupted year, protracted by deadline extensions, is greatly appreciated. The 2021 cohort should now be all finished and moving onto new things.

In 2022, we have students completing Honours and MENVSCI 30-point research projects, and Bachelor of Advanced Science 60-point dissertations, with submissions in Semester 1 (Monday 27 June) and Semester 2 (Monday 14 November).

For your diary:  

  • S1 Honours and MENVSCI Oral presentations– Wednesday 8 June. Time and venue to be confirmed.
  • S2 Honours, MENVSCI and BAdvSci Oral Presentations – Wednesday 26 October. Time and venue to be confirmed.

These are on the same day as Masters presentations and every effort will be made to avoid clashes.

Finally, if you are supervising Honours/MENVSCI/BAdvSci students this year, please ensure their project is achievable within the one- or two-semester timeframe and that it can be completed under pandemic conditions. Please encourage your student(s) to meet the end-of-semester submission date too, even if Covid-19 extensions are again offered by the Faculty; it is helpful to the students, for getting grades back in time to go on to further study or work, and to those involved in the examination process if we can all stick to the schedule.

Kind regards

Gretel Boswijk

(Honours coordinator)

 

Masters Research Seminars  8 June 2022 — Rm 302-G20

Students who started in S2, 2021 will present their preliminary results. These are 10 minute oral talks followed by 5 minutes of questions. They are designed to assist students with the direction that their project is going in. Supervisors should support their students and all staff should support the research culture in our school.. This is an on-campus seminar series. However, we may revert to Zoom if campus access is not possible. Below is a preliminary schedule.

Cheers,

Phil Shane (coordinator)

Time Name Topic
9.00 KoKo Lat rock mass quality from seismic refraction surveying
9.15 Adi Levy Engineering Geological and Liquefaction Assessment
9.30 James Wilson Rock Characteristics on foreshore morphology
9.45 Amber Peek Environmental Education and Data Generation
10.00 Kenzi Yee Insects as food (for who?)
10.15 Elliot Stevens ‘Voice of the River’ in catchment management
10.30 Jaynie Yang Root production and root exudations in kauri forests

 

Kia Ora Disaster Researchers!

Welcome to the Disastrous Doctorates 2022 has a new date! The DD2022 symposium is rescheduled for 11-13 July. It will be hosted by The University of Auckland in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. At this time, this conference is moving forward with in-person attendance.

Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the most up-to-date information.

Disastrous Doctorates is an annual multi-day symposium for PhD students enrolled at a New Zealand university who are directly studying disaster-related topics. It is organized by PhD students for PhD students. The symposium provides a forum for students to network and learn from each other and subject experts, share best practices and learn helpful tips on managing a PhD career and beyond. We welcome students from across the full range of disciplines, including social sciences, engineering, geology, geography, and law.

Please register on the link below;

Official Registration Form – Disastrous Doctorates (wordpress.com)

 

Smartphone Video DIY workshop 

The Rangahau/Research Committee has organized a workshop called: “4 hr Smartphone Video DIY workshop”, where the idea is that people participating try and produce a video about their research so that material can show the research going on in the school, which can be used later for outreach.

It is open to postdoc, staff, and also PhD students as long as participants agree to produce one video about their research that can be used on the University’s social media.

This workshop was organized to be held before the lockdown, so there are some people that already signed up for it. The good news is that there are still 5 spots left. If any of you is interested send me an email at joa.paredes.marino@auckland.ac.nz, those spots will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis

The idea is to have an in-person workshop, here at University, after May 2nd and as soon as we have all the participants sign up.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

 

Presentation of PhD research in EGU-2022

Niraj Bal Tamang, a third year PhD student at the School of Environment, is presenting his ongoing research titled “Network-scale analysis of sedimentary hotspots in dynamic, seismically-active steepland rivers” in the European Geosciences  Union (EGU) General Assembly 2022 at Vienna, Austria. The work is based upon the interaction of the network-scale sediment transport modelling and the individual channel classification in 16 catchments of the upper South Island, New Zealand, from where the sediment transport behavior in the form of sedimentary hotspots will be tied up with the respective channel type and the overall pattern is analyzed to give the response. The presentation (ID EGU22-1395) is scheduled under GM2.1 program within New approaches for monitoring and modelling sediment transport section, at 18:17-18:24 (CEST) on May 26, and also has been highlighted by the session convenors for public interest.

More details about the program and abstract can be accessed through the following link:

Tamang, N. B. and Tunnicliffe, J.: Network-scale analysis of sedimentary hotspots in dynamic, seismically-active steepland rivers, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-1395, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-1395

 

SouthSci and WeSTEM – STEM Partner Role Description
Participatory science platforms (PSP) connect STEM experts with school and community groups, to explore a research or design question and engage youth in STEM. Please see for more information: SouthSci WeSTEM STEM partner role – 2022.

