Alison Ballance
Our Changing World for 10 September 2020
An ecologist and a mathematician are collaborating on open source software called AviaNZ that will allow a computer to identify bird calls. Audio
A decade of earthquakes
Ten years after the Darfield earthquake, three seismologists from GeoNet reflect on a decade of big earthquakes and what we've learnt from them. Audio
Our Changing World for 3 September 2020
Three seismologists from GeoNet reflect on the decade of big earthquakes that began 10 years ago with the Darfield earthquake in Canterbury. Audio
Our Changing World for 27 August 2020
A time-travelling climate scientist is using dead corals to investigate past marine climates in the Pacific. Audio
Green chemistry - better, safer, more sustainable
From safer solvents to make better batteries, to catalysts that can clean up wastewater, green chemists are developing better ways of making stuff. Audio
Our Changing World for 20 August 2020
Scientists at the Centre for Green Chemical Science at the University of Aukalnd, are developing cleaner greener processes and products. Audio
Our Changing World for 13 August 2020
The sensory lab at AUT is used for food testing and tests can involve all the senses, including sound. Audio
In search of southern right whales
Emma Carroll talks about the return of southern right whales from the edge of extinction and a project asking the public to report whale sightings. Audio
‘The week that snowed’ – shedding new light on old weather records
Take some old weather records. Add citizen scientists. Mix in machine learning. Result = something that might help predict future weather patterns. Audio
Our Changing World for 30 July 2020
In search of southern right whales and digitising old weather records to predict future climate. Audio
Voices from Antarctica 8: Under the ice
Tiny plants that live on the underside of sea ice form an upside-down garden that feeds krill and is the base of the Antarctic food web. Video, Audio
Voices from Antarctica 7: What the ice is saying
Researchers are using hot water to drill through the Ross ice shelf, to discover what has happened to Antarctic ice during previous periods of warm climates. Audio
Voices from Antarctica 6: Seal songs
Alison Ballance eavesdrops on the songs of the world's southern-most mammal, the Weddell seal, and finds out about sea ice. Audio
‘Melting ice & rising seas’ team wins PM Science Prize
A team finding links between melting ice sheets in Antarctica and rising sea levels in NZ has won the 2019 Prime Minister's Science Prize. Audio
Wheelie bin robot inventor wins science prize
Student Thomas James wanted to help his elderly neighbour, so he invented a wheelie bin robot to take her large recycling bin to the kerb. Audio
Passionate maths teacher wins a PM’s Science Prize
Michelle Dalrymple, winner of the 2019 Prime Minister's Science Teacher's Prize, says being mathematically literate is an important life skill. Audio
Our Changing World for 2 July 2020
Winners of the 2019 Prime Minister's Science Prizes include a team studying melting ice and rising seas, a maths teacher and a young inventor. Audio
Prime Minister's science prizes awarded
Prizes worth a million dollars were handed out yesterday afternoon at the virtual Prime Minister's Science Prizes award ceremony.
The Prizes recognise the impact of science on New Zealanders' lives… Audio
Voices from Antarctica 5: Waiting for Emperors
Emperor penguin researchers are waiting for tagged birds to return, and an elderly radar system sheds light on a very windy part of the atmosphere. Audio
Voices from Antarctica 4: Best journey in the world
Alison Ballance meets a colony of Emperor penguins and their NIWA researchers, and finds out about making water on the frozen continent Audio