Te Ropu Awhina | Victoria University of Wellington

Congratulations to the fifteen Āwhina graduates who had their degrees conferred at the December 2009 ceremony!!

We are very proud of all of them and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavours.

Introducing the…
Fantastic….the…..
Cutelicious….the…
Gorgeous………………. Max

Āwhina whānau would like to congratulate Dr Adele and Jason for becoming parents and
bringing baby Max into our whānau. He is cute and irresistibly gorgeous and enjoyed his
company with some senior Āwhina whānau mentors who went to visit while mummy Adele
enjoyed her orange juice.

Āwhina was invited by TPK to have a stall at the International Careers Conference
held at the Michael Fowler Centre from the 19th-21st of November.
Delegates from all around the world stopped to check out the stand and Āwhina
mentors enjoyed the opportunity to meet with them and explain what Āwhina is all
about. People were very interested in reading the Cybrospace profiles (Āwhina’s
journey to success).

First a Foundation for Research, Science and Technology Te Tipu Putaiao PhD Fellowship in Electronics and Computer Systems Engineering and now he has been awarded the best novice presenter prize for: Life Sign Detection on a Disposable Robotic Platform as Part of a Three-Tier System for Urban Search and Rescue Operations (B.M.M. Drayton, and D.A. Carnegie) at the sixteenth Electronics New Zealand Conference (ENZCon 2009), recently held at the University of Otago.

Cheque it out!! Āwhina being awarded the cash! Thanks PricewaterhouseCoopers!

Recently, Hautahi was awarded one of nine PricewaterhouseCoopers Foundation Volunteer awards.

Hautahi is a part-time Analyst in the Wellington office of PricewaterhouseCoopers and has been a member of Te Rōpū Āwhina whanau for over four years. He mentors younger Maori and Pacific science students.
Hautahi is also involved in outreach programmes in the community such as visiting schools, holding seminars and producing booklets for aspiring science students. He has given speeches at Te Papa and has appeared on television promoting the goals of Te Rōpu Āwhina.

A MILESTONE FOR ĀWHINA WHĀNAU

On Saturday the 8th of August, Āwhina whānau hosted its 10th birthday celebration at the Premise bar on the 3rd level of Rankin Brown building (library). The view of the city and the harbour in the evening from the venue is spectacular but that wasn’t what kept the 200 invited guests and whānau members buzzing all night. It was the splendid, hilarious, indescribable entertainment put together by the mentors for all to ponder about and admire the talents that lie within the whānau. In simple words, you just had to be there!!!!

But here’s a chance for you to admire some of the moments captured on the night and now you’ll have to wait until the next birthday.
By the way, who wouldn’t drool over a chocolate cake this big?

The evening kicked off with a karakia given by Mihaere followed by a strong Āwhina Waiata performed by all Āwhina mentors.
Adele and Helen reminisced about their former days as Āwhina mentors and commented on how much Āwhina has grown since then.
It’s amazing to think that back in 1999 Āwhina whānau started with only a handful of students and now there are over 600 current
mentors and mentees.

Some of the entertainment included Roimata and her group of singers accompanied by Doug, Patsie and Mihaere,

an orchestral performance by Equations and Revelations (Tracey, Dave, and Catherine forming the classical component and Jonnel, Elf, Ramona and Jules making up the acoustic guitar and ukulele section),

a skit by the psychology mentors based on the life of Maui (Naomi, Ashton, Blaine, Stacey and crew), a Latin flamenco performance (Matiu), a solo performance by Te Taite, and a hilarious skit from the Architecture & Design mentors.

The audience also witnessed a first ever Āwhina documentary ‘The Office’ which featured a lot of Āwhina mentors. (Link to video here)

Stomachs were kept full with nibbles and a delicious sit-down dinner followed by many sweet dessert
treats. This was accompanied by background music by our lovely DJ, former Āwhina mentor, Julian.
Throughout the evening, we heard from a number of summer studentship recipients about the exciting research they carried out, and this was complemented by a slideshow and posters.

To conclude the celebration, the birthday cake was cut, and Liz made an inspiring speech.

