Public lectures 2018
-
Why romantic poetry still matters
Professor Heidi Thomson dares you to read Romantic poetry for its pure power.
-
Medicinal cannabis: A welcome relief?
Dr Fiona Hutton and Dr Denise Taylor ask why legalisation of cannabis for medical purposes is so controversial in New Zealand?
-
Glaciers and ice sheets in a changing climate
Professor Mackintosh explains how recent breakthroughs help answer questions about past, present and future glacier and ice-sheet response to climate change.
-
The criminalisation of poverty in New Zealand
Professor Lisa Marriott questions whether those who are least advantaged fare worse than those who are in relatively privileged positions.
-
From minds to culture, and back again
Professor Fischer discusses the reasons why our cultures value different things, work together in different ways and have different ideas about happiness.
-
Ladies at Home: Language and Culture in Edwardian Wellington
Professor Macalister discusses Language and Culture in Edwardian Wellington
-
Plate Tectonics of Zealandia
Professor Sutherland explains how scientific drilling and exploration in this area has provided new insight into how plate tectonics work.
-
The Voice of Architecture
Professor Brown reflects upon how the humanities and social sciences provide a voice to all New Zealand industries and professions, particularly architecture.
-
The ideology of the skyscraper
Professor Joanna Merwood-Salisbury will discuss the complicated history of the early skyscraper.
-
Acknowledging state abuse in New Zealand
Dr Stanley asks how acknowledgement of state abuse can be undertaken in a way that goes beyond lip service.
-
Leading for integrity: Opportunities and challenges for ethical leadership
Professor Lasthuizen shares research into the opportunities and challenges for ethical leadership to make a difference in our society.
-
Data science and artificial intelligence: challenges and opportunities
The Institute’s Chief Executive, Professor Sir Alan Wilson, describes the Institute’s work, the challenges it seeks to address, and the future of data science.
-
Re-building the web we want
Dr Markus Luczak-Roesch and Dr Kathleen Kuehn consider what we can do in the future to navigate a brave new media world.
-
What is Bitcoin?
Dr Robert Kirkby discusses Blockchain technology, in particular cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.
-
Science Communication: From practitioner to scholar and back again
Dr Priestley talks about blending a professional career in science communication with her academic career at Victoria University of Wellington.
-
Climate change: What can we do?
The changing climate is reshaping our way of life: how and where we live, how we feed ourselves and what holds our societies together.
-
Evolving Biotechnology
Professor David Ackerley describes engineering enzymes using “directed evolution” – a Darwinian approach of randomly mutating a single target gene.
-
Unmaking American greatness: Trump, populism, and American foreign policy
Rob Rabel and Malcolm McKinnon review American foreign policy over the past seven decades and its struggles with isolationism.