 

Dustsafe Aotearoa: our new community programme

Are you interested to know the concentration of metals in your home dust and/or, would you like to support colleagues (Emma and Melanie) and PG student (Declan) in mapping metals in home dust across Aotearoa NZ?

It is a free and easy! You just need to complete a short survey online and bring your dust to reception Level 6 (we are happy to get your whole vacuum bag if that’s easier).

Feel free to share this opportunity with your family, friends and broader community. It is a time-limited programme, so we hope to receive your sample soon!

Check out the details on our website at http://dustsafe.auckland.ac.nz.

 


Funding


Outreach activities funding

The ENV Outreach Committee is providing contestable funds for School of Environment staff members (including research and teaching fellows) to support outreach projects. The project can be of any nature to promote SoE rangahau/research or the science behind our majors. Activities could involve kura/schools, the public and whakawhanaungatanga. The funds can cover travel, materials, RA time, venue hire, etc. Initially the funds are capped at NZD 1000 per project, but if the call is undersubscribed, we can raise this limit.

To apply, please fill this Application Form and email it to Mila Adam (l.adam@auckland.ac.nz) by May 20th. Funds need to be used by October 2022 and activities can start by June 1st.

 

Plastics Innovation Fund

***Application Deadline 20 June 2022***

The purpose of the Plastics Innovation Fund is to support projects that will minimise plastic waste and its harm on the environment. The fund is seeking to fund projects that find ways to use less plastic and make what we do use reusable or recyclable.  It is targeted at projects that: minimise plastic waste; support circular solutions; protect the environment from harm; support the reduction of imported plastic; and improve the behaviour of people and businesses (up the waste hierarchy).  For further information visit the funder website or refer the Funder guidelines.  You can also view a One-hour webinar about the fund

 

FoS New Staff Grant

Eligible new staff will be able to apply for a New Staff grant of $20k.As we are transitioning to a new internal funding process, all new staff who have joined the Faculty since 1 January 2020 will be eligible to apply in 2022. Applications are now open and the closing date for submission is 30th June 2022. Full details, guidelines and the application form are available on the Faculty of Science Staff Intranet – New Staff Research Grant page.

 

Call for Applications: New Zealand-German Academic Exchange Programme

Education New Zealand supports early-career researchers from New Zealand to collaborate on research projects in Germany. The call for the Programmes for Project-Related Personal Exchange (PPP) opened on 6 April 2022 (CET). You can find more information about the programme, application requirements, and the link to the application portal on the Education New Zealand Scholarships and Grants site.

Applications will close on 30 June at 11:59 PM NZT.

For any questions, please contact Jina Kim, International Networks Coordinator on jina.kim@auckland.ac.nz

Background information:

New Zealand-German Academic Partnership Event recording of the event.

For more information on the PPP mobility scheme, including requirements for applicants, please follow: https://www.daad.org/en/ppp/

2023 MBIE Endeavour Fund Support Sessions

Details on the support for MBIE Endeavour Fund 2023 is available on the Research Hub. There are a number of other events and workshops on offer, details of which can be found on the Research Hub.

 

The Research Committee Funding available

This is for activities to benefit Postdocs and RFs and allow them to connect.

To all those who fall into the following categories:

– Postdocs/Research Fellows;

– People conducting research on non-permanent contracts at the post-doctoral level,

We invite you to contact the new RF rep in the Rangahau/Research committee Joa Paredes-Mariño (for RFs/postdocs) joa.paredes.marino@auckland.ac.nz, for further information

 

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.

 

Funding for class meet and greets

The Student Experience Committee has limited funding available for class related activities. If you want to run a class event, online or otherwise (challenging given the current restrictions), and would benefit from some funds, please contact Joe (j.fagan@auckland.ac.nz). The Committee would prefer to fund several small events rather than one big one (but we are open to suggestions).

 


Health, Safety and Wellbeing


 


Publications


 

S.J. Watson, M. Ribó, S. Seabrook, L.J. Strachan, R. Hale & G. Lamarche (2002) The footprint of ship anchoring on the seafloor. Scientific Reports, 12:7500

 


Please email content to Iliane Gomez Vilchis for next edition of P-cubed by Friday

Categories: Uncategorised
Comments Off on Issue 76 – Monday 9th May 2022

Issue 75 – Tuesday 26th April, 2022

April 26, 2022 • igom365

HeadsUp


I was supposed to be on Rakiura this week doing interviews for a project on community impacts of tourism. But with Covid still doing the rounds, it seemed only right to postpone visiting (for the second time). Here on another island, the virus is still getting its claws into people. Yesterday I delivered dinner to the doorstep of a bed-bound PhD supervisee. We’re not out of the woods yet, as they say.

Another proverbial expression comes to mind as I approach colleagues to join an ad hoc appointments committee: Ask and you shall receive.  With the School Review having identified GISci as a key growth area for us, I proposed a PTF position in this teaching area. Not only was this approved but I was told by the Dean we could be more ambitious and make the position a lectureship. So, we are underway with a second job search for the year. Who would have guessed!

