WINTER 2013 ictoriousMAGAZINE FOR FRIENDS AND ALUMNI OF VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON Gamers get business kick-start IVF breakthrough Learning through story-telling The wonders of flax Secrets of the past may not be the only valuable She developed a treatment to bind together “This evolution of acetic acid is known as the knowledge held by some of New Zealand’s oldest deteriorating harakeke fibres, which become vinegar syndrome, because of its vinegary brittle over time after exposure to light and smell. It is a menace in the museum Māori cloaks. humidity, and her treatment was used on some environment because as well as accelerating While researching the properties of harakeke of the cloaks in the exhibition. damage on the item producing it, it is volatile (native flax) to find ways of stabilising the flax While examining the fibres, Gerald and Rangi and can float off and affect other exhibits,” says fibres in the cloaks before an exhibition at Te found that harakeke produced coumarin, a Gerald. Papa last year, Associate Professor of Chemistry fragrant chemical compound that can be More recently, Gerald has shown that Gerald Smith discovered potentially beneficial smelled in the aroma of freshly cut grass. potentially damaging hydrogen peroxide is anti-fungal properties in their fibres. Coumarin has anti-fungal properties and also produced by decomposing harakeke fibres. Gerald believes this natural resistance could be repels pests. “It’s a balancing act. We need to learn how to used, in the long term, for new innovations such They also identified the presence of a number of control the chemical reactions taking place to as treatments to preserve old books and papers, metal ions in the fibres, which could be bring out the desirable, anti-fungal properties, textiles that are protected from fungal attack by contributing to its anti-fungal properties too. and limit the undesirable effects of things like environmentally-friendly means or natural However, not all of the properties identified in acetic acid and peroxide.” packaging for food that spoils easily, such as harakeke fibres had such potential. fruit. [email protected] Harakeke was found to have a particularly high These new possibilities arose from research for +64-4-463 5547 content of a type of sugar polymer called hemi- a Master’s project by Rangi Te Kanawa, a cellulose, which results in the production of Conservator at Te Papa. harmful levels of acetic acid. From the Vice-Chancellor Victoria is now ranked New Zealand’s number one university for research quality. Our top ranking is based on the research performance of our academic staff in the Performance Based Research Fund Quality Evaluation. This independent evaluation is undertaken every six years by the Tertiary Education Commission and assesses the research performance of New Zealand’s tertiary institutions. Being ranked as the top research university in New Zealand will enhance Victoria’s reputation both nationally and internationally and assist in the recruitment of outstanding academics and capable students in all disciplines. The additional research income that will come to the University as a result of this ranking will help to raise further the quality of research and teaching at Victoria. Perhaps the most pleasing aspect is the external validation that Victoria is New Zealand’s most research-intensive university and that our staff are undertaking research of international standing. For what is distinctive about universities is that academic staff undertake and publish research, creating a research-rich environment in which students learn and are encouraged to themselves carry out or contribute to research. Our graduates—the most recent group who celebrated their success in May—leave university with research skills crucial for addressing the challenges of today and tomorrow. Ensuring our graduates are well prepared is why we are always working hard to create the right environment. We know most students get only one shot at university education, so for their sake, we have to make sure we get it right: both in and outside the classroom. At Victoria, we aim to offer a place to study, discuss and debate; to grow and to know your mind. Among other initiatives, work on the biggest building project in Victoria’s history is drawing to a close. The Hub, our new three-level building with social and study spaces at the heart of our Kelburn Campus, has been a $67 million project that has also involved significantly refurbishing the main University Library and upgrading the Student Union Building. From the time a student attends their first lecture to the day they graduate, the University aims to offer a first-rate experience. Of course, the connection with their alma mater continues as our alumni go on to achieve at the highest level in a range of fields. We honour some of these outstanding graduates at our Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner