Faculty of Science, University of Auckland

We are pleased to welcome Professor Dan Tompkins as the new director of the Centre for Climate, Biodiversity and Society, Ngā Ara Whetū, at the University of Auckland.

Professor Tompkins brings an exceptional background in international conservation and environmental science. A Cambridge and Oxford-trained zoologist, he most recently served as the Science Director at Predator Free 2050, where he led large-scale conservation initiatives to help restore native biodiversity across Aotearoa New Zealand.

At the core of Professor Tompkins’ vision for Ngā Ara Whetū is a commitment to impactful, collaborative science. He aims to strengthen the connection between academic research and tangible environmental outcomes by bringing together multi-disciplinary expertise, mātauranga Māori, and sector insights to address the critical challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.

"Nature supports us in more ways than just food and housing – it's food for the soul, but it's also a finite resource that's easier to damage than restore," notes Professor Tompkins.

"We urgently need to find better ways to protect and restore the environment, not just for its sake, but for our sake."

Read more about his journey here: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2026/06/05/dan-tompkins-new-director-nga-ara-whetu.html

It wasn't until later, when I sat down with my parents and really heard their perspective, that I began to understand how much they were holding too." - Georgia Hulme

When a young person faces mental health challenges, their whole family is on the journey with them. Yet, parents and caregivers are often overlooked in research.

Georgia Hulme, a Doctor of Clinical Psychology candidate at our faculty, is working to change that by placing families at the heart of youth mental health.

Georgia first completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology here before advancing to her clinical doctorate. Combining this training with her own family experiences and her Sāmoan and English heritage, her study focuses entirely on understanding what meaningful mental health support looks like from a family's perspective, helping young Pasifika flourish.

As part of her doctoral work, Georgia is currently interviewing parents and caregivers across Aotearoa to gather the in-depth insights missing from mainstream conversations. We are proud to support researchers like Georgia who are driving impactful, community-centred work.

Read the full article and learn how to participate in Georgia's study here: https://bit.ly/4uMMn8Z

Not sure which Science pathway is right for you?

Join us online for the Mānawa Mai Info Evening Tuesday 9 June | 6.00pm and hear directly from Science staff and current students about study options in the Faculty of Science, including degree pathways, entry requirements, and what studying Science at the University of Auckland is really like.

It is not too late to register!

Science sessions include:

- Introduction to the Bachelor of Science (BSc)
- Breaking down the Bachelor of Psychology
- In Conversation with our Science Alumni

We look forward to seeing you online!

Info Evening 2026 – University of Auckland
Join us for an evening online where you can find out more about your study options and answer any questions you have about your first year at uni.

auckland.ac.nz/info-evening

Take 10 Fridays | Featuring Dr Brendon Brewer

For this week’s , we’re spotlighting Dr Brendon Brewer from the Department of Statistics, whose research develops statistical methods to test scientific theories and uncover insights hidden in data.

1️⃣ Research in 10 words:
Calculating the probability of scientific theories using data and statistics.

2️⃣ In everyday terms:
Scientists collect data, but the answers they’re looking for are not always obvious. My research uses Bayesian inference - a statistical framework that helps determine what conclusions data supports, and how much uncertainty remains. I apply this across astronomy, biology, geophysics and even sports analytics.

3️⃣ Day-to-day work:
A lot of programming, mainly in C++, Python and R, alongside reading and writing research papers, checking graduate students’ work, and collaborating with colleagues around the world.

4️⃣ Favourite part:
Research lets you follow your curiosity. One idea about how cricketers “get their eye in” when batting eventually became a PhD project and developed into a full model of batting performance over time.

5️⃣ Surprising insight:
One of my favourite research moments was testing my algorithm against a colleague’s on a difficult problem to discover mine could solve it when theirs couldn’t. That challenge later became a published paper on finding stars in noisy images.

6️⃣ Handling challenges:
Sometimes the hardest problems don’t have immediate answers. I’ve learned when to persist, and when to step back and focus on projects with a clearer path forward.

7️⃣ New questions:
A major open question for me is whether a more general version of the Nested Sampling algorithm is fundamentally possible or whether I just haven’t found the right approach yet.

8️⃣ Impact goal:
I want to improve how people analyse data. Better statistical methods can help researchers extract more value from expensive or limited datasets, turning impossible projects into possible ones.

9️⃣ Collaboration:
My work spans graduate students, astronomers, and researchers across disciplines. One collaboration in geophysics started with a knock on my office door and ended in a paper — and software still being used today.