Thanks also to the office team and all other Āwhina members who helped in the organisation and setup on the day.

Thank you also to all the supporters of Āwhina for a fantastic 10 years and we hope that they will continue to be there for Āwhina for many years to come.

What do you get when you put Āwhina whānau and Atamira (Māori in the City) together?

Well, only those thousands of people who went to the ASB showgrounds (Auckland)
from the 3rd- 5th July 2009 can tell you their tale of participating in hands-on science,
engineering, architecture and design activities put together by Āwhina whānau
mentors and science, engineering, architecture and design staff.

ATAMIRA - Māori in the City, a biennial expo celebrating Māori creativity and enterprise,
drew crowds from throughout Aotearoa, where they were surprised by the presence of
hands-on science activities suitable for all ages- from the barely walking younger generation
to the walking stick-dependent, much respected elderly.

The idea was to tell everyone that science is cool and not as difficult as it is perceived.

The School of Biological Sciences Āwhina whānau combined DNA extraction from strawberries and Asthma
testing activities, where people of all ages took part and made comments like “ooh yuck, DNA is like snot”
and “it’s so good to finally see what this complex word ‘DNA’ looks like”.
The School of Chemical and Physical Sciences Āwhina whānau team organised the ever so popular ‘Flubber’
making activity, which was constantly dominated by the younger generation. However, there were times when
the oldies got into it as well.

The school also teamed up with the MacDiarmid Institute to present activities that involved two-way mirrors,
non-Newtonian fluids and the properties of light. The kids slapped trays filled with corn starch and walked around
with the 3D glasses looking amused when they looked at the lights in the hall.

The School of Psychology Āwhina whānau had people fascinated by the display of sectioned sheep brain and a
plastic model of the human brain. But that was not all; they even went forward and did their psychological tests
on the very willing crowd.

The School of Computer Science and Engineering Āwhina whānau had computer programming as their activity
where the kids got to create a virtual world and brush up on some basic computer skills.

The School of Architecture and Design Āwhina whānau had a series of building puzzle models and design activities
that captivated the minds of young and old.

The pictures highlight only some of the moments from the 3 day event, but the
experience for some was definitely life changing. When the team was packing up
to depart from the hall and head back to Welly, parents came and thanked the
whānau members at the event and passed comments like: “we are so happy
that our kids got to experience these options that are available to them” and
“I had it all sorted, my kids were going to do midwifery, but now all they want to
be is scientists like you guys”.

We talked to a lot of people about Āwhina and what we are doing and handed out 800 of our
Cybrospace Journeys to Success booklets. Many people were very interested and even took
time out to read this during the event.

Unfortunately all the fun had to end and we needed to head home. But watch out for the
next time when Āwhina whānau is in town with hands-on science.

Āwhina whanau congratulates Dr. Adele Whyte (Ngāti Kahungunu, Whakatōhea) who recently received one of seven
Innovation Icon Awards, at the Atamira Innovation Summit dinner, in recognition of her work with Māori communities.
Adele was nominated for the award by Āwhina whanau as we believe she has made an extraordinary contribution to
our success and deserved recognition outside of the whanau. Adele is the first “Āwhina-grown” academic staff member
in the School of Biological Sciences.

Adele receives her Innovation Icon Award from the Minister for Maori Affairs - Dr Pita Sharples and the Minister of Pacific Islands Affairs and the Associate Minister for Māori Affairs - Georgina te Heuheu.

Big smiles, exciting opportunities! Congratulations to our 7 postgraduate mentors who received prestigious scholarships: 3 FRST Te Tipu Putaiao PhD Fellowships, 2 VUW PhD Scholarships, 1 Vice Chancellors’ Strategic PhD scholarship, 1 FRST Postdoctoral Fellowship

On Monday 23rd March, 15 mentors contributed to a noho marae organised by Te Herenga Waka Marae staff for Te Kura Kaupapa o Koutou (Rotorua). The sudden cold snap did nothing to wipe the enthusiastic smiles from the faces of the 58 tauira and their kaiako as they rotated around four activities hosted by the Āwhina whānau for the Monday evening programme.