Speaking of the Review, George and I spent a good deal of time over the last two weeks distilling the deliberations of the Action Area groups according to the required Implementation Plan template.   I am hoping all of you will read the penultimate version I’ve circulated for (brief, please!) comments. And, aroha mai again for the very tight timeframe.  As one colleague suggested, we need to find a way to convey to readers the distributed and deliberative manner in which our plan was developed. Indeed we will. I suspect that, in proceeding in this manner, our School has allowed more voice in responding to an External Review than many academic units achieve. Again, thanks to all for your efforts. It will be good to have this next stage of the Review behind us as we submit it on 2nd May, the same day as the second half the semester begins and, more momentously, we see a return to in-person teaching.

Other notices:

A reminder: To mark the return to the in-person second half of semester, I look forward to seeing many of you for celebratory drinks – in the 302 6th Floor break-out space from 3pm on Monday 2nd May.

Faculty of Science Student Sustainability Research Awards. Awards of up to $2,000 each are available to postgraduate research students within the Faculty of Science to support students’ living costs. Applications for this round will close at 5pm on Sunday 15 May.

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science/about-the-faculty/sustainability/sustainability-network-research-awards.html

Travel: As the world opens up again please remember that all travel and accommodation must be booked via Orbit (unless they determine that they cannot assist)

Congratulations:  Carolyn Lundquist is a researcher/mentor on one of the MBIE VCMF proposals led by a recent postdoc Tom Brough (NIWA) in collaboration with Patuharakeke in Whangarei.

 

Robin Kearns,

Acting Head of School

 


Whakawhanaungatanga – Communities


 

Honours Research Projects and sub-90 points Masters dissertations 

Dear colleagues,

Thank you to everyone who supervised and/or examined Honours Research projects and sub-90-point Masters projects/dissertations in 2021. Your time and effort in supervising students and/or examining projects in what was a disrupted year, protracted by deadline extensions, is greatly appreciated. The 2021 cohort should now be all finished and moving onto new things.

In 2022, we have students completing Honours and MENVSCI 30-point research projects, and Bachelor of Advanced Science 60-point dissertations, with submissions in Semester 1 (Monday 27 June) and Semester 2 (Monday 14 November).

For your diary:  

  • S1 Honours and MENVSCI Oral presentations– Wednesday 8 June. Time and venue to be confirmed.
  • S2 Honours, MENVSCI and BAdvSci Oral Presentations – Wednesday 26 October. Time and venue to be confirmed.

These are on the same day as Masters presentations and every effort will be made to avoid clashes.

Finally, if you are supervising Honours/MENVSCI/BAdvSci students this year, please ensure their project is achievable within the one- or two-semester timeframe and that it can be completed under pandemic conditions. Please encourage your student(s) to meet the end-of-semester submission date too, even if Covid-19 extensions are again offered by the Faculty; it is helpful to the students, for getting grades back in time to go on to further study or work, and to those involved in the examination process if we can all stick to the schedule.

Kind regards

Gretel Boswijk

(Honours coordinator)

 

SouthSci and WeSTEM – STEM Partner Role Description
Participatory science platforms (PSP) connect STEM experts with school and community groups, to explore a research or design question and engage youth in STEM. Please see for more information: SouthSci WeSTEM STEM partner role – 2022.

 

Masters Research Seminars  8 June 2022 — Rm 302-G20

Students who started in S2, 2021 will present their preliminary results. These are 10 minute oral talks followed by 5 minutes of questions. They are designed to assist students with the direction that their project is going in. Supervisors should support their students and all staff should support the research culture in our school.. This is an on-campus seminar series. However, we may revert to Zoom if campus access is not possible. Below is a preliminary schedule.

Cheers,

Phil Shane (coordinator)

Time Name Topic
9.00 KoKo Lat rock mass quality from seismic refraction surveying
9.15 Adi Levy Engineering Geological and Liquefaction Assessment
9.30 James Wilson Rock Characteristics on foreshore morphology
9.45 Amber Peek Environmental Education and Data Generation
10.00 Kenzi Yee Insects as food (for who?)
10.15 Elliot Stevens ‘Voice of the River’ in catchment management
10.30 Jaynie Yang Root production and root exudations in kauri forests

 

Another PBRF consultation!

The 4th round of consultation is looking at how the Moderation Team is composed.

https://www.tec.govt.nz/assets/Consultation-Documents/SRG-Consultation-paper-4-Moderation-Team-roles-and-person-specifications.pdf

There is only one option proposed by TEC – to have two co-moderators with one to be a recognised expert in Mātauranga Māori. We are asked if we support this option and what our preferred model would be if we don’t support it. Also, if there are any changes we’d suggest to the proposed option if we do support it. The university is collecting feedback by 27 April, so if it was possible to get reactions or suggestions by 26 April that would be wonderful. Please send any feedback directly to Robert directly (trebor@cs.auckland.ac.nz).

