June 2017 The University of Auckland News for Staff Vol 46/ Issue 04 /June 2017 TAKING ON CANCER ■ PAGE 5 PAGE 5 INSIDE EVIDENCE FOR EARLY LIFE FAREWELL TO PROFESSOR BUDGET 2017 Astrobiologist Professor Kathy Campbell is NICHOLAS TARLING After the 2017 Budget announcement, Honorary part of an international research team which UniNews pays tribute to well-known figure Associate Professor Susan St John takes a has discovered exciting new evidence for life Nicholas Tarling, Emeritus Professor of History, critical look at the effects of recent economic starting on earth millions of years earlier than who died suddenly last month. Read a touching policies on social inequality in New Zealand. previously thought. obituary by one of his former students, Professor Paul Clark, inside PAGE 8 PAGE 9 PAGE 12 SNAPSHOT CONTENTS PROUD NIGHT FOR NGARINO AND AUP WHAT’S NEW ............................ 3 In a double win for the University, AUP’s IN BRIEF .................................... 4 Whakapapa of Tradition: 100 Years of Ngāti COVER STORY ............................. 5 Porou Carving, 1830–1930 by Dr Ngarino Ellis (Art History), won the Judith Binney Best First Book OBITUARY ................................. 7 Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction at the 2017 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards last month. WHAT’S ON CAMPUS .................. 7 Auckland University Press had four books RESEARCH IN FOCUS .................. 8 shortlisted, including Emeritus Professor Warren Moran’s New Zealand Wine: The Land, the Vines, IN THE SPOTLIGHT ...................... 9 The People and Peter Simpson’s Bloomsbury South: The Arts in Christchurch 1933–1953. FROM THE COLLECTION ............ 10 WHAT’S COMING OUT ............... 10 BEAUTIFUL BIOLOGICAL ART CLASSIFIEDS ....................... 11 Dr Peng Du, a director and the lead engineer MARAMATANGA ....................... 12 for FlexiMap, a spin-out company at Auckland’s Bioengineering Institute (ABI), creates art works out of his company’s research to understand the stomach and intestine by measuring its bioelectrical activity. The image, right, called ‘Re-entry’ happens when abnormal activity in the stomach causes bioelectrical activity to loop back onto itself. It shows a mosaic of the initiation and maintenance of a re-entry event. For more on the art project Peng initiated at Bioengineering see: www.art-of-bioeng.squarespace.com WRITERS’ EVENT ATTRACTS CROWDS Divisions across gender, race, geography and COVER PHOTO: Dr Francis Hunter from the Faculty class was the theme of the well-attended of Medical and Health Sciences. Photo courtesy of University of Auckland Festival Forum event at The Cancer Society Auckland-Northland. the Auckland Writers Festival last month. The Great Divide featured Australian journalist Stan Grant, American writer Susan Faludi, British author John Lanchester and our own Dr Paula Morris (Faculty of Arts), with convenor Andrew Johnston. Panelists grappled with reasons for and solutions to the 2016 nationalist, populist ‘revolutions’ in the US, the UK and Europe. GRAD GALA WINNER SPARKLES An “assured and compelling” rendition of EDITOR: Julianne Evans Tchaikovsky by pianist Sara Lee won her first [email protected] prize and $6,000 at the annual Graduation Gala PHOTOGRAPHY: Godfrey Boehnke, Sampford Cathie, Billy Wong Concerto Competition last month. DESIGN: Justin Marshall The South Korean-born undergraduate from the PRODUCTION: The University of Auckland School of Music delighted a packed crowd at the Auckland Town Hall with her performance of the Published by: first movement from Tchaikovsky’s much loved The University of Auckland Piano Concerto in B flat minor. Sara is currently Communications, taught by Associate Professor Rae de Lisle in the Fisher Building, 18 Waterloo Quadrant, School of Music. Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142 www.auckland.ac.nz/universitynews 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND NEWS FOR STAFF WHAT’S NEW REWARDING Laureen Boucher, Ashleigh Fox, Rosalind EXCELLENCE Henshaw, Kalindu Maddugoda, Nina Riikonen and Ursula Taylor. TVNZ SERIES The University is partnering with TVNZ on a Recognition for the many remarkable Community Engagement Award: The new, interactive series which asks big questions achievements of our staff, the 2017 Vice- Education and Social Work Inaugural Showcase about where New Zealand will be in 20 years Chancellor’s Excellence Awards were held in Event Team from Strategic Engagement and the and what we should be doing now to shape the the new Pavilion last month. Faculty of Education and Social Work: Sharon 2037 we want. The awards this year were presented in three Roux, Kate Backler and Helen Pengelly. categories: Professional Staff Excellence; Delivering Results Award: The School of Health, Safety and