Research and Innovation Leading the way to a SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Research and Innovation
Leading the way to a
SUSTAINABLE
FUTURE
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N E W N E W Z E A L A N D I D E A S
The University of Waikato Toll Free: 0800 WAIKATO
Private Bag 3105 0800 924 528
Hamilton 3240 Email: [email protected]
New Zealand Website: waikato.ac.nz
©The University of Waikato, September 2010.
Research Hub
Phone: +64 7 838 4050
Email: [email protected]
Website: waikato.ac.nz/research
This document is printed on sustainable paper using vegetable inks.
Contents
Message from the Vice-Chancellor 2
Foreword 3
The University of Waikato 4
Leading the way to a sustainable future 6
The Drive for Environmental
Sustainability
ECOSYSTEMS
Antarctica – a diversity of life in waiting 10
Restoring the life to native forest remnants 12
Restoring a city’s natural ecosystems 13
$10 million battle to save the lakes 14
SUSTAINABLE SOILS
Are New Zealand pastures gaining or losing soil
carbon and nitrogen, and why? 16
Soil microbial diversity, composting and enrichment 17
SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES
From energy savings to export competitiveness 18
Titanium alloys 19
PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability: are businesses walking the talk? 20
International Global Change Centre (IGCC) 21
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND
REGULATORY CONTROL
Protected areas and international law 22
The economic way to cleaner water 23
Supporting Economic
Sustainability
ECONOMIC MONITORING
Monitoring the economic pulse of the Waikato 26
Temporary migration programme is a winner
all round 27
EDUCATING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE
Taking science and biotechnology to the classroom 28
Enhancing primary student-teacher interactions
in science and technology 30
ADDING VALUE TO THE MEAT INDUSTRY
Animal protein becomes biodegradable plastic 31
Bovine bone replacement 32
SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT
Identifying sustainable aquaculture
management areas 33
DEVELOPING INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES FOR
PRIMARY INDUSTRY
Keeping farmers online 34
Machine learning has a special chemistry 35
VALUABLE NEW PRODUCTS FROM UNIQUE
BIOLOGICAL SOURCES
Genes, enzymes and microbes: the gems of
industrial biotechnology 36
Sweet university research 37
UNDERSTANDING THE FORCES OF NATURE
Solar flares – unlocking the secrets of
the Sun’s energy 38
9 25
1
Social and Cultural
Sustainability
EDUCATION FOR AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY
Te Kotahitanga: improving Māori students’
educational achievement 42
Lessons, literacy and learning 43
TECHNOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY AND
COMMUNITY WELLBEING
Cellphones, young drivers at heart of research work 44
Video game violence: understanding its attractions
for young New Zealanders 45
ACTING ON THE BIGGER PICTURE FOR
COMMUNITY WELLBEING
Tackling poverty through pictures 46
Population studies 48
Global warming, natural disaster and
Pacific Island communities 49
MONITORING THE IMPACTS OF NEW
TECHNOLOGIES ON SOCIETY
Shaping New Zealand’s biotechnology future 50
The impacts of ICT on work and communities 51
THE GLOBAL BENEFITS OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP
Digital libraries 52
Doing good is good for business 53
UNDERSTANDING OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE
Mau Moko: the world of Māori tattoo 54
Piano research hits right notes 56
Empire and environmental anxiety 57
Sustaining and Developing
University Research
Research strengths 58
Specialist research facilities 62
The Research Hub 64
Commercialising research 66
Commercialisation success stories 67
41
58
2
Message from the Vice-Chancellor
The University of Waikato is committed to creating
and building knowledge and technologies for the future.
Our commitment to sustainable development permeates
all of our research to provide support for business,
for the environment, and for our wider population.
The challenging times faced by the modern world lend
emphasis to the importance of New Zealand's focus
on sustainable development. The drivers are even more
important than ever to improve sustainability in business
and in our environmental practices, and to use
multi-disciplinary teams to solve the complex
problems facing societies around the world.
Successful strategies for the future need innovation and
sustainability. Business profitability, healthy populations
and a living planet depend upon it.
This publication Leading the Way to a Sustainable Future
illustrates this University's commitment to making
New Zealand a world leader in sustainability,
and showcases the high calibre and broad sweep
of our research portfolio.
Professor Roy Crawford
Vice-Chancellor
3
Foreword
The University of Waikato is one of
New Zealand’s major research organisations,
playing a key role in the local economy and
making a significant contribution to the
national innovation system.
We are at the centre of a network of
research institutions and industry in the
Waikato that is responsible for a significant
proportion of this nation’s research output
– an engine room for our country’s social
and economic development.
Research is also this University’s lifeblood.
Research-related activities provide more than
a quarter of our revenue.
We have developed, or are in the process
of developing, research platforms that
take us all the way through the research
pipeline from discovery to application and
commercialisation. Sustainability in all its
forms – environmental, economic, social and
cultural – is a strong and emerging theme
in many of these research platforms as is
demonstrated in the pages that follow.
By its nature, sustainability is future-focussed
and rooted in new ways of thinking and new
ways of tackling old problems. The University
of Waikato is proud to lay claim to be Leading
the Way to a Sustainable Future.
Professor Doug Sutton
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Revised September 2010.
4
The University of Waikato
Founded in 1964, the University of Waikato is
PROGRESSIVE
YOUNG, VIBRANT AND
The University’s motto, Ko Te Tangata/For the People, reflects our intrinsic belief
that our people are central to the institution and are its most valued resource.
5
Founded in 1964, the University of Waikato is young, vibrant and
progressive. In 1989 (with a little help from NASA) we connected
New Zealand to the internet before going on to become the first
University in New Zealand to have cyber-graduates, completing their
teaching degrees online.
From modest beginnings in temporary buildings on a beautiful
65 hectare campus carved from farmland, the University of Waikato
now has a student population of 13,000 and employs about 2,000
academic and support staff, making a significant contribution to
the local economy.
The University has built research quality to be ranked No. 3 in
New Zealand (when University and College of Education scores are
combined)* and has forged strong links with universities, research
institutes and partners around the world.
We are committed to delivering a world-class education and research
portfolio, providing a full and dynamic university experience which
is distinctive in character, and pursuing strong international links
to advance knowledge. The overarching themes of our vision are
excellence, distinctiveness, and international connectedness.
We are truly a New Zealand institution with a character that derives
its distinctiveness from three interwoven components; sustainability,
Māori and leadership. We were the first university to establish a
separate school for Māori and Pacific studies, we helped lead the
revival of the Māori language, and we are proud to have the highest
proportion of Māori students of any New Zealand university. We
play a leadership role in the prosperity of the Waikato, and we teach
the leaders of tomorrow – our business leaders, our musicians, our
scientists and our teachers. Sustainability is a central theme in
our research programmes. We are leaders of research in areas of
environmental sustainability, in economic and industrial sustainability,
and in research supporting social and cultural sustainability. We are
leading the next generation to develop a sustainable future in a
multicultural, international environment.
*Tertiary Education Commission, PBRF Quality Evaluation 2006.
(Wellington 2007)
6
The University of Waikato
Sustainable development is a concept that has developed in
response to a growing realisation of the fragility of life on
earth. It ties together concerns for earth’s natural resources
with the social challenges facing humanity.
Some 20 years ago the United Nations Brundtland Com-
mission report, Our Common Future, described sustainable
development as “development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.” This is still the most
frequently cited definition of sustainable development today.
The Brundtland Commission provided the momentum for
the 1992 Earth Summit, which proclaimed 27 principles of
sustainability in the Rio Declaration, adopted the Framework
Convention on Climate Change, and delivered Agenda 21,
a wide-ranging blueprint for action to achieve sustainable
development worldwide. It placed humanity at the centre
of concerns for sustainable development, and recognised
that global issues such as poverty, inequality, hunger and
environmental degradation are inter-related and must be
tackled cooperatively across a broad front.
Leading the way to a
SUSTAINABLE
FUTURE
The Earth Summit has influenced many subsequent
global debates and over the ensuing years the concept of
sustainability has developed into four categories or ‘pillars’:
environmental protection, economic development, social
development and cultural diversity.
New Zealand is now engaged with sustainable development
on a multitude of fronts – from the adoption of the Kyoto
Protocol limiting our overall carbon emissions, to the Clean
Streams Accord requiring farmers to reduce nutrient losses
to our waterways, to the implementation of the Resource
Management Act which sets out a framework for managing
our environment. Our ability to maintain this nation’s
ongoing social and economic wellbeing strongly depends on
fostering and applying leadership, innovation and education
to support this drive for sustainable development.
Nestled in a beautiful, green and pedestrian campus in the
heart of a strong economic region, the University of Waikato
is well placed to lead and embrace sustainable practices in
partnership with tangata whenua. Sustainability is embedded
in our strategic plan as a key outcome of our teaching,
The University of Waikato is committed to creating and building knowledge and
technologies for the future. To do so we must meet the challenges that face the
world today, and there is none greater than the need for sustainable development.
7
research and postgraduate studies, and in our organisational
drive to reduce the University’s ecological footprint, develop
future academic leaders and operate beyond best practices in
a culturally-safe environment.
Leading the Way to a Sustainable Future illustrates the University
of Waikato’s commitment to making New Zealand a world leader
in sustainability. Our tools are discovery, innovation, evidence
and research-led education. Our results are new understandings,
technologies, capacity building and policies designed to underpin
sustainable economic development, social wellbeing, environmental
sustainability and the richness of our cultural heritage.
Leading the Way to a Sustainable Future is a short journey through
the broad sweep of the University of Waikato’s portfolio of research
programmes that are leading to the development of practical
solutions to advance sustainability. Only a small number of projects
are featured, but they have been selected to showcase the high
calibre of our research, and grouped for presentation into three
sections – environmental sustainability, economic sustainability, and
social and cultural sustainability – each with their own introductions.
The final section profiles the University of Waikato’s research
strengths, commercialisation successes, and the work of the Research
Hub. The Research Hub brings together the operations that support
and sustain university scholarship and research, and that manage
our contractual relationships with our research partners and
investors. The Research Hub is a “one-stop shop” for research and
development, scholarships and postgraduate studies. It turns the
wheels that propel our research forward and spins it out in ways that
will benefit the wider community.
Researchers need problems to solve and they are driven by passion.
Researchers sail voyages of discovery on uncharted seas. They climb
mountains to see the view from the top. What they find inspires new
ideas, new thinking, and new ways of doing things.
The mountain that dominates our mental landscape today is
sustainability, and University of Waikato researchers are already
seeking a route to the top.
“Human beings are at the centre of
concerns for sustainable development.
They are entitled to a healthy and
productive life in harmony with nature.”
Principle One – Rio Declaration
8
9
ENVIRONMENTALThe drive for
SUSTAINABILITYThe drive for environmental sustainability demands the ability
to apply knowledge across a broad front – ecosystems, agriculture,
industrial processes, planning and regulatory processes.
The University of Waikato has developed strong research platforms
in biodiversity and natural ecosystems that are taking our
researchers and their colleagues from other institutions into the
field to undertake work as diverse and complex as restoration of
the Rotorua Lakes to an International Polar Year investigation into
biocomplexity in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica.
Sustainable soils, rich in minerals and microbial diversity, is just
one focus of a wide range of research to support the demands of
an agricultural economy seeking to add value, whether through
intensification or a move to organics.
Making more efficient use of resources in industrial processes
– from energy efficiency in the dairy industry to the use of
industrial waste material for titanium alloy production – is another
broad-ranging area of the University’s research that is contributing
to environmental sustainability.
Sustainability planning and regulation is an area in which the
University of Waikato brings a wealth of expertise from the
Waikato Management School to the Faculty of Law and to the
International Global Change Centre, a research group within the
University’s Faculty of Science & Engineering that embraces an
interdisciplinary approach to climate change and environment
issues and has non-governmental organisation (NGO) status at the
United Nations.
A selection of the University of Waikato research programmes
in these areas is highlighted in the following pages.
10
ECOSYSTEMS
WAITINGLIFE IN
Antarctica – a diversity of
11
Antarctica’s Dry Valleys have long been regarded as the
closest thing on Earth to the surface of Mars – a cold,
lifeless desert.
Using modern molecular techniques University of Waikato
researchers tell a different story. Soils once thought to
be sterile now appear to support an unexpectedly high
diversity of microbial organisms, waiting for water and/or
food to burst into life.
Having led New Zealand in terrestrial biological research
in Antarctica for more than 25 years, the University of
Waikato is now taking part in a multinational International
Polar Year (IPY 2007-9) initiative designed to spark a new
era in polar research. The last such year, 50 years ago, was
marked by the founding of Scott Base and the beginning
of New Zealand’s cooperation with the US science
programme in Antarctica.
