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The business of using AI in medicine for a faster cure How is a Canterbury Business School lecturer with a background in computer science and artificial intelligence (AI) helping to speed up the development of medicines? “It costs millions of dollars to produce a new medicine, and takes a long time before it can be…
In a nutshell – ancient food scraps provide clues to past rainfall Ancient food scraps found at Australia’s earliest site of human occupation, in the Kakadu region, are helping researchers generate rainfall records dating back 65,000 years. Magela Creek floodplain (Mirrar Counntry). Photo courtesy of the University of Queensland. Using the nutshell of anyakngarra –…
Why the COVID-19 variants are so dangerous and how to stop them spreading In a new article on The Conversation, UC and AoC researchers warn that with new, more infectious variants of COVID-19 detected at New Zealand’s border, the risk of further level 3 or 4 lockdowns is increased if those viruses get into the…
Two University of Canterbury (UC) mathematicians have been granted $710,000 from Te Pūtea Rangahau a Marsden, the Marsden Fund, to investigate mathematical models for extinction events in the tree of life. Using a mathematical and algorithmic framework, Distinguished Professor Mike Steel and Professor Charles Semple hope to address some fundamental questions in biodiversity theory and…
Kiwiana is past its use-by date. Is it time to re-imagine our symbols of national identity? Kiwiana can offer profits and comforting nostalgia, but Kate Pickles explains that a closer examination reveals that this set of symbols representing colonial settler narratives is no longer fit for purpose in the 2020s. Definitions of Kiwiana vary and…
Getting your kids off screen and on board University of Canterbury Associate Professors Kathryn MacCallum & Cheryl Brown, Co-Directors of Te Puna Rangahau i-Ako | Digital Education Futures Lab discuss the pros and cons of our children’s increasing screen time, and how to deal with it this summer. University of Canterbury Associate Professor Cheryl Brown…
Cutbacks to Classics a Retrograde Step Following the Ministry of Education’s recent decision to remove Classics from NCEA Level 1, UC Associate Professor Patrick O’Sullivan discusses why this change will take away an opportunity for students to be challenged while learning valuable interdisciplinary skills, which can help produce the kind of global citizens the world…
New Year’s honours for UC academics and alumni who make a difference Years of internationally-recognised work in politics, climate change and youth engagement have been honoured in Aotearoa New Zealand’s 2021 New Year’s Honours list for University of Canterbury (UC) Professor of Political Science Bronwyn Hayward. Professor Hayward is director of UC’s Hei Puāwaitanga: Sustainable…
First of its kind study underway on how NZ accent changes in childhood In a first of its kind study, two University of Canterbury (UC) research institutes – the New Zealand Institute of Language, Brain and Behaviour (NZILBB) and Child Well-being Research Institute – will be investigating these fascinating shifts in accent from age 5….
UC – a 5 Star university UC has retained its 5 Star rating in the latest star-rating release by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). UC received 5 Stars in all eight areas it was assessed in, including teaching, employability, internationalisation, research, facilities, innovation, inclusiveness, and subject ranking for Civil and Structural Engineering. In the latest round of…
US incredibly vulnerable as Trump is impeached UC Head of Political Science Professor Alex Tan comments on the impeachment of Donald Trump. Alex Tan is Head of Department and Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Canterbury. It is more a move towards restoring some order and re-emphasize the concept that…
Start-up support for COVID-19 impacted jobseekers People who lost their job because of COVID-19 are offered a chance to kick-start their new business idea as part of an innovative new Christchurch programme. The programme, Start Me Up, will guide potential business owners or those interested in learning about the start-up process, and who are currently…
Most people can’t identify deadly rip current – UC expert A new study has found that two-thirds of people who could spot a rip current in photographs could not pick one out in real life. People should always swim between the flags at a lifeguarded beach. Photo: SLSNZ On average, five people fatally drown in…
UC scientists fire volcanic missiles to help Auckland prepare for threats University of Canterbury scientists unleashing volcanic ballistics onto Kiwi roofs hope to help Aucklanders understand and manage their volcanic hazards. PhD candidate Nicole Allen, left, and Volcanic Hazard and Impact Research Assistant Amilea Sork attach the volcanic rock to “the cannon”, an air-pressure based…
UC scientists fire volcanic missiles to help Auckland prepare for threats University of Canterbury scientists unleashing volcanic ballistics onto Kiwi roofs hope to help Aucklanders understand and manage their volcanic hazards. Professor Thomas Wilson: “Our role as researchers is to put that [volcanic eruption] risk in context and understand what the likely impacts are…” “Our…
