MBIE Science and Innovation

Today is Ada Lovelace day, and the Royal Society Te Apārangi have published a special feature on three recent Marsden Fund awardees. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/gqnRPhFX

Congratulations to Professor of Anatomy and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Departmental Science Advisor Dr Louise Parr-Brownlie who is one of three winners of this year’s Age Concern New Zealand Huia Awards! 👏 The Age Concern Huia Awards recognise those who have made outstanding contributions to the well-being of older New Zealanders. Age Concern New Zealand Chief Executive Karen Billings-Jensen says, “This year’s winners have shown remarkable dedication, passion, and perseverance in their work, while creating lasting positive impacts in their communities”.   Louise was recognised for her significant contributions to neuroscience and her advocacy for health equity in older adults, particularly in Māori and Pacific communities. Through her work she has advanced understanding of movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, leading to innovative therapies. Her leadership has also been instrumental in fostering interdisciplinary research and mentoring the next generation of scientists, making her a transformative figure in the field of ageing and health. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g6RSxgSq  

❗ Applications for Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund 2025 are due in less than 2 weeks - by 12 noon, 16 October 2024.   Approximately $2 million is available to fund new proposals that strengthen capability, capacity, skills and networks between Māori and the science, innovation and technology system and increase understanding of how scientific research can contribute to the aspirations of Māori organisations and deliver benefit for New Zealand.   All eligible applications will be assessed by three members of our independent assessment panel against the assessment criteria. Learn more about the panel members and call for proposals - including the assessment criteria for Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund 2025 - on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website 💻 https://lnkd.in/gdKXjU2E

🥼 As a quantum physicist, Professor David Hutchinson is well versed in theories of superposition and entanglement. For the past three years he’s also traversed two separate but inextricably linked parts of our science system as a departmental science advisor at MBIE. Before his part-time secondment drew to a close last week, we caught up with David to learn more about his time at the Ministry and what it means to provide a connection between science in policy and science in practice. “I think one of the key roles we fulfil is being a voice for the science sector inside MBIE,” David says. “This involves providing a little bit of a sense check around policy developments and how they’re going to practically impact institutions and individuals in the science system. "There've been opportunities to feed into the development of the Tāwhia te Mana Fellowships and changes to the Endeavour Fund. Another really interesting piece of work was around digital sequencing information from genomics data to feed into an international treaty on biodiversity. There’re a lot of sensitivities around genomic data in relation to taonga species and I learnt a lot through this work.” David also acted as a trusted partner for Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, sharing information with the sector and allaying concerns. “Before I started in the role, that was certainly something I’d seen through Gary Evans – MBIE’s former Chief Science Advisor. He’d been my conduit into MBIE and anyone to whom I needed to speak. He was the person who could point me in the right direction from that point of view and that’s something I tried to continue." MBIE’s team of science advisors sits within the Ministry’s Space and Science Branch, but their remit extends to all parts of MBIE. “I’ve had some great interactions on cybersecurity and the future of digital security in a quantum era, for example," David says. For many in New Zealand, 2023 will be remembered for its extreme weather. The Auckland Anniversary floods were followed by Cyclone Gabrielle and David worked with the MBIE team on an urgent science response. “That was a very intense period. You realise the sheer scale of the impact on people’s lives. Everyone was working quickly across teams and even across agencies to get science funding to where it was most needed to aid the response and recovery. "There was a real sense of mahi tahi (better together), showing the professionalism and the dedication of MBIE staff. I am based in Dunedin but I was here (Wellington) every week at that time, much to my wife’s chargrin,” he recalls. Overall, David describes his time as a departmental science advisor as “a very rewarding three years". "For me, the biggest takeaway is how good the people are," he says. Thanks David for all you’ve contributed as an MBIE Departmental Science Advisor over the past three years! We've enjoyed working with you. 📷 David Hutchinson, credit: Alan Dove Photography

📅 Reminder that online roadshows for the Endeavour Fund 2025 Investment Round are happening this week! Free registrations are still open for our 3 online roadshows. We will provide everything you need to know about the 2025 Investment Round for both the Smart Ideas and Research Programmes funding mechanisms. The first hour is a webinar presentation followed by an hour for Q&A. Details for each roadshow and links to register are below: 💡 Wednesday, 2 October 9.30am - 11:30am – Register at: https://lnkd.in/gy_KvhBr 💡 Thursday, 3 October 9am - 11:00am – Register at: https://lnkd.in/gaHYV8F3 💡 Monday, 7 October 12:30pm – 2:30 pm – Register at: https://lnkd.in/grSjWZzP