The IPY project led by Waikato, in collaboration with the
US National Science Foundation, is designed to study
biocomplexity in the Ross Sea and draws together a team
of 15 biologists, hydrologists, chemists and geologists
from several universities here and overseas. Four of the
scientists, including project leaders Professors Allan Green
and Craig Cary, are Waikato biologists who will bring
together a breadth of separate ongoing Antarctic research
on lichens and mosses, microbial diversity, and small
invertebrate fauna.
Biocomplexity is ecosystem research at a level above
biodiversity. It examines organisms and their community
structure, as well as interactions between them and the
environment. It is an area of science that has moved
beyond studying individual species to studying the “big
picture” in order to inform efforts to protect or manage the
environment, or to be able to forecast effects of climate
change. The simplicity of the terrestrial biology system
in Antarctica provides a unique opportunity to develop
ecosystem research to a high level of sophistication.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: National
Geographic Society, Antarctica New Zealand, and Foundation
for Research, Science and Technology.
CENTRE FOR BIODIVERSITY AND ECOLOGY RESEARCHFACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
“States shall cooperate in a spirit of global
partnership to conserve, protect and restore
the health and integrity of the Earth’s ecosystem.”
Principle 7, Rio Declaration, United Nations
Earth Summit 1992.
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12
ECOSYSTEMS
RESTORING THE LIFE TO NATIVE FOREST REMNANTSPatches of native forest on farm land will have richer
ecosystems thanks to the University of Waikato’s Centre
for Biodiversity and Ecology Research (CBER).
The centre began a 28-month, $1.12 million project in
2007 to look at methods to restore the biodiversity of
native forest fragments in rural areas, in partnership with
Landcare Research NZ Ltd.
The work means indigenous forest remnants will be more
effectively managed in the future, and it will contribute
to integrated, biodiversity restoration both in the Waikato
and nationally.
Staff will examine traditional indigenous forest
management techniques, including the effectiveness of
fencing, possum and rat control and revegetation. The
collaborative research team also includes scientists from
the University of Canterbury and AgResearch Ltd.
The research team will focus on a range of ecological
processes such as the regeneration of ground and canopy
plants, the decomposition of forest litter and the ability of
native birds to reproduce successfully.
Professor Bruce Clarkson, Dean of Science and Engineering,
and Director of CBER, says the project fills a critical gap
between existing major research programmes in large
conservation estate forests, and severely depleted and
modified urban remnants. It’s the first time the ecosystem
processes in those patches of farmland forest have been
looked at in this way.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Foundation for
Research, Science and Technology.
CENTRE FOR BIODIVERSITY AND ECOLOGY RESEARCHFACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
“All types of forests embody complex and unique
ecological processes [and] provide resources to
satisfy human needs as well as environmental values
and…their sound management and conservation…
are of value to local communities and to the
environment as a whole.”
Preamble to the Statement of Principles for the
Sustainable Management of Forests, United Nations
Earth Summit, 1992.
13
ECOSYSTEMS
RESTORING A CITY’S NATURAL ECOSYSTEMSWork on restoring a Hamilton park will provide a model
for restoring ecosystems in cities all around New Zealand.
Biodiversity loss has been greatest in or near New
Zealand’s cities where development has often resulted in
total landscape transformations, but the magnitude of this
loss has been recognised only in recent years.
A University of Waikato-led research group is working on a
four-year FRST-funded project to determine the best way
to restore natural ecosystems in city areas, using the
60ha Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park in Hamilton
as a case study.
The research will develop a model to reverse the loss of
native plants and wildlife in New Zealand’s urban areas
and provide New Zealand’s restoration groups with the
best methods to use.
Research leader Professor Bruce Clarkson says the park,
a modified peat lake and catchment, provides a unique
opportunity in restoration. “Our role is not to conduct the
reconstruction, but to underpin the restoration effort with
excellent science.”
Such a model will help transform traditional city
approaches to managing parks and gardens throughout
New Zealand to one more closely aligned to ecosystem
management and sustainable development.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Foundation for
Research, Science and Technology.
CENTRE FOR BIODIVERSITY AND ECOLOGY RESEARCHFACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
“By the turn of the century, the majority of the
world’s population will be living in cities. While
urban settlements, particularly in developing
countries, are showing many of the symptoms of the
global environment and development crisis, they
nevertheless generate 60 per cent of gross national
product and, if properly managed, can develop
the capacity to sustain their productivity, improve
the living conditions of their residents and manage
natural resources in a sustainable way.”
Article 7.13, Agenda 21, United Nations Earth
Summit, 1992.
14
ECOSYSTEMS
Waikato University biologists are at the heart of a massive
scheme to research and save the country’s lakes.
The programme, focusing on the Rotorua Lakes but
which will have nationwide application, has $10 million
over 10 years to research the threats posed by algal
blooms, pest fish and other invasive species – and how
to address those threats.
Professors Bruce Clarkson, David Hamilton and Associate
Professor Brendan Hicks are running the programme, which
has input from regional councils, community groups, the
water industry and other organisations as it is those groups
who will ultimately benefit from the research work.
Native fish and plants are in decline in most New Zealand
lakes. Not only do pest fish and invasive weeds out-
compete native species, they also alter the environment
to cause proliferation of harmful algal blooms. Toxic
algal blooms have in some cases resulted in water
supply closure, cattle deaths and closures of lakes for
recreational activities.
Researchers have quickly developed monitoring tools
to detect and understand more about the blooms.
That work is already paying off in China, where University
of Waikato scientists are using their technology in Taihu
Lake to provide information about blooms of blue-green
algae which affect drinking water supplies for more than
5 million people.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Foundation for
Research, Science and Technology.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM LED BY THE CENTRE FOR BIODIVERSITY AND ECOLOGY RESEARCH FACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
LAKESSAVE THE
$10 million battle to
15
“[Governments should] promote the rehabilitation
and restoration of damaged ecosystems and the
recovery of threatened and endangered species...”
Article 15.5(h), Agenda 21, United Nations
Earth Summit, 1992.
16
SUSTAINABLE SOILS
ARE NEW ZEALAND PASTURES GAINING OR LOSING SOIL CARBON AND NITROGEN, AND WHY?In New Zealand, pastures originally converted from
forest are now subject to more intensive stocking and
increasing fertiliser use. We know very little about how
this intensification of land use has altered the amounts
of carbon and nitrogen stored in the soil. Associate
Professor Louis Schipper (Earth and Ocean Sciences) and
colleagues from Landcare Research and GNS Science
have been measuring soil carbon and nitrogen at 65+
pastures sites around New Zealand, and comparing their
information with data recorded from the same pastures
around 20 years ago. The team found large average
annual losses of around 1 tonne per hectare of soil
carbon and annual nitrogen losses of about 90 kilogram
per hectare from dairying on flat land, and large gains on
North lsland hill country.
The reasons behind these changes aren’t clear and a
number of hypotheses are now being tested.
These losses and gains are nationally important with
respect to carbon accounting and maintenance of soil
quality for production. Dr Dave Campbell (Earth and Ocean
Sciences) and Professor Schipper are leading research
in techniques for determining real-time fluctuations of
carbon dioxide at paddock level. Their long-term vision is
to develop a balance sheet of carbon exchange related to
farm management practices to inform farmers about the
environmental and production consequences of their land
management decisions.
In time, mitigation strategies will need to be developed to
reduce and reverse carbon and nitrogen losses from soil.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Landcare
Research, MAF, DairyNZ, and others.
DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND OCEAN SCIENCESFACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
“Land degradation is the most important environmental
problem affecting extensive areas of land in both
developed and developing countries….Well planned,
long-term national and regional land conservation and
rehabilitation programmes, with strong political support
and adequate funding, are now needed.”
Article 14.44, Agenda 21, United Nations Earth Summit, 1992.
17
SUSTAINABLE SOILS
SOIL MICROBIAL DIVERSITY, COMPOSTING AND ENRICHMENTA major research platform in microbial genes and
enzymes at the University of Waikato’s Biological
Sciences Department (see page 36) has led to a
large number of fundamental and applied projects
investigating soil microbes and composting processes
for a variety of purposes.
Among the latest projects is a Technology for Industry
Fellowship to understand and improve a process for
composting rock phosphate on behalf of Ballance
Agri-Nutrients. The process uses micro-organisms to
make the phosphate soluble, helping to make it available
for plant uptake. This can be marketed as a biologically
released phosphate fertiliser (BioPhos), instead of a
phosphate fertiliser that is derived through a chemical
industrial process.
Another current project is to analyse the bacterial
diversity of New Zealand geothermal soils. As part of
this study new, unclassified organisms have been isolated
from extreme temperature soils that will be classified in
collaboration with GNS Science (Wairakei). The long-term
aim is to understand the role different organisms play in
these extreme soil ecosystems, and to research different
ways in which they may be useful.
Both these projects are being led by Dr Ian McDonald.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Technology for
Industry Fellowship; GNS Science.
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCESFACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
“Soil organisms contribute a wide range of essential
services to the sustainable function of all ecosystems, by
acting as the primary driving agents of nutrient cycling,
regulating the dynamics of soil organic matter, soil carbon
sequestration and greenhouse gas emission; modifying
soil physical structure and water regimes, enhancing
the amount and efficiency of nutrient acquisition by the
vegetation and enhancing plant health. These services are
not only essential to the functioning of natural ecosystems
but constitute an important resource for the sustainable
management of agricultural systems.”
Soil Biodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture, United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 2001.
18
SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES
FROM ENERGY SAVINGS TO EXPORT COMPETITIVENESSUniversity of Waikato research is helping Fonterra become
more competitive through energy savings.
The Foundation for Research Science and Technology and
Fonterra are funding a six-year project to reduce energy
consumption at the co-operative’s milk powder plants
around New Zealand.
Fonterra is the world’s leading exporter of dairy products,
but it is faced with using energy-intensive processes to
turn milk into milk powder at a time of rising energy
prices. University researchers Professor Peter Kamp, James
Neale, Dr Michael Walmsley, and Martin Atkins have been
joined by three PhD students to modify the dryers which
dehydrate milk.
Some of the research is taking place in the factories, and
some in the University’s large-scale engineering laboratory,
using scale models.
Within the first year of the programme and as a result of
the research, design changes have been implemented in
four of Fonterra’s 74 dryers, with much scope to improve
the energy performance of the remaining dryers as capital
becomes available.
The University is building an externally-funded research
team with high-level engineering expertise which has a
particular focus on industrial energy efficiency and could
help the wood, meat, steel and dairy industries make
energy savings.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Foundation for
Research, Science and Technology and Fonterra
ENERGY RESEARCH GROUPFACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
“Reducing the amount of energy and materials
used per unit in the production of goods and
services can contribute both to the alleviation of
environmental stress and to greater economic
and industrial productivity and competitiveness.
Governments, in cooperation with industry,
should therefore intensify efforts to use energy
and resources in an economically efficient and
environmentally sound manner.”
Article 4.18, Agenda 21, United Nations Earth
Summit, 1992.
19
SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES
TITANIUM ALLOYSNew Zealand is one step closer to full-scale, low-cost
titanium alloy production utilising industrial waste thanks
to a research team led by Professor Deliang Zhang and
Dr Brian Gabbitas at the University of Waikato.
Over the past 10 years, the Titanium Research Team
has successfully developed material processing
technologies to produce titanium alloy powders and
titanium alloy/ceramic composite powders from
titanium oxide and aluminium.
The emphasis has been on low cost, both in the raw
materials and the production process.
Titanium alloys are light, strong and high in value, and
are used extensively in aerospace and aviation, chemical
processing, manufacturing, and in consumer goods.
R&D undertaken by the Titanium Research Team has been
directed at creating a technological platform for a titanium
alloy product manufacturing industry in New Zealand.
A spin-off company, Titanox Development Ltd, has been
established to commercialise the research.
(See commercialisation success stories page 67.)
In order to increase the efficiency of the titanium alloy
powder production processes, the team is investigating the
possibility of using impure raw materials, like slag from
New Zealand Steel Limited, and West Coast iron sands.
The research also focuses on developing lower-cost,
internationally competitive methods for consolidating the
powders into semi-finished and finished titanium products
(including plates, sheets, bars, tubes and application
specific shaped parts).
A third research direction is to produce temperature-
resistant and corrosion-resistant coatings to protect
structures and machinery operating in harsh environments.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Foundation for
Research, Science and Technology.
WAIKATO CENTRE FOR ADVANCED MATERIALSFACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
“The improvement of production systems through
technologies and processes that utilize resources more
efficiently and at the same time produce less wastes
– achieving more with less – is an important pathway
towards sustainability for business and industry.”
Article 30.4, Agenda 21, United Nations Earth
Summit, 1992.