Wellbeing and Environmental Chemical Sciences Technical Staff Relocation Sustainability. Team from the Faculty of Science: Alistair Mead, Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart McCutcheon Pooja Yadav, Roger van Ryn, Tony Chen, Stuart said he had received a record number of Morrow, Tasdeeq Mohammed, Radesh Singh, nominations this year, 40 in total. Sreeni Pathirana, Jan Robertson and Tim Layt. “Many of the nominations came from cross- Health, Safety and Wellbeing Award: faculty and service division teams, providing a CAI Technicians and Facilities Team from the great example of the collaborations occurring Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries: Peter across the University.” Cleveland, Kenneth Murgitroyd, Steve Lovett, Joe Award winners for 2017 Makea, Daniel Swain, Scott Facer, Franca Bertani, Leadership Award: Antoinette Kesha from Ellen Portch, Tom Whelan and Ross Collinson. Hosted by celebrity clinical psychologist Nigel Organisational Performance and Improvement. Environmental Sustainability Award: Faculty Latta and respected broadcaster John Campbell, Customer and Stakeholder Experience of Science Sustainability Network. What Next ? will air at 8.30pm on TVNZ 1 between Award: The Digital Student Data Project Highly Commended awards Sunday 11 June and Thursday 15 June. Team from Organisational Performance and Excellence in Leadership: Claire Philipson Using research from the University’s School of Improvement, IT Strategy, Policy and Planning, and Sharon Peace; Excellence in Customer/ Psychology, and including results from a recently Academic Services and ITS: Colin Williams, Stakeholder Experience: Chip Mathews; released national survey, the five-part series Andrew Georgetti, Henry Bell, Gary Tomlin, Hilda Excellence in Enabling People: Katene Paenga; will explore issues like the preservation of the Ho, Penny Moonsammy, Niall Redmond and Excellence in Community Engagement: environment, the direction of the economy, the Raewyn Knight. Audrey Brooks; Excellence in Health, Safety possibilities and challenges of technology and how Enabling People Award: Faculty of Arts and Wellbeing: Raymond Dixon. we can adapt to, and manage, looming social issues. Shadowing and Mentoring Working Group; Following the broadcast there will be an interactive online ‘after show’ to keep the discussion going, Winners of the featuring Professor Shaun Hendy, pictured above, Community from the University’s Department of Physics. Engagement Award: Director of the Centre of Research Excellence From left: Sharon Te Pūnaha Matatini, Shaun is a regular contributor Roux, Kate Backler to public debate on science issues and a strong and Helen Pengelly advocate for the New Zealand science and with Vice-Chancellor technology sector. Professor Stuart Viewers can engage with the series and complete McCutcheon. the survey on multiple platforms, including online with the live television screening, available via TVNZ 1. DREAM OF SPINAL CORD RECOVERY BEHIND GENEROUS GIFT For 28 years, eminent neuroscientist Professor Research Facility, which she was instrumental in Louise Nicholson – now Professor Emeritus – has establishing. pic of Louise Nicholson at front of graduation given the gift of her passion and expertise to her Louise is seen (right), proudly leading the parade holding the mace here somewhere colleagues, her students and the community. procession at last month’s Autumn Graduation please Now, as she retires, her greatest hope is that – a very special time for her in more ways than a cure for spinal injury will be achieved within one. Her grandson Taylor was capped that day, her lifetime. With this in mind, she has decided, marking the fourth generation of her family to with her husband Jon, to donate $1 million to the graduate from the University. Taylor was wearing University. the trencher of his grandmother (Louise’s This, the largest gift ever presented to the much-loved mother, the late Beryl Green), who University by a retiring staff member, will help graduated in the early 1940s. enable work in her field to continue by endowing For more information about Louise, her funds for a PhD student working on spinal brilliant career and her generous gift, see the cord injury and repair at the Spinal Cord Injury story on the Staff Intranet news. UNINEWS 3 WHAT’S NEW BIG CITIES, BIG THE FINAL IDEAS ON SHOW FRONTIER? Dr Francis Hunter is a Research Fellow at the The opportunities and challenges of big cities Associate Professor Patrick Hu (Electrical Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, was the theme of the 2017 Research Excellence Engineering). University of Auckland. He has just won an Awards, also held in the Pavilion last month. University Research Excellence Awards, Early Career Research Excellence Award which Outstanding University research achievements worth