Infrequently Asked Questions

Featured image: Kaka, cognition and how bird brains help us understand intelligence

Kaka, cognition and how bird brains help us understand intelligence

Lynley Hargreaves • Mar 23, 2017

Dr Rachael Shaw Bird brain shouldn’t be an insult anymore, says Victoria University Research Fellow Dr Rachael Shaw, because birds can do amazing things. Dr Shaw studied the cognition of a population of curious robins in Wellington’s Zealandia ecosanctuary with a Fast-Start Marsden Fund grant. Together with students, she has since found these birds may be able … Read More

Featured image: Deciphering scientific history (and handwriting)

Deciphering scientific history (and handwriting)

Lynley Hargreaves • Mar 08, 2017

Dr Simon Nathan The human side of James Hector, the dominant scientist of nineteenth century New Zealand, long lay hidden in the illegible scrawl of Hector’s handwriting. Then Dr Simon Nathan began writing a biography of the man who established the museum that became Te Papa and the institute that became the Royal Society of New Zealand. In making … Read More

Featured image: The secret of connecting communities with science

The secret of connecting communities with science

Lynley Hargreaves • Feb 16, 2017

Professor Hamish Spencer When the remote and rural Tolaga Bay community approached Allan Wilson Centre scientists about a tree planting project in 2011, an amazingly successful partnership began. The project blossomed in scope. It normalised a scientific approach across the community. Funding was lost, but other funding gained, and some of the collaborations continue to this day. Professor Hamish … Read More

Featured image: ’tis the season we ate sugar

’tis the season we ate sugar

Lynley Hargreaves • Jan 26, 2017

Dr Lisa Te Morenga It’s particularly hard to reduce sugar intake over the holiday season, when so many of our social interactions revolve around the consumption of sweet food, says University of Otago Research Fellow Dr Lisa Te Morenga. It’s also difficult when we don’t know, or won’t admit, how much sugar we’re eating. Dr Morenga provided expert … Read More

Featured image: I need to discuss my concern…

I need to discuss my concern…

Lynley Hargreaves • Nov 24, 2016

Distinguished Professor Viviane Robinson Education leaders can shy away from difficult conversations with teachers, or, struggle to recognise when they’ve prejudged the situation. But they can be taught to do better, and The University of Auckland’s Distinguished Professor Viviane Robinson is doing just that. Professor Robinson’s work on research-based guidance on student-centred leadership just won her the … Read More

Featured image: New Zealand needs climate leadership

New Zealand needs climate leadership

Lynley Hargreaves • Nov 10, 2016

Professor Ralph Sims We’ve got to get cracking – grow trees, stop wasting food, stop burning coal, electrify the vehicle fleet. That’s the message from Massey University’s Professor Ralph Sims, who chaired the panel which produced the Royal Society of New Zealand report Transition to a low-carbon economy for New Zealand. Six months after the report we still lack … Read More

Featured image: The future of milk

The future of milk

Lynley Hargreaves • Oct 28, 2016

Dr Skelte Anema Value-added milk products are likely to continue their rise, says new Royal Society of New Zealand Fellow Dr Skelte Anema. That means we’ll keep moving away from commodities like dried milk powder and export more expensive products such as fresh and long-life liquid milk and cream. A Principal Research Scientist at the Fonterra Research and Development Centre, … Read More

Featured image: Ancestral lands – let them own themselves

Ancestral lands – let them own themselves

Lynley Hargreaves • Oct 26, 2016

Professor Jacinta Ruru. Photo by Kirsten Ellis, Raukawa Charitable Trust,at Papa o Te Aroha Marae, Tokoroa, 2016. New Zealand has led the world in giving the Te Urewera park lands their own legal identity. New Royal Society of New Zealand Fellow Jacinta Ruru calls in from the 2016 World Indigenous Law Conference in Los Angeles, where she’s at … Read More

Featured image: Treaty of Waitangi leads conservation innovation

Treaty of Waitangi leads conservation innovation

Lynley Hargreaves • Sep 01, 2016

Dr Giles Dodson Co-governance with Māori could create more support for marine reserves, says new Royal Society of New Zealand Council member Giles Dodson. But the legislation doesn’t support it. Innovative co-governance of conservation areas is happening – but through Treaty of Waitangi negotiations, says Dr Dodson, rather than traditional conservation legislation. Dr Dodson, a Senior Lecturer at Unitec … Read More

Featured image: New Zealand river water quality – good news or bad?

New Zealand river water quality – good news or bad?

Lynley Hargreaves • Aug 11, 2016

Dr Scott Larned Improvements in some components of river water quality are encouraging, but it’s too early to declare victory, says NIWA’s Dr Scott Larned. In a recently published paper in the New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, Dr Larned reported ten-year trends in New Zealand river water quality. He tells us what has improved … Read More