20
PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY
SUSTAINABILITY: ARE BUSINESSES WALKING THE TALK?As more and more people embrace sustainability, Dr Eva
Collins, Professor Stewart Lawrence and Professor Juliet
Roper are carrying out New Zealand’s first longitudinal
study into how organisational practices in businesses
are keeping up.
Their most recent survey, carried out in collaboration with
the Sustainable Business Network, reveals that businesses
increased their sustainable practices by 10% between
2003 and 2006.
Based on responses from 519 businesses, the survey
followed up an initial 2003 benchmarking survey which
looked at 20 different areas of sustainability practice. The
researchers also conducted interviews and focus groups
with businesses for a more in-depth view.
Their report Sustainability Practices of New Zealand Businesses
in 2006 showed social sustainability practices, such as giving
to charity, family-friendly policies and job training, remained
the biggest element of sustainability take-up by businesses.
However, environmental practices, such as recycling and
energy saving initiatives, had grown faster.
Around 70% of firms reported recycling compared to
around 55% in 2003, and there was an increase in the
number of firms considering the environmental impacts
of their products, processes and services.
The researchers found that cost, management time
and knowledge/skills remained the biggest barriers for
businesses in adopting sustainable practices. But surprisingly
businesses reported that they did not feel pressured – by
customers, suppliers or regulators – to be more sustainable.
The next survey is scheduled for publication in 2010.
DEPARTMENT OF STRATEGY AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENTDEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING ANDDEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATIONWAIKATO MANAGEMENT SCHOOL
“The private sector should be encouraged to strengthen
the mechanisms of sharing its experience and information
on sustainable development.“
Article 40.24, Agenda 21, United Nations Earth Summit, 1992.
21
PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY
INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL CHANGE CENTRE (IGCC)The International Global Change Centre (IGCC) is a
research group within the University of Waikato’s
Faculty of Science & Engineering that embraces an
interdisciplinary and integrative approach to climate
change and environment issues on a global, national,
regional and local level. Key issues within its focus include
integrated risk assessments, modelling and climate
proofing, for which several modelling and software
packages have been developed. IGCC also has projects on
environmental planning and governance, built/historic and
natural heritage, and health and environment including
biodiversity issues.
Since its inception in 1997, IGCC has promoted
sustainability through the adoption of strategies to
mitigate and adapt to climate and environmental change.
Staff also supervise post-graduates, and run professional
training programmes on topics ranging from adaptation and
risk assessments to planning, governance and management.
IGCC has Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) status
on UN bodies and also participates, through individual
merit, in the UN Framework Convention for Climate
Change (UNFCCC), Global Environmental Outlook
(GEO) assessments and training, the UN Environmental
Programme: Environmental Effects Assessment Panel
“All Parties shall… cooperate in preparing for adaptation
to the impacts of climate change…”
Article 4.1 (e), The United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, United Nations Earth Summit, 1992.
(UNEP-EEAP) co-chaired by IGCC Director, Professor
Janet Bornman, Meetings of the Parties to the Montreal
Protocol, and report authorship for the Intergovernmental
Panel for Climate Change.
IGCC’s activities have been largely supported by two
long-term research programmes – climate adaptation
(CLIMPACTS) and Planning Under Cooperative Mandates
(PUCM). CLIMPACTS has examined the effects of climate
change and variability on the New Zealand environment
from national to site-specific scale, and has also been
widely applied internationally. The PUCM research
activities have included developing and applying methods
for evaluating the quality of environmental plans (1995-
1998), their implementation (1999-2002) and outcomes
(2003-2007), and community planning for sustainable
development (2003-2009). The research has focused on
co-operative mandates in New Zealand, including the
innovative Resource Management Act (1991) and more
recent Local Government Act (2002).
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Foundation for
Research, Science and Technology.
INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL CHANGE CENTREFACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
22
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND REGULATORY CONTROL
PROTECTED AREAS AND INTERNATIONAL LAWProfessor Al Gillespie is probably one of the few law
professors who travels on a diplomatic passport. His
speciality is conservation and he works on international
panels to protect endangered animals and some of the
most spectacular and threatened parts of the planet.
He says environmental law is going round in circles.
Each government comes to a problem and thinks they
can solve it, but according to Professor Gillespie,
it’s all been seen before.
Professor Gillespie wrote Whaling Diplomacy:
Defining Issues in International Environmental Law
to give people a background in the subject – the
science, politics and philosophy.
As a result, people are taking notice. His work was
quoted by a senator in the Australian parliament and
when the American government agreed to put $10
billion towards Everglade protection to remove it from
the danger list, Professor Gillespie was quoted again.
In 2007, when New Zealand hosted and chaired the
World Heritage Convention held in Christchurch, with
700 delegates representing 21 countries, Professor
Gillespie was rapporteur. He successfully advocated
a fundamental change in the way the international
community practises conservation, namely that
communities, not just governments, must be at the
heart of all initiatives.
His most recent book, Protected Areas and
International Law, is related to his work with the
World Heritage Convention.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: New Zealand
Law Foundation grant.
TE PIRINGA FACULTY OF LAW
“States shall enact effective environmental
legislation. Environmental standards, management
objectives and priorities should reflect the
environmental and developmental context to
which they apply.”
Principle 11, Rio Declaration on Environment and
Development, United Nations Earth Summit, 1992.
23
THE ECONOMIC WAY TO CLEANER WATERGood farm practice isn’t going to be enough to bring our
rivers and lakes up to the water quality that most of us
want. Farm run-off and leaching into groundwater cause
serious pollution, but no-one can agree on the best way to
share the burden of reducing nitrogen discharges.
Environmental economists Professor Frank Scrimgeour,
who is Dean of the Waikato Management School, and Dr
Dan Marsh, with PhD student Thiagarajah Ramilan, have
developed economic models to figure out the best mix of
regulations and incentives to achieve cleaner waterways.
The research will help farmers and policy-makers decide
the cheapest and most effective solution to enable the
farming sector to achieve a future that is both profitable
and looks after the environment.
One model takes into account individual farm income,
stock numbers, milk solid production and fertiliser
application. Initial results suggest that charges coupled
with restrictions may be more cost-efficient than emission
charges on their own. But the mix will vary from farm to
farm: intensive farms would be more likely to choose a low
emission charge and a high target for reducing pollution
Research in this area is continuing.
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSWAIKATO MANAGEMENT SCHOOL
“Governments…should regularly assess the laws and
regulations enacted and the related institutional/
administrative machinery established at the national/
state and local/municipal level in the field of
environment and sustainable development, with a
view to rendering them effective in practice.”
Article 8.17, Agenda 21, United Nations Earth
Summit, 1992.
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND REGULATORY CONTROL
24
Supporting
Economic sustainability is fundamental to the development of
stable communities functioning within healthy environments.
The University of Waikato brings a wealth of experience to bear in
this area with research programmes that, for example, monitor the
regional economy, and measure the social and economic impacts
of temporary labour migration.
A well-educated workforce is an essential element of economic
sustainability, and the selection of case studies in this section
highlights two national educational projects being led by this
University to find ways to make science more accessible to
teachers and students.
Adding value to existing industries, developing sound parameters
for their sustainable growth, or making them more efficient,
are other ways of contributing to economic sustainability.
The following case studies include research projects aimed at
adding value to the New Zealand meat, pastoral and honey
industries, laying the groundwork for sustainable growth in
aquaculture, and finding new and more efficient means of rural
communications and farm testing regimes.
A number of our research programmes have led to commercial
spin-offs that fall within the Agenda 21 concept of “responsible
entrepreneurship [that] can play a major role in improving the
efficiency of resource use, reducing risks and hazards, minimising
wastes and safeguarding environmental qualities.”
Long-term economic and industrial sustainability may also rely
upon fundamental research that is still unlocking the secrets
of our solar system. A case study on University of Waikato
research on solar flares, which can have a significant effect on
our telecommunications and electricity systems, explains why.
25
ECONOMICSUSTAINABILITY
26
MONITORING THE ECONOMIC PULSE OF THE WAIKATOReliable up-to-date regional economic data is crucial for
planners, policymakers and local government, particularly
in times of economic uncertainty. Dr Warren Hughes,
who is now an Honorary Fellow of the University, and
Professor Frank Scrimgeour, who is Dean of the Waikato
Management School, have been collating and analysing
regional economic data for the Waikato and surrounding
regions over the last 20 years.
Their data is crucial to regional economic development
work in the Waikato undertaken by Hamilton City Council
and other local councils, and acts as a valuable bellwether
for businesses in the region.
For example, their analysis was invaluable in establishing
the Waikato Innovation Park and its most recently
announced expansion. It has also prompted action to
recruit and retain a skilled and stable workforce in
the region.
With Associate Professor Stuart Locke, they have also
carried out economic impact analyses on major regional
events, such as the National Agricultural Fieldays,
measuring not just the direct impact of the event but
its wider ripple effect. Their research indicates that
Fieldays is the biggest event in the region, and one of
the largest events in New Zealand in terms of its impact
on the economy.
Dr Hughes edits the Regional Economic Bulletin, and
all three researchers also work with the University’s
Management Research Centre, which has been offering
a benchmarking service to businesses and organisations
for 27 years.
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS ANDDEPARTMENT OF FINANCEWAIKATO MANAGEMENT SCHOOL
“Business and industry, including transnational
corporations, play a crucial role in the social and
economic development of a country... Increasing
prosperity, a major goal of the development process,
is contributed primarily by the activities of business and
industry. Business enterprises, large and small, formal
and informal, provide major trading, employment and
livelihood opportunities.”
Article 30.1, Agenda 21, United Nations
Earth Summit, 1992.
ECONOMIC MONITORING
27
TEMPORARY MIGRATION PROGRAMME IS A WINNER ALL ROUNDA new government programme designed to bring seasonal
workers from the Pacific Islands to work in horticulture
and viticulture for up to seven months per year is proving
a win-win initiative for both New Zealand and the Pacific
source countries.
With funding from the World Bank and the Department
of Labour, Professor John Gibson, Halahingano Rohorua
and the World Bank’s David McKenzie are researching
the impact of the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE)
Programme, and their initial findings show that the scheme
is succeeding in targeting poorer, less well-educated
migrants from Tonga.
The RSE draws 5,000 temporary migrants a year from 11
eligible Pacific Forum member countries. Based on the
results of household surveys in both Tonga and Vanuatu,
the researchers found that males with lower levels of
education are more likely to apply for RSE than those with
more education. In Tonga, they found RSE migrants were
also more likely to be less well-off.
There’s strong international interest in temporary
migration programmes like the RSE as a way to relieve
labour shortages in developed countries and aid
development in poorer countries where population growth
often greatly exceeds formal employment growth. Such
schemes allow workers to send remittances home and
gain new skills without the source country losing the
worker permanently and the host country facing long-term
assimilation costs.
The next stage of the research will look at the
developmental impacts of temporary migration in the
labour source countries.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: World Bank,
Department of Labour.
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSWAIKATO MANAGEMENT SCHOOL ANDUNIVERSITY OF WAIKATO PATHWAYS COLLEGE
“The survival of small island developing States is
firmly rooted in their human resources and cultural
heritage, which are their most significant assets; those
assets are under severe stress and all efforts must be
taken to ensure the central position of people in the
process of sustainable development.”
Article 1.1, Barbados Declaration, United Nations Global
Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States, 1994.
ECONOMIC MONITORING
28
BIOTECHNOLOGYSCIENCE AND
Taking
EDUCATING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE
to the classroom
Inse
t d
ata
imag
ery
sup
plie
d b
y N
IWA
29
“In view of the increasing role the sciences have to
play in dealing with the issues of environment and
development, it is necessary to build up scientific
capacity and strengthen such capacity in all countries...
[to] promote the education and training of scientists,...
[and to] strengthen the scientific infrastructure in
schools, universities and research institutions...”
Extracts from articles 35.20-35.22, Agenda 21,
United Nations Earth Summit, 1992.
New Zealand’s world-class scientists and technologists are
collaborating with science educators to find ways to make
science more accessible to teachers and students.
The University of Waikato is leading two national projects,
the NZ Science Learning Hub and the NZ Biotechnology
Learning Hub which are funded by the Ministry of
Research, Science and Technology. They aim to get students
engaged in science and technology by providing teachers
with up-to-date resources based on research. The focus is
on providing insights into current developments in New
Zealand science and biotechnology.
The Biotechnology Learning Hub was launched in 2005
and the Science Learning Hub was launched in 2007. Both
projects are managed by the University’s Wilf Malcolm
Institute of Educational Research (WMIER).
The web-based services explore major themes and
contexts and are a gateway to multimedia files, classroom
resources based on the requirements of the New Zealand
Curriculum, and news about the New Zealand’s science and
technology sector in action. Themes have included the trip
by the research vessel Tangaroa looking at Antarctic marine
biodiversity; how humans are gaining increased strength
and endurance; and New Zealand’s world-class expertise
in earthquakes.