📢 Applications for the Endeavour Fund 2025 are now open. The Endeavour Fund supports excellent research that pushes boundaries and delivers results to transform New Zealand’s economy, environment, and society. The Fund uses an open, contestable mechanism to select excellent research proposals that will support groundbreaking research and provide the highest potential impacts to drive positive change across New Zealand. Two funding mechanisms are available: Smart Ideas and Research Programmes. Smart Ideas are short-term projects to rapidly test promising, higher-risk, innovative research ideas.  Applicants can request between $400,000 - $1 million, for a term of 2 or 3 years. Registrations for Smart Ideas close at 12 noon, 30 October 2024. The proposal submission period closes at 12 noon, 11 December 2024. Research Programmes supports ambitious, excellent, and well-defined research ideas which, collectively, have credible and high potential to positively transform New Zealand’s future in areas of future value, growth, or critical need. Applicants can request $500,000 or more per year, for a term of 3, 4 or 5 years. Registrations for Research Programmes close at 12 noon on 4 December 2024. The proposal submission period closes at 12 noon, 5 March 2025. Visit the MBIE website for more information, including the Call for Proposals, and links to the Investment Plan and Gazette Notice:  https://lnkd.in/gbRr3WuZ

Best of luck to anyone adding the finishing touches to their application for the Prime Minister's Science Prizes! Reminder: applications close at 1pm on Monday 30 September. ⏰ Good luck! For more info ➡ https://lnkd.in/gGH2YmtX

🔬Microscope on Endeavour: A novel medical device for delivering therapies to the ear. This research project will transform how hearing loss is treated, enabling quicker assessment and more precise treatment. Professor Peter Thorne from The University of Auckland has been awarded $8 million over 5 years through the latest Endeavour Funding round to develop a device that can be inserted in the ear to quickly deliver therapeutic molecules. Sensorineural hearing loss (damage to the inner ear) is our most common form of hearing loss. When this happens, providing therapies to the cochlea (the hearing organ) is extremely challenging.  As part of the project, the team will develop a company to manufacture their device, creating a new industry for inner ear treatments. This is an excellent example of a science commercialisation project and role of multidisciplinary teams. This project will greatly improve the treatment options for those with hearing loss.  📷 University of Auckland Find out more about this year's funded projects, visit https://lnkd.in/gkdf3VaJ

🌦 The Government has announced an in-principle agreement to start work on bringing together the significant capabilities and resources of NIWA and MetService to improve New Zealand's weather forecasting system. Over the coming months, we'll work alongside both parties and The Treasury - New Zealand to explore the changes necessary to ensure a more integrated weather forecasting system. MetService remains New Zealand’s authorised meteorologist and is responsible for providing warning messages in times of severe weather, with MetService and NIWA continuing to collaborate closely during these events. Read more about the review on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website: https://lnkd.in/gHVKx5t7 📸 Snow in Wellington. Dave Allen - NIWA

🔬Microscope on Endeavour: Future high-performance computing systems, including superconducting and quantum computing, will require memory arrays that are better than conventional memory technology. Associate Professor Ben Ruck and Dr Simon Granville of Victoria University of Wellington have been awarded $9 million over 5 years through the latest Endeavour funding round for their project "Scalable cryogenic memory technology for superconducting and quantum computing". Superconducting computing systems will be a great deal more energy-efficient and faster than current technologies, reflecting a leap in performance compared to conventional computing. The research team has expertise in superconducting electronics using rare-earth nitrides, which are chemical compounds with adjustable magnetic and electrical characteristics. They will use these to create memory arrays with reduced energy requirements, which is important in quantum computing and supercomputing. The team plan to establish a pilot manufacturing line, leading to a prototype of cryogenic superconducting memory arrays. They will work with their partner based in the USA with an aim to enter the US market. The team will also help New Zealand companies access technical knowledge and link them to the international quantum computing community. Find out more about this year's funded projects, visit https://lnkd.in/gkdf3VaJ ⬇Principal investigators for the project Dr Simon Granville (left) and Associate Professor Ben Ruck (right).  📷Victoria University of Wellington