Whether it was extracting DNA from native plants using common household products in biology, making bouncy “flubber” of many colours and shapes in chemistry, getting the technical “hands on” experience with world building programming in computer science, or seeing the world in a different light in physics, everyone found an aspect of science that appealed to the explorer within.

It was a fantastic night summed up by Mary Jane from Te Herenga Waka Marae staff:
"Thank you, thank you, thank you all for everything. The feedback from the tamariki was wonderful and the acknowledgement given by the kaiako said it all. Te Rōpū Āwhina and all the mentors and pūkenga, your contribution was absolutely priceless. We look forward to working with you all on other ventures and initiatives."

Special thanks go to Mary Jane, Grandma, Susanne Boniface, Howard Lukefahr, Ian Welch, Adele Whyte and the Āwhina mentors who helped out on the night.

The Āwhina team

Kaitiakitanga o ngā rawa a Tangaroa: Guardianship of the resources of the sea

The recent Aramoana/Pourerere Health and Education Programme 2009 gave Dr Adele Whyte and seven Āwhina mentors the opportunity to travel to Pourerere Beach in central Hawkes Bay. Approximately 70 tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young adults), aged from 6-16 from around the country, participated in a fun filled week that focused on learning about sustainable management and becoming kaitiaki (guardians) of our marine and freshwater environments. The programme also aimed at motivating rangatahi to become rangatira (leaders) for the future and taught a broad range of life skills including responsibility, respect and leadership.

Shalen, Jonnel, Ramona, Catherine, Darryl, Janice and Kelly, along with Adele organised several activities that illustrated this theme including water conservation, erosion and an estuary survey. These activities not only taught the rōpu (group) about the environment but also sparked their interest in science! Highlights included discussing the diversity of the oceans with Catherine, finding baby estuarine snails with Adele, learning from Darryl that soap can affect the sex of fish and making miniature beach models with Ramona.

The Āwhina mentors also had many other opportunities while they were there, including attending a traditional blessing at sunrise, eating crayfish and paua fritters, snorkelling at Te Angiangi marine reserve and sleeping out under the stars. All in all it was a fun trip, and we hope to return next year!

We also got the impression that the tamariki, rangatahi and everyone else enjoyed having us there too. We received many positive comments and had an enthusiastic response to our quiz based on the days activities. We were also treated to an impromptu farewell haka followed by hongi (pressing noses) from the rangatahi and tamariki. This physical demonstration of their love and respect for us was a huge honour which moved some of us to tears.

This event was organised by Te Tai Timu Trust, with support from a large number of groups including: the NZ Police, Ministry of Fisheries, Department of Conservation, Water Safety New Zealand, Central Hawkes Bay District Council and the Faculty of Science, Victoria University of Wellington. The Āwhina mentors would like to thank Adele (School of Biological Sciences) and Zack Makoare (Program co-ordinator) for organising the trip, all the parents who helped bring our message to the tamariki and rangatahi, and everyone involved for giving us such a fun and memorable experience.

Please contact us if you want to attend future programmes or if you would like to discuss hosting a similar event in your area.

Awhina ‘Hands on’ Science

Students, whānau and teachers from Hutt Valley High School (HVHS) enjoyed a ‘Hands on Science’ evening hosted by Āwhina mentors in the School of Biological Sciences (SBS). The event was organised and co-ordinated by Dr Adele Whyte.

DNA and its uses were explained first in the SBS tearoom and then later participants had the opportunity to extract DNA from everyday foods in a laboratory. In addition to the range of activities on offer, a tour to one of the high tech research labs (Chemical Genetics Laboratory) was a highlight of the evening.

“The DNA testing was really cool! I liked seeing the fancy university equipment. It was a great opportunity to see what I might have to do if I do science at university.” Christina

Special thanks to technicians Angela Fleming and Lesley Millicich who helped with the lab set up. Thanks also to Āwhina mentors Cassidy, David, Jonnel, Kirsty, Marie, Miles, Nathaniel and Shalen and to Te Taite Cooper and Liz Richardson.

