Alert Newsletter 720

Posted: Wed, 6 Jun 2012 under Alert Newsletter, News

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1. Sir Paul Callaghan named Supreme Winner of the 2012 World Class New Zealand Awards

Sir Paul Callaghan was named the Supreme Winner of the 2012 World Class New Zealand Awards posthumously at the World Class New Zealand Awards in Auckland last week.

The annual Awards, a New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) initiative delivered by Kea New Zealand, are a celebration of New Zealand innovators and entrepreneurs who have made significant contributions to the country’s growth and development.

Kea Global board member and Chair of judges John Stace said Sir Paul Callaghan was a truly inspirational and world class New Zealander whose outstanding achievements have earned him numerous awards and respect worldwide.

“Sir Paul’s exceptional talents were an asset for New Zealand and his consistent commitment to connecting science with business to widen the country’s economic growth was truly admirable.”

 

2. Transit of Venus Forum and Pounamu online game underway

Transit of Venus 2012 image

Transit shot from Tolaga Bay Area School on June 6 2012

The Transit of Venus Forum is taking place with hundreds of scientists, iwi representatives, dignitaries and delegates gathered in Gisborne to further Professor Sir Paul Callaghan’s vision of making New Zealand “a place where talent wants to live”.

A live webcast is available on the Ministry of Science and Innovation’s website and you can follow summaries of discussion points on Twitter #tovforum.

The forum follows a successful celebration at Tolaga Bay on Wednesday 6 June, where, unlike many places in New Zealand, the Transit of Venus was visible.

Pounamu, an online game, which gives all New Zealanders a chance to have their say on the issues discussed at the Transit of Venus Forum is also underway. To register and play the game, visit www.pounamu.gen.nz.

 

3. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand – special issue on the 2012 transit of Venus

As mentioned in last week’s Alert, a special issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand celebrating the 2012 transit of Venus, guest-edited by the late Sir Paul Callaghan and Rebecca Priestley, has been published.

For those who were unable to access the special issue please try again.

 

4. Beatrice Hill Tinsley Lectures 2012: ‘Ancient Astronomies – Ancient Worlds’

The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand Lecture Trust presents Clive Ruggles, Emeritus Professor of Archaeoastronomy at the University of Leicester, UK.

Much is known about ancient astronomical knowledge and practices in places such as ancient China and Babylonia from the evidence contained in their recorded history, but people all over the world strived to make sense of what they saw in the sky long before the written record existed. What can we ever know of this?

As Clive will show, some of the world’s most iconic ancient monuments provide tantalising glimpses of long lost beliefs and practices relating to the sky, although they often have to be interpreted with considerable caution. Taking in examples from many different parts of the world, including his own ongoing field projects in Europe, Peru and Hawaii, Clive will use these insights to build up a broad picture of the diverse ways in which ancient peoples perceived and understood the world—the cosmos—within which they dwelt.

  • Christchurch: Saturday June 9th, 7:30pm, C3 Lecture Room, University of Canterbury.
  • Carterton: Sunday June 17th, 3:00pm, Events Centre, Holloway St, Carterton.
  • Napier: Monday June 18th, 7:00pm, Napier War Memorial Centre, Marine Parade, Napier.
  • Auckland: Tuesday June 19th, 7:30pm, Auckland Museum.

There will be admission charges. Further information may be obtained from www.rasnz.org.nz.

 

5. FUSIONZ website for science, technology, humanities jobs

This week, Fusionz has 4 vacancies for jobs. The latest jobs are:

  • Social Science Research Assessor – Marsden Fund, Royal Society of New Zealand, Wellington
  • Research Assistant, University of Otago, South Island
  • PhD Engineering, University of Waikato, International
  • Departmental Science Adviser, Ministry for Primary Industries, North Island

For more information and to list your vacancy: http://fusionz.royalsociety.org.nz/

 

6. Branch event: “James Cook, Tahiti, the 1769 Transit of Venus and the Quest for the Astronomical Unit”, June 14, Nelson

The Nelson Science Society hosts a talk by Dr Wayne Orchiston. Wayne is a former managing director of the Carter Observatory in Wellington and is currently an associate professor at James Cook University of Queensland.