Most people can’t identify deadly rip current – UC expert A new study has found that two-thirds of people who could spot a rip current in photographs could not pick one out in real life. People should always swim between the flags at a lifeguarded beach. On average, five people fatally drown in rip currents…
Measuring the frozen ocean from the sky A Kiwi research team has, for the first time ever, used a fixed wing aircraft to measure the thickness of a huge area of sea ice in Antarctica. The ice thickness was measured using a Basler BT-67 (a modified DC-3) plane towing a piece of equipment called an…
Getting your kids off screen and on board University of Canterbury Associate Professors Kathryn MacCallum & Cheryl Brown, Co-Directors of Te Puna Rangahau i-Ako | Digital Education Futures Lab discuss the pros and cons of our children’s increasing screen time, and how to deal with it this summer. University of Canterbury Associate Professor Cheryl Brown…
Cutbacks to Classics a Retrograde Step Following the Ministry of Education’s recent decision to remove Classics from NCEA Level 1, UC Associate Professor Patrick O’Sullivan discusses why this change will take away an opportunity for students to be challenged while learning valuable interdisciplinary skills, which can help produce the kind of global citizens the world…
Kiwiana is past its use-by date. Is it time to re-imagine our symbols of national identity? Kiwiana can offer profits and comforting nostalgia, but Kate Pickles explains that a closer examination reveals that this set of symbols representing colonial settler narratives is no longer fit for purpose in the 2020s. Definitions of Kiwiana vary and…
How quickly can the Covid-19 vaccine make travel possible? Will travel ever look the same again? Professor Colin Michael Hall and colleagues from University of Oulu and Wakayama University provide expert insight in article on The Conversation. The recently-announced trans-Tasman bubble between Australia and New Zealand is one of the few options for international travel…
Kiwi adults know more te reo than they realise, UC study reveals Even when they can’t speak te reo Māori, New Zealanders have a surprisingly sophisticated knowledge of the language, newly published University of Canterbury research shows. Principal Investigator Professor Jen Hay and co-author Professor Jeanette King of UC’s New Zealand Institute of Language, Brain…
Graduate with passion for problem-solving lands software engineering role Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) student Exequiel Bahamonde Cárcamo says UC’s full-year projects and internship opportunities were invaluable in teaching him how software engineers work in industry. “My degree has given me the skills to break down problems and tackle them…
The scholar who created a world-class music school The University of Canterbury’s School of Music’s public-facing and performance activities moved in 2017 to UC’s original campus, now the Christchurch Arts Centre, when the old Chemistry Building came up for lease. Firstly, the school needed a leader who could modernise and revise its curriculum to align…
The scholar who created a world-class music school in post-quake Christchurch The University of Canterbury’s School of Music’s public-facing and performance activities moved in 2017 to UC’s original campus, now the Christchurch Arts Centre, when the old Chemistry Building came up for lease. Firstly, the school needed a leader who could modernise and revise its…
How to keep COVID-19 at bay during the summer holidays — and help make travel bubbles a reality in 2021 University of Canterbury academics Michael Plank and Alex James say with the summer holidays about to begin, we need to remain vigilant to keep COVID-19 at bay in The Conversation. But as the prime minister…
UC equips environmental scientists to make a difference In a first for Aotearoa New Zealand, the University of Canterbury (UC) is offering a new four-year degree to upskill environmental scientists during a time of rising concern about climate change. UC’s Director of Environmental Science Professor Sally Gaw says environmental scientists are needed to step up…
Award-winning project launches UC graduate’s career An award-winning project into the 3D visualisation of an aerospace launch vehicle has launched University of Canterbury (UC) graduate Flynn Doherty’s career with leading aerospace manufacturer and satellite launch company Rocket Lab. Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Engineering, Professor Jan Evans-Freeman presented software engineering student, Flynn Doherty with the People’s Choice Award…
Canterbury Distinguished Professor Roy Kerr gives Black Hole lecture via Zoom The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is awarding the Oskar Klein Medal to the University of Canterbury’s renowned Canterbury Distinguished Professor Roy Kerr. Canterbury Distinguished Professor Roy Kerr is an eminent mathematician, known internationally for discovering the Kerr solution, an exact solution to the…
Marine protection falls short of the 2020 target, a UN treaty and lessons from Antartica could help World leaders pledged to establish a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) with the goal to protect 10% of the world’s oceans by 2020, but MPAs only cover 7.66% of the ocean across the globe. University of Canterbury’s…