The Dean of Education, Professor Alister Jones, and
WMIER Director, Associate Professor Bronwen Cowie are
heading the learning hubs with research teams from other
universities and the Royal Society of New Zealand.
External funding gratefully acknowledged:
Ministry of Research, Science and Technology.
WILF MALCOLM INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHFACULTY OF EDUCATION
30
ENHANCING PRIMARY STUDENT-TEACHER INTERACTIONS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYHelping students learn more in science and technology
education is the ultimate aim of a University of Waikato
Faculty of Education project.
The InSiTE project has developed a way to help teachers
identify, articulate and build their knowledge of pedagogy
with their knowledge of science and technology, and how
this can all be blended to help students learn more.
By doing this, it is recognised that a wider range of students
will learn more if they have teachers who provide many
and varied ways for them to articulate, explore and refine
their own ideas. Also, teachers are able to provide more
focused and helpful feedback to students.
The InSiTE project involved 12 primary school teachers
over three years. It built on earlier research, and was
headed by the Director of the Wilf Malcolm Institute of
Educational Research, Associate Professor Bronwen
Cowie, and the Dean of Education, Professor Alister Jones,
together with Dr Judy Moreland and Kathrin Otrel-Cass.
Its goal was to understand and enhance classroom
Assessment for Learning interactions. The researchers
undertook classroom observations, collecting lesson
materials and videoing teachers’ interactions with
students. There were also meeting days for the teachers
and researchers to discuss emerging findings and to
plan for teaching.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Ministry of
Education Teaching and Learning Research Initiative
project funding.
WILF MALCOLM INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
AND
CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION RESEARCH
FACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
“[States should] build greater capacity in science and
technology for sustainable development…. Education
is critical for promoting sustainable development.
It is therefore essential to…integrate sustainable
development into education systems at all levels of
education in order to promote education as a key
agent for change.”
Extracts from articles 108-121, Johannesburg Plan
of Implementation, World Summit on Sustainable
Development, 2002.
EDUCATING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE
31
ANIMAL PROTEIN BECOMES BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICLow-value animal protein is being given a new life as high-
value plastic with the discovery of a new manufacturing
process by two University of Waikato scientists.
The process, developed over two years by chemical
engineer Dr Johan Verbeek and Masters student Lisa van
den Berg, can turn protein from animal processing waste
into a biodegradable plastic using industry-standard plastic
extrusion and injection moulding machinery.
The innovative approach uses low-value meat industry
waste to create a high-value product that breaks down
when disposed of without polluting the environment.
“The material we can produce has the strength of
polyethylene – the plastic used in milk bottles and plastic
supermarket bags – but it’s fully biodegradable,” says
Dr Verbeek. The bioplastic is expected to be suitable for
a wide range of applications.
The technology is in the early stages of development,
with further improvements to production techniques
and processes required before being market ready.
This work is being funded by the University of Waikato’s
commercialisation arm, WaikatoLink, and carried out
through the Hothouse, its technology development unit.
Novatein, the company formed to take the technology
to market, has received capital from venture capital firm
Endeavour Capital to facilitate further development of this
innovative technology.
DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERINGFACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
“When industries are clustered, the waste from one
can become the input for another. In fact, to achieve
environmentally sustainable development, industries
must make use of each other’s waste to the fullest
extent possible.”
Five Years after Rio: UNU’s Responses to Agenda 21,
United Nations University, 1997.
ADDING VALUE TO THE MEAT INDUSTRY
32
ADDING VALUE TO THE MEAT INDUSTRY
BOVINE BONE REPLACEMENTWaste material from cattle processing could one day be
responsible for shorter healing times and stronger bones
for joint replacement and bone graft patients.
Research led by Dr Michael Mucalo, of the University
of Waikato’s Faculty of Science & Engineering,
has considered the use of biomedical materials for
bone replacement.
A biomedical material is anything used to replace or repair
body tissue and has contact with body fluids. Examples
include pacemakers, artificial blood vessels, and wires and
pins for bone repair.
Dr Mucalo’s research involves processing bovine bone
through chemical washing and treatment in a high-
temperature kiln to produce a solid porous mass similar
in internal architecture to that of human bone.
Called a xenograft, the bone matrix can be shaped and
inserted into the patient to be used as a scaffold for
repairing and rebuilding bone.
Animal trials have been conclusively positive.
A commercial spin-off, Graftoss, has been formed to
commercialise the technology and further develop
the products.
Graftoss’ bone matrix technology offers several
advantages. It uses a waste product to create a high value
medical device which is biocompatible, conducive to bone
regeneration, and guaranteed free of pathogen and disease
as a result of its New Zealand sourcing and treatment.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: AgResearch
MIRINZ, DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austrach Dienst),
Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust, Waikato Medical Research
Foundation, and other sources.
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRYFACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
“In sustainable development...[r]eal value
added comes from primary productivity or from
transformation or processing to add functionality,
utility, durability, or other kinds of information
content... Real development is only when new value
is added by innovation or creation, [or] the quality
of life is increased...”
A.L. Dahl, United Nations Environmental Programme,
Towards Indicators of Sustainability, prepared for the
International Council for Science, November 1995.
33
SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT
IDENTIFYING SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE MANAGEMENT AREASThe growth of New Zealand’s aquaculture industry – which
has seen greenshell mussel export volumes double in the
decade to 2005 – is now putting pressure on regional
councils to identify Aquaculture Management Areas
(AMAs) in open coast locations.
Inferior site location is one of the most common
reasons for aquaculture project failure and for adverse
environmental effects, while good sites in sheltered bays
and harbours are close to saturation.
Pioneering methodologies developed by University of
Waikato researchers mean Environment Bay of Plenty is
now one of the first regional councils to be able to identify
sustainable coastal marine locations for AMAs via a
computerised mapping system.
Over the past three years Dr Peter Longdill and the
late Professor Terry Healy have modelled the seasonal
hydrodynamic patterns of the Bay of Plenty coastal marine
area by combining satellite data revealing phytoplankton
concentrations with continuous recordings of wave and
current patterns, imaging of the sea floor, acoustic doppler
profiling of the water column, and hundreds of samples of
sediments, nutrients and water temperature measurements
taken on regular excursions using the University’s research
vessel, Tai Rangahau. These hydrodynamic models have
been linked with Geographic Information Systems
commonly used by councils for data storage applications
for planning purposes.
With specific reference to suspended mussel (Perna
canaliculus) aquaculture, the results show maximum
aquaculture sustainability may be achieved in about
420 sq km (18%) of the coastal marine area from
Maketu to the Motu River. The most sustainable sites are
characterised by silty sediment with low natural organic
content, depths of between 40 and 100 metres, in areas
well-flushed with nutrients, but protected from both ocean
swells and freshwater river flooding, and where there
are no conflicts with a range of other factors from visual
amenity to other recreational and commercial uses.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Technology for
Industry Fellowship, Bright Futures Scholarship, ASR Ltd,
Environment Bay of Plenty.
COASTAL MARINE GROUPDEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND OCEAN SCIENCESFACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
“[C]urrent approaches to the management of marine
and coastal resources have not always proved capable
of achieving sustainable development, and coastal
resources and the coastal environment are being
rapidly degraded and eroded in many parts of the
world….Systematic collection of data on marine
environmental parameters will be needed to apply
integrated management approaches.”
Extracts from Articles 17.4 and 17.96, Agenda 21,
United Nations Earth Summit, 1992.
34
KEEPING FARMERS ONLINEFarmers wanting to get the most out of their land have a
new weapon: rural broadband, which allows them to plan
and communicate with workers, collect data electronically,
link the farm’s office computer with the dairy shed or
yards, and receive emails and talk wirelessly – even out
on the farm.
It’s one of the many applications created by Rural Link,
a joint venture between WaikatoLink and Rezare
Systems, arising from research conducted by the
University of Waikato. FRST funding of $309,000 a
year for five years from 2002 allowed a team led by
Dr Murray Pearson from the Computer Science
Department research group, WAND, to create the
technology to provide broadband internet access for
farmers and rural communities. Schools and communities
are already hooked up in parts of the Waikato,
around Rotorua, the Urewera National Park, and the
Hokianga Harbour.
Also under development by the University research group
is a set of wireless nodes that could be either back-
packed into a remote disaster area, driven in on a trailer,
or dropped in by helicopter. Rather than waiting days for
communication lines to be restored following a disaster,
the nodes provide good, temporary communications in the
hours following a disaster.
Possibly the best-known WAND spinoff is the network
traffic monitoring technology company Endace which
also arose out of FRST funding. It is now a publicly listed
company and considered a world leader in network
monitoring solutions.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Foundation for
Research, Science and Technology.
WAND NETWORK RESEARCH GROUPDEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCEFACULTY OF COMPUTING & MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
“[Creating] the conditions for sustainable agriculture
and rural development …will involve … improving farm
production and farming systems through …
infrastructure development.”
Excerpts from articles 14.2-14.4, Agenda 21,
United Nations Earth Summit, 1992.
DEVELOPING INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES FOR PRIMARY INDUSTRY
35
DEVELOPING INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES FOR PRIMARY INDUSTRY
MACHINE LEARNING HAS A SPECIAL CHEMISTRYEfficient farming practices demand that farmers routinely
test their soil for nitrogen and carbon content before
making decisions about fertilising their land.
A University of Waikato Computer Science team led
by the Dean of Computing and Mathematical Sciences,
Professor Geoff Holmes, has developed computerised
“machine learning” techniques that can be used to speed
up the analysis of data by testing laboratories to help
meet these demands. Software exploiting near infra-red
(NIR) spectroscopy analysis has reduced the time taken
for soil testing from several days to minutes. NIR provides
a “blueprint” of a soil sample that can be used to identify
the quantity of nitrogen or carbon it contains. Samples
can be processed at great speed without the need for
“old-fashioned” chemical testing methods, and farmers
get fast and cost-effective answers.
This software has now been in routine use at Hill
Laboratories in Hamilton for three years. A joint venture
between WaikatoLink and Hill Laboratories, Khipu Systems
Ltd, has been established to commercialise the software,
and a licence sold to another analytical laboratory in
the Netherlands. With the expectation that these same
techniques can be used to help speed up a range of tests
for regulatory compliance, quality control, process control
and traceability, Khipu Systems has attracted investment
of $1 million to help grow the company.
Meanwhile, the original research team at Waikato
has secured further funding to develop machine
learning software based on a different technique, gas
chromatography, to speed up food testing for pesticide
residues and environmental testing for petrol residue in
water and soil.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Foundation for
Research, Science and Technology.
MACHINE LEARNING GROUPDEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCEFACULTY OF COMPUTING & MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
“[Creating] the conditions for sustainable agriculture and
rural development …will involve …the development of
appropriate and new technologies.”
Article 14.2, Agenda 21, United Nations Earth Summit, 1992.
36
VALUABLE NEW PRODUCTS FROM UNIQUE BIOLOGICAL SOURCES
GENES, ENZYMES AND MICROBES: THE GEMS OF INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGYIndustrial biotechnology is an area of research and
development in which the University of Waikato has
had a long and outstanding record of success.
With a particular focus on microbial genes and enzymes
from extreme climate ecosystems ranging from New
Zealand geothermal soils to the cold Antarctic, this
research area has resulted in dozens of postgraduate
student degrees and more than 250 publications to date.
Professors Roy Daniel and Hugh Morgan, co-directors of
the Thermophile Research Unit in the Faculty of Science
& Engineering, along with Professor Roberta Farrell
and others, have led the development of enzymes and
technologies from culture collections which include
thermophilic bacteria (that exist at extreme temperatures),
archaea (single-celled microbes), and isolates of Antarctic
and New Zealand fungi.
Research over the years has ranged from the upper and
lower temperature limits of life, enzymes and organisms
for industrial use, biofuels and bioremediation, through
to the influence of thermophiles in the dairy industry,
and conservation of historic Antarctic huts.
Among the more high-profile research projects, Professor
Farrell has led an international research team for the
past 12 years to study the biological and non-biological
deterioration of Scott’s and Shackleton’s huts in the Ross
Dependency, and to advise on their conservation.
A bioremediation project, also headed by Professor Farrell,
has led to a breakthrough in treating soil contaminated
by PCPs and dioxins with soil fungi, which degrade the
contaminants in a natural composting process.
The University’s wide-ranging research in industrial
biotechnology has led to a number of commercial
contracts and spin-offs. One of these, ZyGEM, uses
proprietary enzymes to produce a range of DNA extraction
kits for forensic applications (see Commercialisation
success stories page 67.)
Professors Farrell, Daniel and Morgan, all elected Fellows
of the Royal Society of NZ, continue to teach and conduct
research for the University as well as for ZyGEM as
members of the company’s Science Advisory Board.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Foundation for
Research Science and Technology, Marsden Fund, and others.