 

Smartphone Video DIY workshop

The Rangahau/Research Committee has organized a workshop called: “4 hr Smartphone Video DIY workshop”, where the idea is that people participating try and produce a video about their research so that material can show the research going on in the school, which can be used later for outreach.

It is open to postdoc, staff, and also PhD students as long as participants agree to produce one video about their research that can be used on the University’s social media.

This workshop was organized to be held before the lockdown, so there are some people that already signed up for it. The good news is that there are still 5 spots left. If any of you is interested send me an email at joa.paredes.marino@auckland.ac.nz, those spots will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis

The idea is to have an in-person workshop, here at University, after May 2nd and as soon as we have all the participants sign up.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

 

Presentation of PhD research in EGU-2022

Niraj Bal Tamang, a third year PhD student at the School of Environment, is presenting his ongoing research titled “Network-scale analysis of sedimentary hotspots in dynamic, seismically-active steepland rivers” in the European Geosciences  Union (EGU) General Assembly 2022 at Vienna, Austria. The work is based upon the interaction of the network-scale sediment transport modelling and the individual channel classification in 16 catchments of the upper South Island, New Zealand, from where the sediment transport behavior in the form of sedimentary hotspots will be tied up with the respective channel type and the overall pattern is analyzed to give the response. The presentation (ID EGU22-1395) is scheduled under GM2.1 program within New approaches for monitoring and modelling sediment transport section, at 18:17-18:24 (CEST) on May 26, and also has been highlighted by the session convenors for public interest.

More details about the program and abstract can be accessed through the following link:

Tamang, N. B. and Tunnicliffe, J.: Network-scale analysis of sedimentary hotspots in dynamic, seismically-active steepland rivers, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-1395, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-1395

 

ENV Health, Safety, and Wellbeing Committee – TIP

 


Funding


The Research Committee has funding available for activities to benefit Postdocs and RFs and allow them to connect.

To all those who fall into the following categories:

– Postdocs/Research Fellows;

– People conducting research on non-permanent contracts at the post-doctoral level,

We invite you to contact the new RF rep in the Rangahau/Research committee Joa Paredes-Mariño (for RFs/postdocs) joa.paredes.marino@auckland.ac.nz, for further information

 

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.

 

Funding for class meet and greets

The Student Experience Committee has limited funding available for class related activities. If you want to run a class event, online or otherwise (challenging given the current restrictions), and would benefit from some funds, please contact Joe (j.fagan@auckland.ac.nz). The Committee would prefer to fund several small events rather than one big one (but we are open to suggestions).

 

2023 CapEx applications now open

https://auckland.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9Rew1VYtLrpvkGO

Applications will close 5pm Friday April 29th.

Any questions can be directed to Blair Sowman.

 

COVID-19 Hardship Fund – New closing date for Tranche 1: 29 April 2022

Support for critically impacted research projects through the COVID-19 Hardship Fund.

2021 was a challenging year for our University research community, navigating through a prolonged COVID-19 disruption. We acknowledge that many Researchers have been assessing the 2021 impacts on projects and taking the time to consider research plans in the context of COVID-19 Protection Framework settings.

Tranche 1 funding is targeted at Principal Investigators of externally funded research projects impacted by COVID-19 and ending before 31 Dec 2022.

 

James Cook Research Fellowships 

The James Cook Research Fellowships are awarded to researchers who have achieved national and international recognition in their area of scientific research. Funding is for Senior Researcher Fellowships in Biological, Engineering and Physical Sciences for up to $110,000 for two years.

Internal Deadline: 5pm, Tuesday 03 May 2022. Email the following information to the Funds Advisor Team via submissions@auckland.ac.nz for James Cook Fellowship portal access: title (e.g. Dr, A/P, Professor), full name, email address, faculty, and department. Guidelines available here.

 

Plastics Innovation Fund

***Application Deadline 20 June 2022***

The purpose of the Plastics Innovation Fund is to support projects that will minimise plastic waste and its harm on the environment. The fund is seeking to fund projects that find ways to use less plastic and make what we do use reusable or recyclable.  It is targeted at projects that: minimise plastic waste; support circular solutions; protect the environment from harm; support the reduction of imported plastic; and improve the behaviour of people and businesses (up the waste hierarchy).  For further information visit the funder website or refer the Funder guidelines.  You can also view a One-hour webinar about the fund

 

FoS New Staff Grant

Eligible new staff will be able to apply for a New Staff grant of $20k.As we are transitioning to a new internal funding process, all new staff who have joined the Faculty since 1 January 2020 will be eligible to apply in 2022. Applications are now open and the closing date for submission is 30th June 2022. Full details, guidelines and the application form are available on the Faculty of Science Staff Intranet – New Staff Research Grant page.