at the end of July. Each graduate has made a significant contribution to their profession, community and country, and the dinner is one of the highlights of the calendar. I look forward to celebrating their success with the University community. Te Papa Conservator Rangi Te Kanawa with a korowai (cloak with tassels) that has been treated with sodium alginate to bind together its deteriorating harakeke (flax) fibres. Professor Pat Walsh Vice-Chancellor Victorious is published by Victoria University of Wellington, Te Whare Wānanga 2 Research and Innovation 18 Gifting o te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand. A look at the diverse range of research Stories about those who have donated www.victoria.ac.nz by our staff and students. funding, resources and time to support To notify us of a change of address, or to sign up to the email newsletter Vic the University. Connect, email [email protected] or call +64-4-463 9665. 8 Learning @ Victoria Editor: Heidi Stedman Showcasing learning and teaching at 19 Off the Press Editorial Team: Briony Pentecost, Elizabeth Bush-King, Guy Randall, Haley Victoria. Reviews of recent publications by Small, Kate Arrowsmith, Katherine Edmond and Stephen Garrett. 11 Student Experience Victoria University Press. To contact Victorious or to submit a story idea, email [email protected] Highlighting aspects of the student 20 Town and Gown Photographs (unless otherwise credited): Image Services, Victoria University of experience at Victoria. Where Victoria meets the community Wellington. 12 Alumni News for activities, performances and the Cover image: Marketing student William Falloon and recent Media Design Contents News from graduates and events of sharing of expertise. graduate Max O’Brien-Bowling at the Game Masters exhibition at Te Papa. interest to alumni and the University Cover image: Robert Cross, Image Services community. ISSN 1172-0387 ©Victoria University 2013 Disclaimer: The views expressed in Victorious are not necessarily those of Victoria University of Wellington. -> Victoria’s academic staff are leaders in their fields of research expertise. If you have a Research and Innovation project that requires the skills and knowledge of our staff, contact Professor Charles Daugherty. Email: [email protected] Tel: +64-4-463 5572. 3D printing revolutionises design It might sound far-fetched, but Ross Stevens in-home printer, he made a three-metre long, believes that in just a few years children will working chandelier. receive a computer code instead of a toy with their “After 75 hours of printing, the $1,300 printer was producing objects of the same quality as the McDonald’s Happy Meal. $50,000 printers we were using just a few years “Rather than importing masses of toys from ago.” overseas, children will be able to walk out of the He says 3D printing is an affordable technology restaurant with a code that they can take home, for creating one-off objects, moving people plug into their computer, tweak and then print away from mass global production back to out on their 3D printer.” independent, local crafting. The Senior Lecturer at Victoria University’s “Students are able to spend less time in the School of Design says 3D printing has become workshop and more time on the creative an affordable way to do small-scale process.” manufacturing, and with the cost of printers The School has a range of 3D printers from steadily dropping, he believes every home could small, $1,000 machines to large, state-of-the- ultimately have one. art machines worth $500,000. “3D printers are a way of creating solid objects “Our Industrial Design graduates will enter the such as toys, jewellery and furniture with the workforce with a thorough knowledge of which click of a mouse, building up layers in a process processes suit various materials, what prints that is more like growing an object than well on which machine and what you can print assembling it,” he says. that you couldn’t make physically.” Ross is part of a team at the School of Design exploring the boundaries of what can be created [email protected] with 3D printing. To test the capability of an +64-4-463 6165 Rational approach long overdue “Using the criminal justice system to prevent drug use makes as much sense as expecting the police to tackle obesity. Alcohol and other drug use are health and social issues, not crime issues.” He cites Portugal, Switzerland and Holland as three countries that have taken “a rational approach” to drugs policy and have seen considerable benefits. Their respective initiatives include decriminalising personal possession of illicit drugs; providing addicted opiate injectors with clean drugs; and allowing cannabis to be bought in coffee shops. New Zealand’s drug laws are “stuck in a time warp”, society has moved on, drug law and the Julian says society needs to recognise that current says Associate Professor of Criminology Dr Julian classification system haven’t.