THERMOPHILE RESEARCH UNITDEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCESFACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
“Biotechnology is proving its worth as a
technology that can contribute to
sustainable industrial development.”
The Application of Biotechnology to Industrial
Sustainability – A Primer, OECD, 2001.
37
VALUABLE NEW PRODUCTS FROM UNIQUE BIOLOGICAL SOURCES
SWEET UNIVERSITY RESEARCHWaikato University is world-renowned for its research
into the healing powers of manuka honey, and work
continues every year to expand the knowledge around
honey’s active compounds.
Manuka honey has been scientifically shown to possess
anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory
properties. For several years the research team in the
Honey Research Unit has been investigating what causes
manuka honey to have these special properties, and this
research has now expanded into a range of other honeys
and natural products.
The anti-bacterial qualities unique to manuka honey were
discovered through research supervised and conducted
by Professor Peter Molan – a discovery that is now
responsible for an industry worth over $100 million per
year to the New Zealand economy. Associate Professor
Merilyn Manley-Harris’ team was the first to confirm the
identity of the main active anti-bacterial ingredient in the
honey, and the Honey Research Unit has subsequently
identified the ingredient’s source from a precursor
compound isolated from the manuka nectar.
New bioactives discoveries from the University’s honey
research have the potential to replicate the economic
value created by the original discovery of manuka honey’s
anti-bacterial qualities.
For example, ongoing research into the level of anti-oxidant
activity in honey is being carried out with support from
the University’s commercialisation arm, WaikatoLink.
Anti-oxidants protect the body from free radicals which
damage the mind and body through ageing. An anti-oxidant
certification trademark has been developed, and the first
licensee of this trademark is already selling anti-oxidant
certified honeydew honey for premium returns through
supermarket and health food stores throughout the UK.
HONEY RESEARCH UNITDEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCESANDDEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRYFACULTY OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
“Entrepreneurship is one of the most important
driving forces for innovations, increasing market
efficiencies and responding to challenges
and opportunities. Small and medium-sized
entrepreneurs, in particular, play a very important
role in the social and economic development
of a country. Often, they are the major means
for rural development …”
Article 30.17, Agenda 21, United Nations
Earth Summit, 1992.
38
SUN'S ENERGYSECRETS OF THE
Solar flares – unlocking the
UNDERSTANDING THE FORCES OF NATURE
39
On March 13, 1989 the entire Canadian province of
Quebec – home to 6 million people – suffered a power
black-out for eight hours in sub-zero temperatures after
a solar flare caused a vital capacitor on the power grid to
fail, sparking a disastrous sequence of events costing tens
of millions of dollars.
Solar flares are the biggest explosions in the solar system,
unleashing the equivalent of a billion megatons of TNT in
seconds and showering the earth with x-rays and gamma
rays that disrupt satellite-based telecommunication systems
and cause power surges in the world’s electrical grids.
Understanding the causes of solar flares would not only
give greater warning of their occurrence to allow for
protective measures, but could also provide the key to one
of science’s holy grails – fusion energy.
Waikato University’s Professors Ian Craig and Alfred Sneyd,
and Associate Professor Sean Oughton are working at the
cutting edge of astrophysics developing mathematical
models to explain the dynamic nature of the magnetic
fields that rise to the surface of the sun, causing sunspots
that store and release energy – sometimes quietly, and
sometimes explosively in a solar flare.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Marsden Fund,
Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICSFACULTY OF COMPUTING & MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
“Humanity is part of a vast evolving universe…
The forces of nature make existence a demanding
and uncertain adventure...”
The Earth Charter, 2000.
Pho
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40
SUSTAINABILITY
41
Social and
CULTURAL
Adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit, Agenda 21 recognised that sustainable development in
the 21st century would rely upon the ability of healthy communities to develop broad social
compacts. Eliminating poverty, and encouraging participation in decision-making by all social
groups, were just two of a range of social objectives contained within Agenda 21.
A broad platform in educational research at the University of Waikato contributes strongly to
developing healthy communities and social and cultural sustainability. Programmes to improve
Māori educational achievement, and to improve literacy, are just two examples.
The University’s influential National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis
has a well-recognised range of research skills in all aspects of demography and related
disciplines that inform this area of research.
Research contributions in this area by the Waikato Management School include pioneering
work in “poverty-mapping” as a first step to tackling poverty in China. The Management School
is also conducting research into the socio-economic and cultural impacts of biotechnology in
New Zealand, and the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) on social
outcomes. The positive links between business profits and commercial social responsibility is
another emerging area for business research.
Understanding our cultural heritage is another strength of University of Waikato research which
serves to underpin the development of healthy communities and social and cultural sustainability.
Current examples include research into Mau Moko: the world of Māori tattoo, the place of the
piano in our cultural history, and the legacy of imperialism on environmental and health ideas
today. Other research into the effects of global warming and natural disaster in the Pacific rings a
warning bell about the difficulties of relocating island communities.
Research into the attractions of video game violence, and into road safety and driver education,
will also contribute to our knowledge of ourselves from quite different perspectives.
The preservation and dissemination of knowledge is a critical element underpinning social and
cultural sustainability. One of the following case studies outlines University of Waikato research
and development of digital library software. This software is now in use in 60 countries worldwide
and is being used for the collation of information to serve humanitarian purposes and to preserve
heritage collections for future generations.
42
TE KOTAHITANGA: IMPROVING MĀORI STUDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTTe Kotahitanga is a collaborative response to improving
the learning and achievement of those students not well-
served by the education system. The project combines
in-classroom research with professional development for
teachers to improve Māori educational outcomes.
Established in 2001 by the Māori Education Research team
at the Faculty of Education, University of Waikato and
the Ministry of Education’s Poutama Pounamu Research
and Development Centre in Tauranga, the project – which
focuses on Year 9 and 10 in schools – is now being rolled
out in a phased operation involving thousands of teachers
and Māori students.
The research has analysed Māori students’ classroom
experiences and identified teacher attitudes and
classroom practices that make a difference to Māori
students’ achievement, creating an “Effective Teacher
Profile” for implementation in the classroom via teacher
professional development.
Project manager, Professor Russell Bishop, says an effective
teacher develops caring and learning relationships with
students through culturally responsive teaching practices.
Not only are Māori students making measurable gains in
numeracy and literacy, but gains for Māori and Pasifika
students have also been reported across all curriculum
areas in NCEA Level 1. Other benefits reported include
reduced absenteeism, increased student engagement in
the classroom, increased work completion, and an overall
improvement in the schooling experience of
Māori students.
External funding gratefully acknowledged:
Ministry of Education.
TE KOTAHITANGA RESEARCH UNITFACULTY OF EDUCATION
“In a socially sustainable society….education, creativity
and the development of human potential for the whole
population is promoted...”
Social sustainability in Govt3, Ministry for the Environment,
NZ (mfe.govt.nz).
EDUCATION FOR AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY
43
EDUCATION FOR AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY
LESSONS, LITERACY AND LEARNINGHow well do teachers use literacy to focus on their
students’ learning and achievement needs?
That question is at the heart of research at the University
of Waikato’s Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational
Research where Professor Stephen May, Dr Noeline Wright
and Dr David Whitehead have been taking a close look
at how well New Zealand secondary school teachers
integrate literacy into their lessons, and also how it is
integrated into their school’s ethos of learning.
Literacy in this project’s context is about making
unfamiliar text and content more accessible to students.
It enables teachers to be more aware of how well their
students learn and what they can do to improve their
students’ academic success.
The Secondary Schools’ Literacy Project Research Evaluation
2006-2009 has been a major three-year work, and builds
upon the evaluation of an earlier national project which
sought to identify conditions for effective cross-curricular
literacy professional development. This earlier project
showed that schools were in varying stages of readiness to
successfully sustain a literacy focus across the curriculum.
Both projects are unique internationally. The latest
evaluation process provides the Ministry of Education
with not only evidence about effective conditions for
literacy learning, but also evidence that helps it frame
policy surrounding the provision of literacy professional
development. Key features of the research evaluation
include: literacy and learning resourcing for teachers,
student outcomes and the literacy professional
development process.
External funding gratefully acknowledged:
Ministry of Education.
WILF MALCOLM INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHFACULTY OF EDUCATION
“[L]iteracy, especially functional literacy, and quality
education represent a lifelong necessity for all and serve
as an investment in human and social capital and a major
tool for the empowerment of people...”
United Nations Resolution on a UN Literacy Decade,
October 1999.
44
TECHNOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY AND COMMUNITY WELLBEING
CELLPHONES, YOUNG DRIVERS AT HEART OF RESEARCH WORKMajor research projects at the University of Waikato are
providing unbiased and science-based advice about driving
to governments and industry.
The University’s Traffic and Road Safety Research
Group aims to improve the safety, effectiveness and
environmental sustainability of the transport sector by
conducting high-quality research and relaying those
findings in the form of knowledgeable advice.
The group has recently completed research into just how
distracting cellphones are to drivers. It used a state-of-the-
art driving simulator to compare the distraction associated
with passenger and cellphone conversations; that work
informed the recent Government proposal to restrict
cellphone use by drivers.
Another major project was the development of a CD-ROM-
based training product ‘CD-Drives’ for young novice drivers
to practice higher level driving skills such as eye scanning
and hazard perception from the safety of their home
computer. Improving these skills may not only reduce their
crash risk but may also result in smoother eco-driving
styles for more sustainable motoring. Funded by the ACC
and Land Transport NZ (now the NZ Transport Agency), the
training product is freely available to all new drivers (up to
60,000 each year) as part of the Practice programme.
The Traffic and Road Safety Research Group was formed in
1993 and has established an international reputation as
New Zealand’s pre-eminent centre for road safety research.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: AA Driver
Education Foundation, ACC, FRST, Transfund NZ, NZ Transport
Agency, Marsden Fund, and Road Safety Trust.
TRAFFIC AND ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH GROUPSCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGYFACULTY OF ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES
“[R]apid motorization and insufficient investments
in urban-transport planning, traffic management
and infrastructure, are creating increasing problems
in terms of accidents and injury, health, noise,
congestion and loss of productivity.”
Article 7.48, Agenda 21, United Nations Earth
Summit, 1992.
45
VIDEO GAME VIOLENCE: UNDERSTANDING ITS ATTRACTIONS FOR YOUNG NEW ZEALANDERSThe traditional psychological approach to researching
video game violence has been to ask “What do games
do to young people?” rather than “How do young people
use video games?”
The traditional approach seeks to substantiate the harmful
effects of games on individuals who are considered to
lack the knowledge and strategies to make sense of them.
It not only considers young people’s own opinions and
experiences to be irrelevant or unreliable, but it also fails
to take account of the interactive properties of the games
and the medium itself, the social dimension of play, and
the inherently productive cultural practices of gaming.
Above all it fails to ask why young people choose to play
video games and what their opinion is about the content.
To understand and analyse the attraction of video game
violence, University of Waikato senior lecturer in Screen
and Media Studies, Dr Gareth Schott, turns to a new genre
in academic research, Game Studies, to examine video
game violence in context with the culture of gaming,
and the experiences and ideas of the players.
Dr Schott draws together the two separate research
approaches to the subject by assessing the nature of
violent content within video games via the experiences
and articulations of young people themselves. He uses a
combination of methods to give young people a voice
that is all too often absent in what, to date, has been
a one-way debate.
External funding gratefully acknowledged:
Marsden Fund Fast-Start.
SCHOOL OF ARTSFACULTY OF ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES
“In a socially sustainable society…the physical,
mental and social wellbeing of the population is
enhanced or at least not impaired...”
Social sustainability in Govt3, Ministry for the
Environment, NZ, mfe.govt.nz.
TECHNOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY AND COMMUNITY WELLBEING
46
PICTURES
POVERTYTackling
ACTING ON THE BIGGER PICTURE FOR COMMUNITY WELLBEING
THROUGH
47
To handle the enormous volume of data, the researchers
have received funding from the Research and Education
Advanced Network New Zealand (REANNZ) to access a
high capacity, ultra-high speed computer network.
The project uses the Kiwi Advanced Research and
Education Network (KAREN) to link up with experts
at Stanford University and the Chinese Academy of
Sciences to analyse the high-resolution satellite
imagery from China.
There’s huge interest worldwide in research to tackle
poverty, and Professor Gibson – who is a member
of an expert group advising the United Nations
Statistical Division on poverty measurement – believes
the project will give New Zealand researchers valuable
international exposure.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: REANNZ
Capability Build Fund.
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSWAIKATO MANAGEMENT SCHOOLANDNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC ANALYSISFACULTY OF ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES
Nine and a half million pictures could hold the key to
figuring out the best way to help China’s 100 million
poorest citizens, and the methodology to analyse this
data has been developed here in New Zealand by
Professor John Gibson.