 

Call for Applications: New Zealand-German Academic Exchange Programme

Education New Zealand supports early-career researchers from New Zealand to collaborate on research projects in Germany. The call for the Programmes for Project-Related Personal Exchange (PPP) opened on 6 April 2022 (CET). You can find more information about the programme, application requirements, and the link to the application portal on the Education New Zealand Scholarships and Grants site.

Applications will close on 30 June at 11:59 PM NZT.

For any questions, please contact Jina Kim, International Networks Coordinator on jina.kim@auckland.ac.nz

Background information:

New Zealand-German Academic Partnership Event recording of the event.

For more information on the PPP mobility scheme, including requirements for applicants, please follow: https://www.daad.org/en/ppp/

 

Outreach activities funding

The ENV Outreach Committee is providing contestable funds for School of Environment staff members (including research and teaching fellows) to support outreach projects. The project can be of any nature to promote SoE rangahau/research or the science behind our majors. Activities could involve kura/schools, the public and whakawhanaungatanga. The funds can cover travel, materials, RA time, venue hire, etc. Initially the funds are capped at NZD 1000 per project, but if the call is undersubscribed, we can raise this limit.

To apply, please fill this Application Form and email it to Mila Adam (l.adam@auckland.ac.nz) by May 20th. Funds need to be used by October 2022 and activities can start by June 1st.

 


Publications


Sharp EL, Brierley B., Salmond JA and Lewis, N. (2022) Geoethical Futures: A Call for More-Than-Human Physical Geography. Environment and Planning F: Philosophy, Theory, Models, Methods and Practice 1(1)

 

Isley C, Fry K and Sharp EL and Taylor M (2022) Bringing citizen science to life: Evaluation of a national citizen science program for public benefit. Environmental Science & Policy. 134, 23-33.

 


Please email content to Iliane Gomez Vilchis for next edition of P-cubed by Friday

Categories: Uncategorised
Comments Off on Issue 75 – Tuesday 26th April, 2022

Issue 74 – Monday 11th April, 2022

April 11, 2022 • jkmu952

HeadsUp


“Seeing is believing”. That old proverb sums up the power of observation, a power that can be derived from both ‘real-world’ phenomena and data derived from the world.  “Look before you leap”. Another proverb that speaks to observation and lies behind something we’ve heard so often during the pandemic: an abundance of caution.

This last weekend, two occasions here on the motu reminded me of the importance of observation as the foundation of science.

First, I linked up with the Geog250 field trip. In response to necessary caution in Covid times, Joe Fagan and colleagues had redesigned the Waiheke excursion so that it was entirely based on observation, punctuated by pauses with comments from staff and tailor-made explanatory apps. As far as I could tell, the walking school bus of students seemed to be enjoying the experience and were seeing the landscapes in a suitably analytical light. This seemed to me to be a great outcome: sacrificing small group exercises and data collection but keeping and adapting the actual field experience. And for me, joining the group for only a couple of kilometres, it was a case of ‘seeing is believing’ what can be done with a bit of creativity in these times.

My second experience of the power of observation last week occurred more in the domain of citizen science than science education. In response to a question in Parliament the Minister of Conservation responded that DoC had advised her there were no active kororā (little penguin) burrows in the rock wall being dismantled for a massive marina development at Pūtiki Bay here on Waiheke.  That assertion ran counter to our local knowledge, so eight of us kept vigil late into last Wednesday evening observing and recording the mystical calls of the kororā in cavities beneath our feet on the rock wall. Supplied with this evidence, our local MP posed an updated question to the Minister the next day. In response, the Minister admitted she had been supplied with poor evidence by her Department and that she would henceforth be insisting representatives monitor the site with more vigilance.

How often our carefully-crafted papers take months if not years to appear in print and then have negligible impact in the political/environmental management realm? Yet here were simple observations recorded with nothing more than an iPhone that led to a ministerial u-turn in Parliament. Never under-estimate the power of doing science in your spare time and practicing on-the-ground observation!

Speaking of observation, I greatly look forward to seeing many of you in the week beginning Monday 2nd May. Doubtless, zoom meetings are now firmly and conveniently embedded as part of our work routines. Doubtless also, WFH (working from home) saves on carbon emissions and time-loss. Yet, RTO (return to office) will bring a reminder that true collegiality grows more  in the context of fully-embodied personhood than through the second-best of talking to our laptops.

To mark the beginning of the great return migration, there will be catered drinks at 4pm on Monday 2nd May in the Building 302 6th Floor break out space. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

Robin Kearns,

Acting Head of School.