🔟 Advice to younger self:
Keep revisiting your ideas. Some of the best research opportunities are the ones you’ve already written down.

Read more: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science/our-research/take-10-with/take-10-with-statistics/take-10-with-brendon-brewer.html

Ever wondered why young New Zealanders are starting to say ‘pehn’ instead of ‘pin’? A new research is shedding light on how the Kiwi accent is evolving.

By comparing the vowel sounds of Gen Z Aucklanders to older generations, researchers Professor Catherine Watson, Dr. Brooke Ross, and Associate Professor Elaine Ballard discovered that the traditional, tight-jawed "DRESS" vowel (which often made 'pen' sound like 'pin' to outsiders) is opening up.

Here are a few key takeaways from the study:

🗨️ The Power of Diversity: Between 1986 and 2006, Auckland's overseas-born population grew from 23% to 37% (and sits around 43% today). This super-diversity means young people from vast cultural backgrounds are subconsciously shifting their speech to better understand one another.

🗨️A Shared Identity: The shift in pronunciation was found across diverse suburbs, from Mt Roskill to Papatoetoe and Titirangi regardless of ethnic or migrant demographics.

🗨️The Trickle-Down Effect: While the rest of Aotearoa is adopting these changes too, it’s happening more slowly in the regions due to less population density. Essentially, Auckland is leading the linguistic trend!

As Associate Professor Elaine Ballard notes, accent is deeply tied to identity and community belonging. No matter what a child looks like or where their parents came from, growing up in New Zealand creates a shared linguistic fellowship.

Read more: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2026/06/02/kiwi-accent-research.html

New Zealand is sitting on a goldmine of energy, yet we’re barely scratching the surface.

Despite solar power being the cheapest form of energy globally, only about 1% of New Zealand’s electricity comes from the sun. While countries like Australia and Germany are skyrocketing, our solar uptake is flatlining.

So, what’s holding us back?

A new piece by Rebekah White, featuring insights from Professor Emeritus Ralph Cooney, breaks down the barriers and the massive opportunities we’re missing:

The Barriers
- Up-front Costs: The average household system sits at around $16,500. Without the government subsidies or tax credits seen overseas, many Kiwis find the initial hurdle too high.

- Red Tape: From resource consents to "stormwater consents" for rain dripping off panels on farms, the regulatory maze is slowing down our farmers.

- The "Payback" Mindset: We often ask, "When will it pay for itself?" We should be asking, "How much value am I adding to my home?" Solar is a capital improvement, just like adding a deck.

💡 The Opportunity
- Energy Security: Solar + EVs + Battery storage = a personal insurance policy. During events like Cyclone Gabrielle, decentralized power isn’t just a luxury, it’s a lifeline.

- Massive Savings: The average household could cut annual power bills by $1,000+. For farmers, it could halve energy costs while creating a new revenue stream by selling back to the grid.

- The "Germany" Lesson: If a country with notoriously low sunshine can lead the world in solar, New Zealand—with our massive potential—has no excuse.

As Professor Cooney puts it: "Solar’s the cheapest energy we’ve got... Why wouldn’t we actually embrace it?"

Read more: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2026/05/18/solar-cheapest-form-energy.html

Take 10 Fridays | Featuring Associate Professor Kim Handley

For this week’s , we’re spotlighting Associate Professor Kim Handley from the School of Biological Sciences, whose research explores how microbial communities function and adapt across diverse environments.

1️⃣ Research in 10 words:
Understanding how microbial communities function and adapt to ecological niches.

2️⃣ In everyday terms:
I study how microorganisms such as bacteria acquire, transform and produce compounds in the environment or laboratory.

3️⃣ Day-to-day work:
A lot of my time is spent meeting with research students to discuss progress, challenges and exciting results. I also edit manuscripts and, when time allows, contribute to bioinformatics and genome analysis projects, helping develop workflows and share new approaches with my research group and students.

4️⃣ Favourite part:
Discovering something completely new after months of hard work is incredibly rewarding — especially when the findings are unexpected.

5️⃣ Surprising insight:
I’m continually amazed by the weird and wonderful traits bacteria possess. There is always something new to learn, which is one of the things I love most about this field.

6️⃣ Handling challenges:
Research rarely goes exactly to plan, whether in the field or the laboratory. Sometimes adaptability is key, while other times perseverance leads to the best outcomes. Challenges can be frustrating, but they are also what makes research exciting and meaningful.

7️⃣ New questions:
Working with large genomic datasets often generates new predictions about how microorganisms function and adapt. Recently, one prediction made by a doctoral student in my group was later validated by a Nature paper reinforcing how many exciting questions still remain to be explored.