Professor Gibson is working with Professor Jacques Poot
and Dr Bonggeun Kim developing an economic model to
precisely predict pockets of poverty. Their model integrates
household survey and census data with environmental data
from high-quality satellite pictures of each of China’s 9.6
million square kilometres.
Professor Gibson has pioneered this type of analysis for a
much smaller country, Papua New Guinea. In China, each
one square kilometre parcel of land has been mapped
using satellite imagery three times since 1988, providing
what Professor Gibson says is an unparalleled resource
for integrating environmental factors with poverty
mapping analyses.
“The struggle against poverty is the shared
responsibility of all countries….A specific anti-poverty
strategy is … one of the basic conditions for ensuring
sustainable development.”
Extracts from articles 3.1-3.2, Agenda 21, United Nations
Earth Summit, 1992.
48
ACTING ON THE BIGGER PICTURE FOR COMMUNITY WELLBEING
“Demographic trends and factors and sustainable
development have a synergistic relationship.”
Article 5.2, Agenda 21, United Nations Earth
Summit, 1992.
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POPULATION STUDIESUnder the direction of Professor Natalie Jackson, the
University of Waikato’s influential Population Studies
Centre has broadened its compass with the establishment
and leadership of the new National Institute of
Demographic and Economic Analysis (NIDEA).
NIDEA is a collaborative venture which brings together, in
a virtual sense, scholars from the former Population Studies
Centre, Waikato Management School, and Wellington-based
Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Trust.
NIDEA draws on research skills in demography, sociology,
gerontology, population and labour economics, spatial
and economic geography, housing, and environmental
regulation to undertake research on issues linking
population and the economy. NIDEA enjoys strong
connections with government and other agencies and
undertakes research for a wide range of end-users.
Within NIDEA’s directorate, Professor Jackson
undertakes research on population ageing and its many
implications, Senior Research Fellow Dr Tahu Kukutai
studies issues affecting Māori and indigenous futures,
and Post Doctoral Fellow Dr Yaqub Foroutan studies
socio-demographic differentials, with a focus on women’s
labour force participation.
Other former Population Studies Centre scholars working
under the NIDEA banner are Professor Jacques Poot, who
studies the integration of immigrants into the labour
market and the effect of immigration on the growth and
productivity of the economy; Professor Richard Bedford,
whose field of interest is immigration policy and
New Zealand’s relations with the Pacific Islands;
and Honorary Professor Peggy Koopman-Boyden who
specialises in research on the elderly in ageing populations.
Emeritus Professor Ian Pool maintains an advisory brief
on all aspects of demographic analysis.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Centre for
Research Evaluation and Social Assessment, Department of
Labour, Foundation for Research Science and Technology,
Hamilton City Council, Marsden Fund, Motu Economic and
Public Policy Research Trust, Tertiary Education Commission,
Waikato Regional Council, and others.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC ANALYSISFACULTY OF ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES
49
ACTING ON THE BIGGER PICTURE FOR COMMUNITY WELLBEING
GLOBAL WARMING, NATURAL DISASTER AND PACIFIC ISLAND COMMUNITIESGlobal warming and rising sea levels could devastate
Pacific Island communities forced to abandon their homes.
Research shows that international relocations of Pacific
Island communities have not worked in the past, and
Associate Professor John Campbell is urging governments
to consider how to deal with the issue before it is forced
upon them.
Dr Campbell, who specialises in natural disaster
management, says natural disasters such as cyclones, and
land rendered uninhabitable by mining, have already forced
the relocation of many Pacific Island communities within
their region – often with poor results.
Most Pacific Islanders have strong attachments to land,
and the more distant the relocation, the higher the chance
of failure. Relocation of whole villages within the Pacific –
even just within an island – can cause cultural problems.
Dr Campbell’s research of colonial era relocations
has identified tensions generations after communities
or villages have been relocated away from their
ancestral lands. An example of international relocation
under the colonial era was that of Ocean Island inhabitants
after phosphate mining had devastated their land.
They went to Rabi Island in northern Fiji in 1945, but
remain one of Fiji’s more politically marginalised and
disadvantaged communities.
Climate change “adaptation” is likely to make international
relocation more common, and the logistics and impacts
need to be considered now, says Dr Campbell.
Those facing the greatest threat posed by global warming
are the 160,000-strong combined populations of four
Pacific Island nations that are made up entirely of atolls.
Moving within the Pacific is likely to pose logistical and
land problems, but moving to Australia or New Zealand
would subject the displaced people to vastly different
economic, legal, political and social systems. Their lives
would forever be changed, and their new hosts would
also face significant social disruption.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: The Asia Pacific
Network for Global Change Research.
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCESFACULTY OF ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES
“Small island developing States are particularly
vulnerable to natural as well as environmental
disasters and have a limited capacity to respond to
and recover from such disasters…[they] could in
some cases become uninhabitable. Therefore, they
are among those particularly vulnerable States that
need assistance … including adaptation measures
and mitigation efforts.”
Barbados Declaration, United Nations Global Conference
on the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States, 1994.
50
SHAPING NEW ZEALAND’S BIOTECHNOLOGY FUTURERecent advances in biotechnology have sparked controversy
and concern about just what scientists are doing in the
labs and how this science is used commercially. This high
level of public interest in the science industry has thrown
up major issues for business and policymakers as they
try to take account of the wide range of often conflicting
viewpoints in their decision-making.
The Government has identified biotechnology as a key
priority for New Zealand’s future, and a multi-disciplinary
team of researchers across five universities and one
Crown Research Institute is engaged in a five-year study
which aims to connect science and society by sharing
ideas, perspectives and knowledge through dialogue
processes. The results of the research will help in the
design of frameworks that will shape New Zealand’s
biotechnology future.
Professor Richard Varey, Professor Jim Barker and Associate
Professor Jarrod Haar, with contributions from Professor
Kay Weaver and Dr Alison Henderson, have extensively
examined the socio-economic and cultural impacts of
biotechnology in New Zealand through surveys, literature
reviews, focus groups, case studies, ‘rich pictures’ and
dialogue forums.
The researchers have sought to develop ways to
create a better understanding of the benefits and
risks of biotechnology, and to develop constructive
engagement between people in the community and in the
biotechnology sector.
As well as producing timely data, the project has
stimulated debate and research around the subject
of science communication, social learning, and public
engagement in social issue decision-making.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Foundation for
Research, Science and Technology.
DEPARTMENT OF MARKETINGDEPARTMENT OF STRATEGY AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ANDDEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATIONWAIKATO MANAGEMENT SCHOOL
“Governments should … review and, where appropriate,
improve the processes of decision-making so as to achieve
the progressive integration of economic, social and
environmental issues in the pursuit of development that is
economically efficient, socially equitable and responsible
and environmentally sound.”
Article 8.4, Agenda 21, United Nations Earth Summit, 1992.
MONITORING THE IMPACTS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES ON SOCIETY
51
THE IMPACTS OF ICT ON WORK AND COMMUNITIESInformation and Communication Technology is ever-
changing and changing the way we run our lives and our
businesses; we want new technology to assist us to change
for the better. A multidisciplinary team centred at the
Waikato Management School has completed a major study
analysing the ways that ICT is influencing and will further
influence social outcomes.
Their research has covered ICT effects on employment
patterns, labour productivity, community cohesion, work
practices and quality of work life. They have also looked
at the social, cultural and economic advancement of
all New Zealanders – particularly specific minority and
disadvantaged groups, including Māori, Chinese, Samoan
and Somali. Initiatives arising from the e-local government
strategy have also been evaluated. More than 1000
volunteer and community groups have been surveyed,
as have farmers, health sector workers, online at-home
workers, and others.
Most recently the researchers have replicated earlier
studies to monitor changes and advancements in ICT that
will help identify opportunities that should empower New
Zealanders to create wealth from these new technologies
as well as enhance our culture and identity.
A team of about 20 has carried out the research – mostly
from Waikato, but also from the University of Canterbury
and Victoria University of Wellington, led by Professor
Ted Zorn from Waikato Management School.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Foundation for
Research, Science and Technology.
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATIONWAIKATO MANAGEMENT SCHOOL
“[E]ducation, knowledge, information and communication
are at the core of human progress, endeavour and well-
being… Information and Communication Technologies
(ICTs) have an immense impact on virtually all aspects
of our lives. The rapid progress of these technologies
opens completely new opportunities to attain higher
levels of development.”
Declaration of Principles, United Nations World Summit
on the Information Society, 2003.
MONITORING THE IMPACTS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES ON SOCIETY
52
THE GLOBAL BENEFITS OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP
DIGITAL LIBRARIESOrganisations in more than 60 countries worldwide
use Greenstone Digital Library software created at the
University of Waikato, making the project’s website
Google’s number one hit for “Greenstone”.
Developed and distributed in cooperation with
UNESCO for humanitarian purposes, this open-source
software allows users of different computer operating
systems to create their own libraries in electronic
format for web publication or distribution on CD or
DVD. Collections of up to 2000 fully-illustrated books in
different languages can be carried “into the field”
on a single CD. Greenstone software has been used
to collate information for disaster relief operations in
Latin America, for combating AIDS in Africa, and for
development project work in French sub-Saharan Africa.
Organisations wanting to collate and preserve libraries
of social, cultural and historical significance are also
turning to Greenstone, such as Kabul University’s
Greenstone-based library of 37,000 documents preserving
Afghani literature, music and cultural heritage, and
Chicago University Library’s significant collection of
early edition works by Chopin.
An early in-house Greenstone project was the Niupepa
collection of Māori-language newspapers from the
Alexander Turnbull Library. It is the largest collection of
on-line Māori documents in existence and has been used
by Māori in pursuit of land claims as well as for legal and
linguistic research.
The original Digital Library project team led by Professor
Ian Witten and Dr David Bainbridge from the University’s
Computer Science department is now moving in two new
directions. Greenstone is focussing on new user-friendly
ways to create and browse multi-media digital libraries.
A spin-off project (Flax) will allow teachers of English as
a second language to create instant interactive resources
from web-based digital libraries.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: NZ Lotteries
Board, four Foundation for Research, Science and Technology
grants, Marsden Fund, Ministry of Education, UNESCO,
Google Inc., and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
NZ DIGITAL LIBRARY PROJECTDEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCEFACULTY OF COMPUTING & MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
“We… declare our common desire and commitment
to build a people-centred, inclusive and development-
oriented Information Society, where everyone can create,
access, utilize and share information and knowledge,
enabling individuals, communities and peoples to
achieve their full potential in promoting their sustainable
development and improving their quality of life...”
Declaration of Principles, United Nations World Summit
on the Information Society, 2003.
53
THE GLOBAL BENEFITS OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP
DOING GOOD IS GOOD FOR BUSINESSPrivate sector business has a role to play in social and
community development. How businesses can do that
and still maximise profits is being researched by a
team at Waikato Management School. Dr Steven Lim,
Dr Michael Cameron, Associate Professor John Tressler
and Annemieke van Soelen are looking at how the links
between profits and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
can be strengthened if private businesses are to maintain
a competitive edge in the global economic environment.
Business managers, perhaps because of commercial
pressures or unfamiliarity with social issues, often overlook
the important contributions that their companies make to
others. Given this knowledge gap and the potential gains
from incorporating social opportunities into commercial
strategy, the researchers have developed a framework to
assist businesses discover the social assets they possess.
The assets, in turn, can enhance the competitiveness of a
firm and provide profitable location opportunities.
The positive links between profits and CSR are an important,
emerging area for business research. Through its research,
the team aims to help managers integrate CSR issues into
their overall business strategies, overturning the commonly
perceived incompatibility between profits and CSR.
For their work in the CSR field, especially the integration
of business location, employment creation and the fight
against HIV/AIDS, the team received a research award
from the International Academy of Business and Public
Administration Disciplines in 2007.
The team’s CSR approach is currently being used in
international leadership training programmes funded
by the Asian Development Bank and other donors, with
trainees from the Pacific, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Asia 2000,
NZAID and others.
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSWAIKATO MANAGEMENT SCHOOL
“[I]n pursuit of its legitimate activities the private sector,
including both large and small companies, has a duty to
contribute to the evolution of equitable and sustainable
communities and societies.”
Article 27, Johannesburg Declaration, United Nations World
Summit on Sustainable Development, 2002.
54
TATTOO
“Cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind
as biodiversity is for nature. In this sense, it is the
common heritage of humanity and should be
recognized and affirmed for the benefit of present
and future generations.”
Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, UNESCO, 2001.
MĀORIMau Moko: the world of
UNDERSTANDING OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE
Take your moko, as your friend forever...
Taia o moko, hei hoa Matenga mou...
