Mema o Te Apārangi | Member profile: Tehnuka IIanko

Tell us about your role at the Society?

I'm the newest of four Kaimanaaki Pāpāho | Media Advisors at the Science Media Centre, which is hosted at the Royal Society Te Apārangi. Our work is about helping improve science coverage in the media, for a broad definition of science. Among other things, we help connect journalists with researchers working in the fields they're covering, gather commentary from experts on science-related news, and keep journalists informed of forthcoming research they might like to cover.

What has been a defining highlight of your experience at the Society?

Coming from a research background, I remember how intimidating the media could seem, and all the concerns I had about representing my discipline in public. Now, with a better understanding of how things look from the other side, I find it especially rewarding to help researchers share their mahi with journalists.

What do you love about science? 
To me, science is an expression of curiosity and our connections with the world around us. As someone who likes thinking about 'how' and 'why', I appreciate that it gives us a framework we can use to search for answers (and, inevitably, the next set of questions...) 

When not working, I enjoy ….
I'm a volcanologist, and enjoy any chance to keep up with that outside of my work at the Science Media Centre - but other than that, I can often be found reading a book, wandering around enjoying the outdoors, or in the kitchen, ignoring a recipe.