Turning up the Success Gene - The Awhina Effect

Click to view the latest Awhina video and share our stories.
(Windows media Video - 130Mb)

Listen to the latest (rangatahi) version of our waiata. dont be shy....Sing along
Click to download (MP3 format - 2.5Mb)

Helene and her supervisor (also Geography Programme Director) David Kennedy carrying out their research in Niue.

David had this to say: "Just back from a teaching field trip down south, it was only a day after the Niue trip so while very useful it's good to be back in one place for a while. I’m also going to write a short article for the Niuean newspaper about our trip, especially with Felicia now working for the Meteorological service and Haden at the Environment Ministry, who both helped us out. Amazing the contact Awhina has with the islands, and how incredibly useful they are when doing research there".

HVHS Launches the Year 9 Awhina Science programme:

The Science Department was delighted to welcome Awhina mentors and families to HVHS on Monday night to mark the official launch of our Year 9 Awhina Science programme. The evening began with a pizza dinner and then we were introduced to members of the Awhina team. Mr Stephen Williams introduced the HVHS Science staff and then Liz Richardson, the programme leader from Victoria University. Four Victoria Science mentors then entertained us with marvellous accounts of their research and most importantly their love of Science. The other cruical component of the HVHS Awhina Science programme are our delightful Year 9 students and their families.

Congratulations to Lesley for receiving a "Ngarimu VC & 28th Maori Battalion Memorial Doctoral Scholarship" of $25,000 to complete her PhD. Her smile says it all! Lesley is doing her PhD to "add academic weight to the marine research wants and needs of iwi/hapu groups".

Welcome to Mele who joins husband Sione as an Awhina postgraduate. Mele took her hoodie along with her to a BRCSS conference in Auckland

Congratulations to Sione for completing his MSc in Maths and for securing an excellent scholarship for his PhD. Fellow mentors say "Hope you enjoyed the bubbly after the photoshoot".

Congratulations to SGEES mentor Xenia for receiving a Rotary Club Goal Setters Award of $2,000! Studying native snails has been a long time passion of Xenia's. Snails are also environmental markers. Xenia is using her GIS skills to produce computerised databases to streamline her research and contribute to a better understanding of New Zealand's ecology.

During December 2007 and January 2008, I, Ramona White, will be working as a research assistant for Joel Baker and Richard Wysoczanski in the geology department at Victoria University. I will be assisting in a Geochemistry project which will involve field work, lab work and analytic work.

The purpose of the research project is to extract and examine calcium/ magnesium isotopic ratios in limpids, paua and midden shells. The calcium makes up the calcium carbonate which is precipitated to make the shells. Magnesium is abundant in the ocean. The magnesium ratio levels will fluctuate depending on temperature with warmer ocean temperature levels associated with high magnesium levels. Isotopic ratios will give us a paleotemperature proxy of the oceans during the shell life. For example, a grown paua will live to 15 – 30 years. During this time, the temperature levels of the ocean in which it lives will be imprinted in the paua’s shell. The data collected from the shells, will allow us to compare the temperature inscribed on the shells to the temperature recorded from NIWA over the years. As such, it will be shown how precise and accurate the process is. The outcome can also be compared to show how long the seasonal cold and warm periods last for.

The work of the research will require me to collect samples of limpids, paua and/or midden shells from the surrounding coastal beaches around Wellington including Makara. Limpids are found on the rocks and can be found above sea level where as Paua will need to be retrieved through diving to depths of between 1 and 15 metres, where pauas are found. After the samples have been collected they will be taken to the lab and cleaned up before being bisected through the growth lines with a diamond cutter which. will show us the age of the shells. I will be also use the plasma mass spectrometer collect isotopic calcium/ magnesium data.

All the information collected will help Joel Baker and Richard Wysoczanski to understand changes in the ocean due to climate change. This process can be used on the shells in the southern hemisphere to determine if the Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period were in fact global occurrences and, if so, how fast the acceleration of climate change is due to human impacts.

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A MILESTONE FOR ĀWHINA WHĀNAU

Awhina Birthday 2008!