Pho
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55
In the traditional Māori world, the moko, or facial and
body tattoo, was part of everyday life. Everyone had
some patterning on their skin. Men wore elaborate
designs on their entire faces; women’s were usually
less complex but elegant, and both sexes had extensive
body work.
After almost disappearing in the 20th century, Māori
skin art is now experiencing a powerful revival, with
many young, urban Māori displaying the moko as a
gesture of ethnic pride and identity.
Mau Moko: the world of Māori tattoo, published by
Penguin, is the result of many years of research by a
team at the Māori and Psychology Research Unit at the
University of Waikato, including Professor Ngahuia Te
Awekotuku, Dr Linda Waimarie Nikora, Mohi Rua and
Rolinda Karapu. The book’s scholarship is enhanced by
historical images, traditional Māori representations, and
the superb portrait photography of Becky Nunes.
The research examined both the traditional and present
day use of moko, and explored the cultural and spiritual
issues surrounding this body art. Early historical records
and manuscript materials were used to review the
history and technology of moko, and present day moko
wearers and artists were interviewed, and invited to
relate dozens of powerful and heart-warming stories.
Community participation was an essential element in
bringing the research together, as well as in taking the
stories, the taonga, and the research back to the people.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Marsden Fund.
MĀORI AND PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH UNITSCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGYFACULTY OF ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES
56
UNDERSTANDING OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE
PIANO RESEARCH HITS RIGHT NOTESThe image of a grand piano on a West Coast beach from
the 1993 Jane Campion film The Piano kept pulling back
University of Waikato lecturer Dr Kirstine Moffat.
Dr Moffat first wrote about The Piano in 2000 and has
since kept returning to the image in the film – a moving
testimony to the personal and cultural value of the
instrument that accompanied its owner to the other
side of the world.
Dr Moffat’s research discovered the piano was a popular
presence in colonial New Zealand culture and society.
It crossed gender, racial and class divides, it held a central
position in homes and public settings, and performers
and audience were united by a love for the instrument
and the music it produced.
By examining the colonial piano’s many uses, by
considering the cultural assumptions that underpinned
its popularity and by offering readings of the piano in
literature and visual arts, this cultural history offers a new
approach to habits of thought in colonial New Zealand.
Dr Moffat has written about “the soundscape of the
colonial New Zealand parlour” in Hearing Places: Sound,
Place, Time and Culture and her wider research findings will
be published in her Piano: A New Zealand Cultural History
1827-1930.
External funding gratefully acknowledged:
Marsden Fund Fast-start.
SCHOOL OF ARTSFACULTY OF ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES
“In a socially sustainable society…our cultural
and biological heritage is preserved, strengthening
our sense of connectedness to our history
and environment...”
Social sustainability in Govt3, Ministry for the
Environment, NZ, mfe.govt.nz.
57
UNDERSTANDING OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE
EMPIRE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANXIETYWe live in a society forged by the experience of empire. It
affects our education, beliefs and values, the language we
speak, and even the pressing social and political issues we
face today.
Scholars hotly debate the merits of imperialism and
its aftermath as we grapple with many of its political
and social legacies today. Few scholars, however, have
investigated the environmental impact of the British
Empire, or the ways in which our imperial legacy has
bound New Zealand to other parts of the world.
This study, headed by University of Waikato history
lecturer Dr James Beattie, investigates the transfer of
environmental and health ideas within and beyond the
British Empire. It reveals the dynamic connections between
imperialism, environmental modification and conservation
in colonial South Asia, New Zealand and Australia.
Most studies represent European expansion as reckless,
confident and profligate. This study presents a picture
of greater complexity. It shows systematic deforestation
was accompanied by anxieties about human-induced
climate change. It reveals colonial fears about the
power of environments to affect health. But it also
argues that conservation was a form of imperial control
that generated revenue and enabled resources to be
more systematically exploited.
Provisionally titled Empire and Environmental
Anxiety, 1760s-1920s, this work will be published
by Palgrave Macmillan.
It will provide a valuable historical background to resource
management issues we face today.
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCESFACULTY OF ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES
“Man is both creature and molder of his
environment….Man has constantly to sum up
experience and go on discovering, inventing, creating
and advancing… Through ignorance or indifference
we can do massive and irreversible harm to the
earthly environment on which our life and well being
depend. Conversely, through fuller knowledge and
wiser action, we can achieve for ourselves and our
posterity a better life in an environment more in
keeping with human needs and hopes.”
Extracts from the Declaration of the United Nations
Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 1972.
58
SUSTAINING AND
DEVELOPING
The significant contribution made by the University of
Waikato to the New Zealand research and innovation system
is demonstrated by the results of the Tertiary Education
Commission’s national assessment of research quality and
performance. This assessment determines funding from the
Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF), and is based on
the quality of staff members’ research, by the number of
postgraduate research-based degree completions, and by
external research income.
Waikato was first in 10 subject areas with more firsts in the
sciences than any other university. The Waikato Management
School and the Faculty of Computing & Mathematical
Sciences can lay claim to being the best in the country as
far as staff research quality is concerned. Waikato also has
the country’s top combined Faculty of Education following
the mergers of university schools of education with regional
teachers’ colleges. (We are ranked first in education when
University and College of Education scores are combined.)
Research provides a valuable source of income. More than
one quarter, or $63.4 million, of the University of Waikato’s
revenue comes from research and research-related activities.
The external research revenue at Waikato is currently
bolstered by 23 Marsden research projects and 11
contracts from the Foundation for Research, Science and
Technology (FRST).
The Marsden Fund is the primary mechanism in New Zealand
for funding pure research, which is investigator-driven, and
undertaken solely to increase knowledge. The outcome of
most pure research is publication in an international peer-
reviewed journal.
FRST funding is usually for team-based collaborative research
lasting several years, and provides a stable platform for the
development of medium to long-term research to address
issues of importance to New Zealand. FRST contracts are
for applied research that involves end users such as industry
partners, government agencies and local authorities. Many
projects support postgraduate students, providing invaluable
experience for the students while increasing the pool of
future research leaders.
Research is an activity central to the life of the University of Waikato. Research informs
the University’s teaching, and advances the knowledge we share with the communities
we serve. In so doing, our research represents a significant asset that serves to underpin
the sustainable development of New Zealand’s economy and society.
Research strengths
University Research
University Research
59
2006 PBRF Quality Evaluation Round:
subject area ranking
Area Subject
University of
Waikato ranked
in top four
Business Accounting & Finance 1st
Economics
Management, Human Resources, Industrial Relations, International Business & Other Business
1st
Marketing & Tourism
Creative Arts Music, Literary Arts & Other Arts 1st
Theatre & Dance, Film & Television & Multimedia
*Education Education 1st
Māori Knowledge & Development Māori Knowledge & Development
Sciences, Engineering, Maths & IT Chemistry 1st
Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Sciences
1st
Earth Sciences
Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour 1st
Engineering & Technology
Molecular, Cellular and Whole Organism Biology 1st
Pure & Applied Mathematics 1st
Statistics
Social Sciences, Humanities and Law
Anthropology and Archaeology
Communications, Journalism and Media Studies 1st
English Language & Literature
Foreign Languages & Linguistics
History, History of Art, Classics and Curatorial Studies
Human Geography
Law
Philosophy
Political Science, International Relations and Public Policy
Psychology
Sociology, Social Policy, Social Work, Criminology & Gender Studies
*When University and College of Education scores are combined the University of Waikato is ranked 1st in education.
60
Current Marsden Fund projects
The Marsden Fund is the primary mechanism in New Zealand for funding pure research, which is undertaken solely to increase
knowledge. The Marsden Fund supports research that is investigator-driven rather than funder or industry-driven. The outcome
of most pure research is publication in an international peer-reviewed journal.
Current Marsden Fund Projects Principal Investigator(s) Contract Value
More than bricks and mortar: Homelessness and social reintegration Assoc Prof Darrin Hodgetts & Assoc Prof Linda Nikora
795,342
Vector addition in the brain: Why the world stays still when we move our eyes Assoc Prof John Perrone 490,000
Wealth and Health Effects of Migration Prof John Gibson 998,035
Local Lingo: Dialect formation and function in the North Island kokako Prof Joseph Waas 655,000
Brain connections via Turing structures Prof Moira Steyn-Ross & Assoc Prof Alistair Steyn-Ross
619,997
New approaches to uncouple thermoactivity from thermostability in enzymes Assoc Prof Vic Arcus & Prof Roy Daniel
985,000
Life at the extreme: resolving the genetic basis of microbial endemism in the super-heated soils of Mt Erebus, Antarctica
Prof Craig Cary 798,000
Taming reactive main group element hydrides Prof Bill Henderson 518,000
Engaging women and migrants in public policy making (Fast Start) Dr Rachel Simon-Kumar 300,000
The role of Māori cultural support for employees and employers (Fast Start) Assoc Prof Jarrod Haar 300,000
What counts as healthy food? Balancing organisational tensions between private and public agendas (Fast Start)
Dr Alison Henderson 300,000
Sustainability at the cross roads: examining the vulnerability of New Zealand's global environmental positioning
Prof Juliet Roper 773,000
Sustainable citizenship: transforming public engagement on new and emerging technologies
Assoc Prof Priya Kurian & Assoc Prof Debashish Munshi
559,000
APAKURA: the Māori way of death. Prof Ngahuia Te Awekotuku & Assoc Prof Linda Nikora
948,000
A new mechanism for post-transcriptional regulation in prokaryotes Assoc Prof Vic Arcus 895,051
Elucidating the origin and ecology of TTX: the phantom marine toxin Prof Craig Cary 750,000
Microbial diversity in the extreme – Abiotically driven biocomplexity in the Antarctic Dry Valleys (Fast Start)
Dr Charles Lee 307,000
Can fi rms spend their way out of a recession? Prof Harald van Heerde 740,000
Why the world does not look fl at to Cyclops and one-eyed pirates: The role of visual motion in human depth perception
Assoc Prof John Perrone 749,058
New views from old soils: reconstructing environmental and climatic change using genetic signals preserved in buried paleosols on dated volcanic-ash beds
Prof David Lowe 825,000
Videogame classifi cation: Assessing the experience of play Dr Gareth Schott 405,000
Playing with reality? Online documentary culture and its users Dr Craig Hight 442,079
Ethnicity counts? A global model of ethnic enumeration (Fast Start) Dr Tahu Kukutai 307,000
Total $14,459,562
Research strengths
61
Current major contracts with the Foundation for
Research, Science and Technology (FRST)
FRST funding is usually for team-based collaborative research lasting several years, and provides a stable platform
for the development of medium to long-term research to address issues of importance to New Zealand. FRST
contracts are for applied research that involves end users such as industry partners, government agencies and local
authorities. Many projects support postgraduate students, providing invaluable experience for the students while
increasing the pool of future research leaders.
Contract Name Contract Leader Contract Value
Te Hau Mihi Ata: Mātauranga Māori – Informing Science and Biotechnology
Prof Linda Smith 1,060,783
International multimedia management and delivery: a new service industry for New Zealand
Assoc Prof David Bainbridge 2,286,504
Towards autonomous network management through advanced measurement, large scale simulation and application of machine learning
Assoc Prof Tony McGregor 1,536,000
Software providing automated analysis and quality control of analytical data for the detection and measurement of chemical contaminants in foods and the environment
Prof Geoff Holmes 1,825,440
Engineering energy effi ciency in powder plants Prof Peter Kamp 3,905,296
Restoring Freshwater Ecosystems and Resurrecting Indigenous Lake Biodiversity
Prof David Hamilton 9,876,000
Processing Titanium Alloy Powders into Near Net Shaped Components and Corrosion Resistant Coatings
Prof Deliang Zhang 2,399,563
Engaging Senior Stakeholders: Positive Ageing at the Elder-Organisation Interface
Prof Ted Zorn 1,050,000
Tectono-sedimentary framework for increased oil & gas resource exploration in New Zealand's frontier basins
Prof Peter Kamp 2,700,000
Restoration of Indigenous Ecosystems in Urban Environments Prof Bruce Clarkson 894,000
Enhancing titanium alloy powder consolidation capabilities of New Zealand Industry
Prof Deliang Zhang 1,225,356
Total Investment $27,533,586
62
Specialist research facilities
Electron Microscope Facility
The core instruments of the Electron
Microscope Facility are the Hitachi
S-4700 Field Emission Scanning Electron
Microscope (SEM) with Quorum
Technologies Cryo-system, and the Philips
CM30 High Resolution Transmission
Electron Microscope (TEM). Both have
x-ray analytical capability for elemental
analysis. The SEM system allows high
magnification imaging and elemental
analysis of small samples including
hydrated materials. Sample type may
range from bacteria and plant material
to metal alloys. The TEM facilitates high
resolution imaging of crystallographic and
structural features of very thin samples.
The microscopes are used predominantly
for research and teaching. The SEM also
has commercial applications including the
imaging and analysis of contaminants,
particularly important in the food, dairy
and water industries where quality
assurance is important.