This talk will outline the planning associated with Cook’s voyage; introduce those who carried out the transit observations in Tahiti; describe the instruments they used; discuss the records that Cook sent back to England during the voyage and his rather selective use of the available data when compiling his paper for the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society; and query the current whereabouts of most of the astronomical instruments that were used in Tahiti.

Details: 7.30pm Thursday June 14. Venue: A211, NMIT, entrance off Alton St. All welcome. Non-members $2.

 

7. New resource featuring archive material of international transit of Venus studies

The Royal Society, London has launched a new online resource illustrating the history of studies of the Transit of Venus, using material from the Society’s archives to allow members of the public from around the world to explore its history. The new resource features an interactive map of the transits, highlighting expeditions and giving access to new, electronic versions of letters, papers, diagrams and paintings stored away in the Society’s archives.

 

8. NZ-UK Link Foundation: Visiting Professorship Programme 2013 – applications sought (31 July deadline)

The London-based educational charity NZ-UK Link Foundation is keen to promote cultural links between New Zealand and the UK with a series of talks (four lectures, one in London and three in other venues) and events through a secondment to the School of Advanced Studies (SAS) (see www.sas.ac.uk) at the University of London over a three-month period in the northern Spring or Autumn 2013. See the programme’s webpage.

The Foundation’s VPs can come from almost any academic discipline – from history to environmental science, from economics to social policy, from political science to trade. However, for 2013 the Foundation is particularly interested in applicants whose areas of interest are in one of the following fields:

  • The economic relationship e.g. trade/financial institutions (governance and regulation/investment)
  • Immigration/workforce mobility including the contribution which immigrants from each country make in the other
  • Issues related to civil emergency planning – dealing with natural disasters at home and abroad
  • Community issues such as the role of community groups, charities, and volunteers in providing practical support and services to society.

The first Visiting Professorship was awarded to Professor Margaret Wilson of Waikato University for October 2010 and the second to Professor Jonathan Gardner of Victoria University of Wellington for October 2011.

Applications must be submitted by 31 July 2012 to the Chairman, NZ-UK Link Foundation c/o New Zealand House, Haymarket, London SW1Y 4TQ or by e-mail to graeme.davies@lon.ac.uk. Any queries about the VPship should be directed to the Chairman at graeme.davies@lon.ac.uk.

 

9. Australia and New Zealand Obesity Society Conference, 18-20 October, Auckland

The Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS) will be holding their Annual Scientific Meeting at Auckland’s Rendezvous Hotel from 18-20 October 2012. This year’s Meeting theme is “For Our Children’s Children.”

The ANZOS Annual Scientific Meeting is designed to bring together clinicians, scientists, dieticians, researchers, psychologists, exercise physiologists, public health practitioners, guideline developers, students, educators, policy makers, administrators and patients to work toward an integrated approach to improve the management and prevention of obesity in Australasia.

Delegates will have a chance to engage in our comprehensive three-day programme that will include a mix of renowned keynote speakers, informative sessions and workshops, and a gala dinner. For more information go to www.anzos2012.com.

As part of the meeting there will be a free public lecture on Thursday evening 18 October, 6 to 7pm.   The title is “For our children’s children: what is (y)our role.  Speakers include Professors Jim Mann, Barbara Rolls, Wayne Cutfield and Jacqueline Rowarth. To register your interest please email elaine.rush@aut.ac.nz.

 

10. Food, Markets and Society III Symposium, 29 June, Wellington

Which new applications in biotech, nanotech, functional foods and for sustainable agriculture will be acceptable to consumers and society? How can ‘market intelligence’ on stakeholder values be used effectively in science investment and innovation strategies?

In this third and final end user meeting, researchers from the 4-year MSI-funded project “Sustainable Decision Making for Future Foods” will present the results of their work on stakeholder preferences around future food technologies, and lead a discussion with science, industry, government and community participants on the implications for future science investment.

If you are interested in attending, please contact the project administrator Marilyn.Pierson@esr.cri.nz. There is no registration fee but places are limited. For more details on the project and the symposium programme see www.esr.cri.nz/futurefoods.

Details: 9-5pm Friday 29 June, James Cook Chancellor Hotel, The Terrace, Wellington. 

