Shalini Guleria’s revolutionary ScienceBox enterprise empowers kids to enjoy the magic of science. Shalini makes science accessible through exciting activities using ordinary household items, provided via school visits, holiday programmes and a subscription club. The club funds free ScienceBox visits and events for low-decile communities. During lockdown Shalini created an online STEM challenge series and…
A genuine star in NZ’s artificial breeding world, Neil Standley provides critical support for LIC’s laboratories. Each spring, LIC dispatches up to 140,000 straws of bull semen per day to New Zealand farms. Neil Standley is responsible for seeing that this happens without a hitch. As well as taking care of production lab technicalities and…
Manaaki Taiao ki Kirikiriroa is both accomplished practitioner and influential advocate in the realm of bicultural science frameworks. A seven-person team within Manaaki Whenua/Landcare Research (MWLR), Manaaki Taiao ki Kirikiriroa supports the organisation’s commitment to treaty-based research frameworks, actively builds Mātauranga Māori capability of non-Māori colleagues and empowers communities to combine indigenous and western scientific…
Associate Professor Kura Paul-Burke blends western science with mātauranga Māori to help coastal communities manage marine taonga. Shellfish such as mussels indicate the health of our coastal environments and are a valued food source. In Ohiwa Harbour, Paul-Burke used local understanding of natural signs – ngā tohu o te taiao – and maramataka (the Māori…
Dr Ian Kusabs has proven that a traditional Māori fishing method stacks up scientifically for monitoring the health of lakes and streams. Tau kōura uses bundles of bracken tied to submerged ropes, which provide an attractive habitat for native crayfish. Kōura is a keystone species in our freshwater ecosystems and function in Dr Kusabs’s words…
Dr Nina Scott’s research brings Mātauranga Māori to medicine, tangibly improving health outcomes for Māori. A leading expert in the use of kaupapa Māori methodologies for health research with more than 30 peer reviewed articles to her name, Dr Scott’s latest achievement is the Harti Hauora Tamariki Study. Designed using the He Pikanga Waiora Framework…
Better blood sugar control for our region’s 25,000 diabetics is the Waikato Diabetes Research Team’s goal. This joint University of Waikato/Waikato DHB initiative is examining both primary and secondary health services, aiming to streamline processes, address gaps and improve diabetes management, outcomes and equity of care. Its most recent large study (just one of the…
Dr Fiona Petchey’s innovations in radiocarbon dating are solving complex geological, archaeological and forensic puzzles. Radiocarbon dating fragments of bone and/or shell can provide clues to geological or environmental change, human migration and sometimes crime. However, environmental factors – including whether the sample is marine or terrestrial in origin – can affect the radiocarbon signal…
Dr Joanne Ellis is recognised internationally for her insight into the response of marine environments to natural and man-made stressors. Dr Ellis’s focus research examines the impact of factors such as fishing, marine mining, wind farms and nutrient/sediment runoff on seabed ecosystems, from shallow, tidal environments like mangrove forests and seagrass beds to the deep…
Tiny keys to big global environmental questions – past, present and future – are Dr Adam Hartland’s specialty. A Senior Lecturer at the University of Waikato, Dr Hartland’s focus is on the interaction between natural organic matter, nanoparticles and trace elements in soil, water and minerals. He has unravelled clues to climate change in stalagmites…