Mass Spectrometry Facility
The Waikato Mass Spectrometry Facility is part of the Faculty
of Science & Engineering. The facility manages, operates
and maintains the faculty's range of high-performance mass
spectrometers. The instrumentation supports research and
teaching activities within the faculty and a range of services
are available to external institutions and industrial clients.
The facility is a Bruker Daltonics Centre of Excellence.
The University of Waikato has a number of specialist research facilities that
were established to support university teaching and research, but which are
also available for external contract work.
63
Stable Isotope Research Facilities
The Waikato Stable Isotope Unit (WSIU) offers precision analyses of isotopes of carbon and
nitrogen in biological, geological, and chemical materials by isotope ratio mass spectrometry.
Isotopic abundance analysis is carried out on two fully automated Europa Scientific 20/20
isotope analysers. Materials may be submitted as solids, liquids, or gases, for example, for breath
analyses. Precision analyses of carbon and nitrogen content in solid or liquid samples are also
provided with a LECO TruSpec Carbon/Nitrogen Determinator fitted with an autosampler for
liquids. The WSIU provides commercial analyses and also services the needs of scientists at
the University of Waikato and their collaborators, promoting the use of stable isotopes in all
branches of research. The unit operates under the Department of Biological Sciences and the
staff are highly experienced in the use of stable isotopes, both natural abundance and enriched
tracers, particularly in biological and environmental research. In 2006 the WSIU was accredited
by the International Atomic Energy Agency for analyses of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content
and isotopes 13C and 15N in plant materials.
Stable Isotope Geochemistry at the
University of Waikato is carried out in a
separate facility within the Department of
Earth and Ocean Sciences. Measurements
of stable oxygen and carbon isotope ratios
in carbonates are made with an automated
Europa Scientific Penta 20/20 isotope ratio
mass spectrometer with CAPS preparation
system. Determinations on prepared CO2
can also be performed.
Waikato Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory
The Waikato laboratory is a national radiocarbon facility undertaking both Standard Radiometric
Dating and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Dating (AMS). The facility is an independent unit
within the Faculty of Science & Engineering, and has been operating for more than 25 years.
It is funded by external commercial customers and research grants, and is used to support
radiocarbon dating and Faculty of Science & Engineering research programmes. Staff in the unit
are actively involved in palaeoclimate and archaeological research and have a leading role in
international calibration programmes.
Waikato DNA Sequencing Facility
The Waikato DNA Sequencing Facility (WDSF) is part of the Department of Biological Sciences in
the Faculty of Science & Engineering. The facility offers DNA sequencing and genotyping services
via capillary based DNA analysis systems. The WDSF provides sequencing and genetic profiling
services for researchers from a wide variety of engineered, synthetic and environmental DNA
templates using energy transfer and fluorescent chemistries.
Waikato Centre for Applied Statistics
The Waikato Centre for Applied Statistics is attached to the Department of Statistics in the
Faculty of Computing and Mathematical Sciences and serves to foster the development and
effective use of statistical methods in research and industry. It carries out applied research,
contributes to courses in applied statistics and provides professional advice to University and
external clients. Some of the centre’s activities are carried out in cooperation with statisticians
at the Ruakura Research Centre.
64
Maintaining and building the University’s capabilities and capacity for research was a
major driver behind the formation of the Research Hub.
The Research Hub serves as the front door of the University
of Waikato for commercial and research activity. Providing
access to the University's research and development,
consultancy services and specialist resources, it links users
and sponsors of research and technology with the experts
who can get the job done.
By bringing together staff from UniLink, WaikatoLink,
Postgraduate Studies, and Scholarships, the Research Hub
brings together the operations that support and sustain
university scholarship and research, and that manage
our contractual relationships with our research partners
and investors.
The Research Hub administers the University’s 400-plus
externally-funded research and consultancy contracts held
with government agencies, local bodies, Crown Research
Institutes, research foundations, private industry and overseas
partners such as the World Bank and Google Inc. It maintains
information systems to support high quality research
reporting, (including databases on which the University’s
PBRF funding is reliant), and structures the University’s expert
services and use of its specialist facilities to meet customers’
research and development needs in a variety of ways. For
example, the Research Hub can offer expert services through
collaborative programmes, Technology New Zealand schemes,
student research projects, staff secondments, sponsored
positions, consultancy and other contractual services. It also
undertakes technology and research business development,
and offers intellectual property (IP) licensing and investment
opportunities to industry.
At the Research Hub, the Postgraduate Studies and
Scholarships teams work together to maintain the
University’s high levels of graduate and postgraduate
students, to encourage them into taking their first steps into
a research career, and to support the rising new generation
of researchers. Currently about 30% of our total enrolled
students are at graduate or postgraduate level.
The Research Hub
65
Research income 2004-2009
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Annual income from research contracts
$18.398M $20.137M $20.317M $23.296M $21.894M $27.838M
Total number of FTE (Research staff)
529 530 507 508 505 500
Average research grant per FTE (Research staff )
$34,808 $37,971 $40,074 $45,897 $43,355 $55,676
Total Research Related Income (includes annual income from research contracts)
$28.885M $33.237M $40.988M $46.450M $50.488M $63.434M
All figures exclude GST.
Total value of active contracts
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
$72.378M $80.548M $85.050M $104.999M $115.357M $120.574M
All figures exclude GST.
66
Commercialising research
Most technologies resulting from research are not in a
form that can be taken to market, or even pitched to
investors. WaikatoLink established the Hothouse to address
this problem, as well as to give valuable experience to the
University’s brightest graduates and students. The Hothouse
progresses a diverse range of innovations from concept
through to commercial prototype. As well as assisting
with internal University projects, the Hothouse has been a
valuable resource for local businesses and industry. A number
of companies have contracted the services of the Hothouse
particularly in the science, engineering and information and
communication technology fields.
WaikatoLink is also responsible for the identification,
protection and commercialisation of intellectual property (IP)
generated by the University. Commercialisation is through
selling or licensing IP, partnerships and joint ventures, or
establishment of start-up companies.
Since 2002, WaikatoLink has completed numerous licensing
deals and established more than 12 start-up companies
and joint ventures. Spin-out companies from the University
of Waikato have collectively created more than 138
full-time equivalent jobs and achieved market capitalisation
nearing $200 million. Three start-ups have already been
successfully exited.
WaikatoLink’s commercialisation performance has been
benchmarked against US universities and it consistently ranks
in the top 3% of university commercialisation offices (based
on Association of University Technology Managers' data).
WaikatoLink’s track record has translated into support from
industry and investors. For example, a WaikatoLink-led
consortium secured $4.9 million, the largest amount of
pre-seed funding to commercialise university research, from
the Foundation of Research, Science and Technology (FRST)
in 2008. WaikatoLink has also been successful in attracting
private investment for its spin-off companies and generating
successful returns.
WaikatoLink is the University’s research business development and
technology commercialisation arm.
67
ZyGEM
ZyGEM is one of WaikatoLink’s greatest success stories. ZyGEM
is a spin-off company that commercialises a DNA extraction
method developed collaboratively by University of Waikato and
University of Auckland researchers. The extraction method involves
a unique single closed-tube cycling process, three times faster
than conventional methods, and represents a breakthrough tool for
DNA processing and testing laboratories. ZyGEM is growing rapidly
in its pursuit of the billion-dollar global market for DNA tests,
which reflects the quality of ZyGEM’s science and its approach
to commercialisation. Nearly $4 million of external funds were
invested by Endeavour Capital and a number of other high net
worth individuals.
Successes in the information and communication technology area include joint
ventures Khipu Systems and Rural Link, CLIMsystems, Ectus and Endace.
Khipu Systems
Khipu Systems is a joint venture formed in 2006 with
New Zealand’s largest privately owned analytical lab, Hill
Laboratories. Khipu Systems provides high value smart software
solutions that enable labs throughout the world to increase the
quality and speed of their sample testing. The platform technology
leveraged by Khipu’s software is based on WEKA, an award-winning
Machine Learning tool developed by the University’s Computer
Science team. Sales have already been made to one of Europe’s
largest analytical labs (BLGG), highlighting the world-class
quality of the technology. Endeavour Capital has invested
$1 million into Khipu Systems.
Rural Link
Rural Link is a joint venture formed in 2006 with local rural IT
solutions provider, Rezare Systems. Rural Link is transferring
telecommunications capabilities of the Faculty of Computer &
Mathematical Science’s WAND group to the rural sector. The
WAND group has been building rural community networks using
this equipment since 2002. Through the networks and expertise
of Rezare, this new joint venture will provide valuable enabling
telecommunications solutions to the Waikato dairy sector, as well
as to rural communities throughout the country that are unable
to access broadband technology.
Commercialisation success stories
68
Titanox
Titanox Development Ltd was established in 1997 to develop
market-ready products based on novel methods of producing
titanium powders invented by Professor Deliang Zhang of the
Department of Engineering at Waikato University. The company is
currently building a pilot plant to scale up the technology.
Ectus
Ectus was a spin-off company established in 2004 which grew out
of a specialist e-learning unit within the University of Waikato. Its
products included a software package that seamlessly combines
video conferencing, online forums and video archiving for educators
and businesses alike. Ectus PLACE and Ectus MEDIA, were the
foundation technologies which rapidly developed into marketable
forms. Endeavour iCAP provided start-up capital of $1.2 million,
Technology New Zealand granted $300,000 for further research,
and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise supplied $20,000 for a
branding strategy. Ectus has now been bought by Norwegian-listed
multinational TANDBERG, a leading provider of communication
products and services.
CLIMsystems
CLIMsystems is a spin-off company founded in 2004, based upon
a decade of research and development carried out by Waikato
University's International Global Change Centre. CLIMsystems is
dedicated to helping individuals and organisations find sustainable
solutions to problems arising from global environmental change.
It achieves this through the provision of software products and
related services for assessing the potential risks posed by climate
change and variability, and for evaluating adaptation options.
Endace
Endace is a global leader in network monitoring, latency
measurement and application acceleration solutions. It is
recognised by an elite, worldwide client base of blue chip
corporations, government agencies and telecommunications
providers. Endace’s core technology was initially developed by a
University research team led by Professor Ian Graham in the period
1995 to 2001. Endace was founded in 2001, was admitted to the
Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange
in 2005, and reported revenues of US$30.3 million in 2009.
Commercialisation success stories
Research Hub
Phone: +64 7 838 4050
Email: [email protected]
Website: waikato.ac.nz/research
This document is printed on sustainable paper using vegetable inks.
Contents
Message from the Vice-Chancellor 2
Foreword 3
The University of Waikato 4
Leading the way to a sustainable future 6
The Drive for Environmental
Sustainability
ECOSYSTEMS
Antarctica – a diversity of life in waiting 10
Restoring the life to native forest remnants 12
Restoring a city’s natural ecosystems 13
$10 million battle to save the lakes 14
SUSTAINABLE SOILS
Are New Zealand pastures gaining or losing soil
carbon and nitrogen, and why? 16
Soil microbial diversity, composting and enrichment 17
SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES
From energy savings to export competitiveness 18
Titanium alloys 19
PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability: are businesses walking the talk? 20
International Global Change Centre (IGCC) 21
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND
REGULATORY CONTROL
Protected areas and international law 22
The economic way to cleaner water 23
Supporting Economic
Sustainability
ECONOMIC MONITORING
Monitoring the economic pulse of the Waikato 26
Temporary migration programme is a winner
all round 27
EDUCATING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE
Taking science and biotechnology to the classroom 28
Enhancing primary student-teacher interactions
in science and technology 30
ADDING VALUE TO THE MEAT INDUSTRY
Animal protein becomes biodegradable plastic 31
Bovine bone replacement 32
SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT
Identifying sustainable aquaculture
management areas 33
DEVELOPING INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES FOR
PRIMARY INDUSTRY
Keeping farmers online 34
Machine learning has a special chemistry 35
VALUABLE NEW PRODUCTS FROM UNIQUE
BIOLOGICAL SOURCES
Genes, enzymes and microbes: the gems of
industrial biotechnology 36
Sweet university research 37
UNDERSTANDING THE FORCES OF NATURE
Solar flares – unlocking the secrets of
the Sun’s energy 38
9 25
Research and Innovation
Leading the way to a
SUSTAINABLE
FUTURE
RE
SE
AR
CH
AN
D IN
NO
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TIO
N: L
EA
DIN
G T
HE
WA
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O A
SU
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AB
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FU
TU
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N E W N E W Z E A L A N D I D E A S
The University of Waikato Toll Free: 0800 WAIKATO
Private Bag 3105 0800 924 528
Hamilton 3240 Email: [email protected]
New Zealand Website: waikato.ac.nz
©The University of Waikato, September 2010.