 

PS As a footnote, our challenge as we return to a more populated workplace is to continue create a positive and tolerant work environment. This will be particularly important as some people may be weary or anxious. To that end, please be familiar with the university’s code of conduct and how it relates to communications with other staff and students

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/on-campus/life-on-campus/code-of-conduct.html

 


Whakawhanaungatanga – Communities


Breaking news

Many of you will have seen the latest results of the QS World University Rankings last week. While these metrics have their flaws, it is nonetheless a huge accoladefor the Geographers in our School that their subject area has achieved such a strong result this year. (see this account in which Geography is revealed to be the highest ranking subject at the University of Auckland and that U of A is #30 in the world for the discipline). This result reflects well on the resolute focus on internationally- recognised scholarship within not only this group but also within the School at large, given the many links and collaborations that mark our trans-disciplinary outlook as people of the environment. Another reason to raise a glass in celebration when we next gather in person.

Robin Kearns, HoS

 

Reducing uncertainties in wastewater-based epidemiology through combining complementary population datasets – Mackay Price (PhD Proposal)

Wastewater-based epidemiology has fast become a valuable complementary public health tool. Through the analysis of municipal wastewater, wastewater-based epidemiology can provide objective estimates of the chemicals and pathogens that communities are exposed to. However, accurately estimating the number of people in a wastewater catchment at any given time is highly challenging and remains one of the largest sources of uncertainty for the discipline. My research focuses on exploring how complementary sources of information like national censuses and mobile phone data can be used to resolve this problem. This research will develop new methods to estimate the day-specific population size for wastewater treatment plant catchments across New Zealand. This research aims to reduce the uncertainties of wastewater-based epidemiology so that more accurate and robust insights into public health can be obtained.

More info: Mackay PhD Seminar Flyer

 

Revealing the Diverse Economies of Kaupapa Māori Community Housing Provision – Jack Barrett (PhD Proposal)
Supervisors: Larry Murphy, Tom Baker, Karen Fisher (Advisor)Aotearoa is experiencing a housing crisis, of which Māori have, and continue to be disproportionately impacted by its constituents. Aotearoa’s community housing sector has seen a growth in Māori led housing organisations and strategies aiming to address this inequity. However, to date the dynamics of these organisations as they navigate contemporary political and economic environments remains less understood. This project proposes a diverse
economies framing of Māori-led community housing provision to understand the diversity of methods, engagement and strategies that materialise place-based housing aspirations for Māori. The project will employ an in-depth case study of a hapu-led community housing project, accompanied by a broader institutional study of key actors in the Māori housing sector to develop these insights.
To hear more, please join my proposal seminar via zoom on Thursday,
April 21st at 10am.

More info: Jack PhD Seminar Flyer

 

Geological occurrence, mineralogical characterisation, and risk assessment of potentially carcinogenic erionite in New Zealand – Janki Patel (PhD Proposal)

This research aims to investigate the geological occurrence of erionite within New Zealand and characterise the minerals’ crystal habit, chemistry and aspect ratio. Erionite is a carcinogenic zeolite mineral that forms within rocks and soils that contain altered volcanic materials. While undisturbed erionite poses no risk to human health, disturbed and aerosolised erionite fibres can cause effects similar to asbestos exposure within the human body. The critical factor causing erionite’s toxic nature is its fibrous crystal habit and aspect. Within New Zealand, previous evidence for erionite has been found within Auckland, Taupo Volcanic Zone, and Moeraki. Thus, as erionite is present within New Zealand, it is vital to study the occurrence of the mineral and assess the potential risk associated with erionite exposure.

More info: Janki PhD Seminar Flyer

 

Travertine and Speleothems as recorders of magmatic processes and volcanic eruptions from Mount Taranaki – Nathan Collins (Phd Proposal)

Travertines are terrestrial carbonates precipitated from bicarbonate springs often found in volcanic settings. This volcano-travertine association is geochemically and texturally recorded within the travertine providing important information about volcanic processes, Speothems are increasingly being used as achieves of volcanic activity and can be U-Th dates, often with high precession. However, obtaining robust speleotem tephrochronologies have been challenging due to site specific variable which modify tephra signals before reaching the growing speleothem.

More info: Nathan PhD Seminar Flyer

 

Honours Research Projects and sub-90 points Masters dissertations 

Dear colleagues,

Thank you to everyone who supervised and/or examined Honours Research projects and sub-90-point Masters projects/dissertations in 2021. Your time and effort in supervising students and/or examining projects in what was a disrupted year, protracted by deadline extensions, is greatly appreciated. The 2021 cohort should now be all finished and moving onto new things.

In 2022, we have students completing Honours and MENVSCI 30-point research projects, and Bachelor of Advanced Science 60-point dissertations, with submissions in Semester 1 (Monday 27 June) and Semester 2 (Monday 14 November).

For your diary:  

  • S1 Honours and MENVSCI Oral presentations– Wednesday 8 June. Time and venue to be confirmed.
  • S2 Honours, MENVSCI and BAdvSci Oral Presentations – Wednesday 26 October. Time and venue to be confirmed.

These are on the same day as Masters presentations and every effort will be made to avoid clashes.