 

11. Conference “Paulo Freire: The Global Legacy”, 26-28 November, Hamilton

The University of Waikato, Te Whare Wananga o Waikato, is hosting “Paulo Freire: The Global Legacy” as a retrospective celebration of his work and its legacy and influence across the globe. The conference will be held November 26-28, 2012, at the Novotel Hamilton Tainui Hotel on the banks of the Waikato River, in central Hamilton. 

The conference is aimed at experienced and new researchers, policy-makers and practitioners from around the world who engage with Freire’s work.

Please send abstracts to Professor Tina Besley, t.besley@waikato.ac.nz with subject line: Freire Conference. For further information regarding submission, attendance, accommodation, please visit http://paulotgl.blogspot.co.nz or contact Courtney White courtnew@waikato.ac.nz.

 

12. Conference “The Creative University”, 15-16 August, Hamilton

The University of Waikato, Te Whare Wananga o Waikato, is hosting “The Creative University: Education and the Creative Economy Knowledge Formation, Global Creation and the Imagination” on 15-16 August, 2012.

Education and research have been transformed in the development of knowledge economies, which positions education at the centre of the economy/ creativity nexus. But are education systems, institutions, assumptions and habits positioned and able so as to seize the opportunities and meet the challenges? 

This conference investigates all the aspects of education in (and as) the creative economy. The conference objective is to extend the dialogue about the relationship between contemporary higher education and the changing face of contemporary economies.

Abstracts are to be received prior to or on 31 July, with posters and presentations also welcome. Please send title and abstract as an expression of interest to Prof Michael A. Peters mpeters@waikato.ac.nz

For any further queries, please visit: http://tcreativeu.blogspot.co.nz/p/first-call-for-papers.html, or contact Courtney White, courtnew@waikato.ac.nz.

 

13. NZCCRI Seminar Series: Progress in climate science since the 2007 IPCC Assessment Report, 28 June, Wellington

Dr James Renwick, Associate Professor, School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, will summarise the current understanding of how and why the climate is changing.

He will also provide an overview of some of the recent research likely to form the basis for the next Assessment Report. The focus will be on observed and projected changes to elements of the climate system, the role of large-scale patterns of variability (e.g. the monsoons, El Niño/Southern Oscillation, Southern Annular Mode) and implications for New Zealand.

Details: 12.30–1.30pm Thursday 28 June. Venue: Rutherford House, Lecture Theatre 2.

 

14. Our Changing World, Thursday 9.00 pm, Radio New Zealand National 101FM

Presented and produced by Alison Ballance, Ruth Beran and Veronika Meduna.

This week, Our Changing World reports from Tolaga Bay on the 2012 Transit of Venus Project and the ‘Lifting our Horizons’ forum.

In an Our Changing World special feature to mark the 2012 Transit of Venus, Alison Ballance and Veronika Meduna report from the field as local iwi gather with leading scientists and thinkers for a day of celebration and observation at Tolaga Bay.

June 6 2012 was the second time in eight years that the planet Venus performed a mini-eclipse, crossing the face of the Sun. Tolaga Bay has been chosen as New Zealand’s ‘centre of observation’ for the Transit for its association with Captain James Cook’s expedition to observe the 1769 Transit, and the positive encounters between Cook and the Te Aitanga a Hauiti iwi.

The Our Changing World team joins the events at Tolaga Bay, observing the Transit with international and local astronomers, catching up with iwi representatives and historians about Cook’s voyage and early scientific work collecting local flora and fauna, and finding out about the sustainability plan that is being developed for the Uawa River catchment.

The next transit of Venus will take place in 2117.

Two science and environment stories air during the week on Afternoons with Jim Mora at 3:35pm, Monday and Thursday. The complete programme is repeated at 1:10am on Sunday mornings.

Website for podcasts and live streams: http://radionz.co.nz/ourchangingworld
Contact: ourchangingworld@radionz.co.nz, 04 474 1910
Twitter: @RNZ_Science

 

15. Follow the Royal Society of New Zealand on Facebook and Twitter

Get timely updates from the Royal Society of New Zealand team via our Facebook and Twitter channels.

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