8️⃣ Impact goal:
I hope my research contributes to a deeper understanding of microbial ecology and supports future discoveries in the field. Seeing others build on our work or hearing that a paper from our group inspired someone else’s research is always rewarding.

9️⃣ Collaboration:
I collaborate with microbiologists and biologists across the University, as well as researchers nationally and internationally. These collaborations bring together diverse expertise and perspectives, particularly in studies involving microbial communities associated with plants, animals and extreme environments like hot springs.

🔟 Advice to younger self:
Get into science earlier, and don’t stress too much about work-life balance. It ebbs and flows — and that’s OK.

Read more: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science/our-research/take-10-with/take-10-with-biological-sciences/take-10-with-kim-handley.html

Follow our page for more researcher stories in Take 10 Fridays.

Innovation with impact

Recent graduate Ella Fasciana is helping transform maritime search and rescue through Glint by Seascape - a start-up developing a lightweight, foldable marine radar reflector designed to make people lost at sea easier to locate using satellite radar technology.

Co-founded while Ella was studying a conjoint Bachelor of Environmental Science and Bachelor of Engineering (Hons), the SAR4SaR reflector is low-cost, portable and requires no batteries, offering a practical solution for small vessels and remote communities across the Pacific.

Now entering a PhD supported by the NZ Space Agency, Ella continues to work alongside researchers, Defence Science and Technology, and the University’s innovation ecosystem to bring this life-saving technology closer to commercialisation.

Her work is a powerful example of how science, engineering and entrepreneurship can come together to solve real-world challenges and create meaningful impact.

Read more: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2026/05/12/inventors-simple-device-to-save-lives-at-sea.html

New research is shedding new light on the role honeybees may play in the spread of myrtle rust, a fungal disease threatening New Zealand’s native trees.

A recently published study has found that honeybees can collect and use myrtle rust spores as a food source for their larvae, raising concerns that the introduced species may also be helping spread the fungal disease threatening New Zealand’s native trees.

Led by former University of Auckland master’s student Sacchi Shin-Clayton, now at Cambridge University, the research showed honeybee larvae grew just as successfully on myrtle rust spores as they did on pollen from common food sources.

The findings challenge previous assumptions about both honeybee behaviour and the spread of myrtle rust, highlighting the complex interactions between introduced species and native ecosystems.

Researchers say understanding these relationships is critical as myrtle rust continues to threaten species including pōhutukawa, rātā and mānuka across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Read more: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2026/05/06/sacchi-shin-clayton-jacqueline-beggs-david-pattemore-honeybees-collect-myrtle-rust.html

Take 10 Fridays | Featuring Dr Bartek Ewertowski

For this week’s , we’re spotlighting Dr Bartek Ewertowski from the Department of Mathematics.

1️⃣ Research in 10 words:
Parametrised cohomology of Cartan holonomy reductions.

2️⃣ In everyday terms:
I study how one geometry can transition into another. Some cosmological theories suggest that at the beginning of the universe, what we now experience as time may once have been a spatial dimension. My work explores mathematical models of similar geometric transitions and the relationships between them.

3️⃣ Day-to-day work:
A lot of reading and writing mathematics. I work through proofs by hand to understand them deeply, then document them properly in LaTeX for future reference.

4️⃣ Favourite part:
Discovering unexpected connections between mathematical ideas that seem unrelated at first - often through category theory, which helps reveal deeper structures beneath the surface.

5️⃣ Surprising insight:
While learning homotopy theory, I discovered that functional programming and geometry are deeply connected - a breakthrough that opened up an entirely new perspective on mathematics and computer science.

6️⃣ Handling challenges:
When I get stuck, I go back to fundamentals. Strong foundations make progress possible. And when creativity is the problem, stepping away for a walk or changing focus often helps new ideas emerge.

7️⃣ New questions:
There may be unexplored links between geometric transitions in projective differential geometry and cosmological models of the early universe. I think there’s exciting potential for new discoveries here.

8️⃣ Impact goal:
I hope my mathematical results can one day help cosmologists better understand the geometry of the universe and its origins.

9️⃣ Collaboration:
Attending the first international conference on homotopy type theory at Carnegie Mellon University brought together geometers, logicians and computer scientists.

🔟 Advice to younger self:
Stay broad in your interests. Sometimes the most valuable ideas come from outside your chosen specialty.

Read more: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science/our-research/take-10-with/take-10-with-mathematics/take-10-with-bartek-ewertowski.html