Finally, if you are supervising Honours/MENVSCI/BAdvSci students this year, please ensure their project is achievable within the one- or two-semester timeframe and that it can be completed under pandemic conditions. Please encourage your student(s) to meet the end-of-semester submission date too, even if Covid-19 extensions are again offered by the Faculty; it is helpful to the students, for getting grades back in time to go on to further study or work, and to those involved in the examination process if we can all stick to the schedule.

Kind regards

Gretel Boswijk

(Honours coordinator)

 

SouthSci and WeSTEM – STEM Partner Role Description
Participatory science platforms (PSP) connect STEM experts with school and community groups, to explore a research or design question and engage youth in STEM. Please see for more information: SouthSci WeSTEM STEM partner role – 2022.

 

Masters Research Seminars  8 June 2022 — Rm 302-G20

Students who started in S2, 2021 will present their preliminary results. These are 10 minute oral talks followed by 5 minutes of questions. They are designed to assist students with the direction that their project is going in. Supervisors should support their students and all staff should support the research culture in our school.. This is an on-campus seminar series. However, we may revert to Zoom if campus access is not possible. Below is a preliminary schedule.

Cheers,

Phil Shane (coordinator)

Time Name Topic
9.00 KoKo Lat rock mass quality from seismic refraction surveying
9.15 Adi Levy Engineering Geological and Liquefaction Assessment
9.30 James Wilson Rock Characteristics on foreshore morphology
9.45 Amber Peek Environmental Education and Data Generation
10.00 Kenzi Yee Insects as food (for who?)
10.15 Elliot Stevens ‘Voice of the River’ in catchment management
10.30 Jaynie Yang Root production and root exudations in kauri forests

 

Another PBRF consultation!

The 4th round of consultation is looking at how the Moderation Team is composed.

https://www.tec.govt.nz/assets/Consultation-Documents/SRG-Consultation-paper-4-Moderation-Team-roles-and-person-specifications.pdf

There is only one option proposed by TEC – to have two co-moderators with one to be a recognised expert in Mātauranga Māori. We are asked if we support this option and what our preferred model would be if we don’t support it. Also, if there are any changes we’d suggest to the proposed option if we do support it. The university is collecting feedback by 27 April, so if it was possible to get reactions or suggestions by 26 April that would be wonderful. Please send any feedback directly to Robert directly (trebor@cs.auckland.ac.nz).

 


Employment Opportunities


Research Assistant casual contract available:

Are you good at preparing figures using drawing packages like illustrator, photoshop of corel draw?  If you would like up 30+ hours work drafting figures for publication please get in touch with JR j.rowland@auckland.ac.nz

Professor in Geography, Earth Science or Atmospheric Science (Women Only)

Salary: Level E, Professor – $204,320 p.a (Pro Rata for part time)
Superannuation: Employer Contribution of 17%
Working Hours: Full time 1.0 FTE
Basis of Employment: Continuing

Opportunity
The newly formed School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences wishes to appoint a Professor in Geography, Earth Science or Atmospheric Science. The appointee will contribute to teaching excellence at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in one of the School’s disciplines and/or across the disciplines. They will also make major contributions to research, academic leadership and professional development including mentoring, and contribute to the School’s governance (e.g., committees, strategic planning, etc.).

The Professor will engage in high impact research collaborations and maintain a significant international profile through publications, presentations and other outputs. They will raise funding for their research and lead major projects as appropriate and engage with external communities and stakeholders.

About You
You will be an outstanding academic woman with expertise in Geography, Earth Science, or Atmospheric Science or a multidisciplinary area that encompasses those disciplines or any of its sub-disciplines

You will possess;

  • A PhD in any area of geography, earth science, atmospheric science or a closely related discipline.
  • An established research career of international standing in geography, earth sciences, atmospheric sciences, or multidisciplinary research that encompasses those disciplines, ideally complementing our existing strengths.
  • Demonstrated leadership and strategic perspective in research and scholarship within their discipline area.
  • Strong track record of collaboration with other researchers and relevant stakeholders.

The Faculty of Science is deeply committed to creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable environment that welcomes and values all people. We firmly believe that diversity, including in senior leadership, is essential to our Faculty’s continued success. https://science.unimelb.edu.au/

 

 


Funding


The Research Committee has funding available for activities to benefit Postdocs and RFs and allow them to connect.

To all those who fall into the following categories:

– Postdocs/Research Fellows;

– People conducting research on non-permanent contracts at the post-doctoral level,

We invite you to contact the new RF rep in the Rangahau/Research committee Joa Paredes-Mariño (for RFs/postdocs) joa.paredes.marino@auckland.ac.nz, for further information

 

MBIE Catalyst: Strategic – New Zealand-China Strategic Research Alliance 2022 funding round.

New Zealand and China have agreed to support two projects through this funding round, one in each priority area of Food Science and Environmental Science. Grant value: Up to $300,000 (excluding GST) over three years is available for each successful project. Internal Deadline:

  • Registration: 12pm, Thursday 21 April 2022.
  • Full Proposal: 12pm, Friday 6 May 2022.

Applications are submitted via the MBIE IMS PortalReturning applicants log in using your existing login details. New applicants contact the Funds Advisor Team submissions@auckland.ac.nz to create your User Profile. IMS portal opens on 5 April 2022.

 

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.

 

FoS New Staff Grant

Eligible new staff will be able to apply for a New Staff grant of $20k.As we are transitioning to a new internal funding process, all new staff who have joined the Faculty since 1 January 2020 will be eligible to apply in 2022. Applications are now open and the closing date for submission is 30th June 2022. Full details, guidelines and the application form are available on the Faculty of Science Staff Intranet – New Staff Research Grant page.

 

Vision Mātauranga Hui

As part of the Vision Mātauranga support for researchers within Te Whare Pūtaiao Faculty of Science, the Māori advisors’ team will be running a 90-minute Vision Mātauranga Hui on the 12th April 2022 from 1.15-2.45pm. Please complete the registration form to receive the zoom link Vision Mātauranga Hui.

 

Teaching & Learning Research Initiative (TLRI)

The TLRI funding call seeks to support research addressing themes of strategic importance to education in New Zealand that will lead to an improvement in outcomes for learners. Partnerships between researchers and practitioners are central to the TLRI. You can read more about this opportunity in the TLRI Expression of Interest 2022 Guidance document.  EOI Internal Deadline is  21 April 2022. Register interest to the Funds Advisor Team via submissions@auckland.ac.nz

 

James Cook Research Fellowships

The James Cook Research Fellowships are awarded to researchers who have achieved national and international recognition in their area of scientific research. Funding is for Senior Researcher Fellowships in Biological, Engineering and Physical Sciences for up to $110,000 for two years.

Internal Deadline: 5pm, Tuesday 03 May 2022. Email the following information to the Funds Advisor Team via submissions@auckland.ac.nz for James Cook Fellowship portal access: title (e.g. Dr, A/P, Professor), full name, email address, faculty, and department. Guidelines available here.

 

2023 CapEx applications now open

https://auckland.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9Rew1VYtLrpvkGO

Applications will close 5pm Friday April 29th.

Any questions can be directed to Blair Sowman.

 

Funding for class meet and greets

The Student Experience Committee has limited funding available for class related activities. If you want to run a class event, online or otherwise (challenging given the current restrictions), and would benefit from some funds, please contact Joe (j.fagan@auckland.ac.nz). The Committee would prefer to fund several small events rather than one big one (but we are open to suggestions).

 

Rutherford Discovery Fellowships

Rutherford Discovery Fellowships (RDF) are to support the development of future research leaders, and to assist with the retention and repatriation of New Zealand’s talented early-to mid-career researchers. 10 Fellowships, up to $160,000 p.a. each for 5 years in length will be awarded in 2022. Internal Deadline: 9am Wednesday 20 April 2022. Applications are to be submitted on the RDF Portal by the deadline. Email the following information to the Funds Advisor Team via submissions@auckland.ac.nz for RDF portal access: title (e.g. Dr, A/P, Professor), full name, email address, faculty, department and years post PhD Experience. Further information is available on guidelines and the RDF Roadshow.

 

COVID-19 Hardship Fund – New closing date for Tranche 1: 29 April 2022

Support for critically impacted research projects through the COVID-19 Hardship Fund.

2021 was a challenging year for our University research community, navigating through a prolonged COVID-19 disruption. We acknowledge that many Researchers have been assessing the 2021 impacts on projects and taking the time to consider research plans in the context of COVID-19 Protection Framework settings.

Tranche 1 funding is targeted at Principal Investigators of externally funded research projects impacted by COVID-19 and ending before 31 Dec 2022.

 

Plastics Innovation Fund

***Application Deadline 20 June 2022***

The purpose of the Plastics Innovation Fund is to support projects that will minimise plastic waste and its harm on the environment. The fund is seeking to fund projects that find ways to use less plastic and make what we do use reusable or recyclable.  It is targeted at projects that: minimise plastic waste; support circular solutions; protect the environment from harm; support the reduction of imported plastic; and improve the behaviour of people and businesses (up the waste hierarchy).  For further information visit the funder website or refer the Funder guidelines.  You can also view a One-hour webinar about the fund

 


Publications


Lorna J. Strachan, Julien Bailleul, Kyle J. Bland, Alan R. Orpin & Adam D. McArthur (2022) Understanding sedimentary systems and processes of the Hikurangi Subduction Margin; from Trench to Back-Arc. Volume 1, New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 65:1, 1-16, DOI: 10.1080/00288306.2022.2048032.

Available here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00288306.2022.2048032

 


Please email content to Illiane Gomez Vilchis for next edition of P-cubed by Friday

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