title: Lasting impressions from first conferences (with memories of H.S. Gibbs and others)

authors: Lowe, David J.

abstract: I attended my first conference of the New Zealand Society of Soil Science in December, 1979. It was held at Telford Farm Training Institute near Balclutha, with John Bruce the chief organiser. With me from Waikato University was mentor Harry Gibbs, who had just retired. Perhaps the most enduring impression I have from the meeting was of the pervasive friendly and supportive atmosphere, a characteristic I have come to associate with all the Society's meetings I have since attended. In part this atmosphere is the result of the relatively small size of the Society's conferences. After I gave my talk, Phil Tonkin kindly took the time to point out several pedological features in the slides I had just shown, one being the evidence for tree overturn in a Kainui soil. This simple act has always remained with me because it showed that someone was interested in my work, which is very important for students feeling their way into the world of 'real' science. John Bruce was another who made an impression in a similar way. He was at the time putting the finishing touches to his report on the soils of Hamilton City (under the watchful eye of editor Rod Furkert). I was quite taken that he wanted to note some of my findings in his report which eventually appeared as a 'personal communication'. This demonstrated to me that undertaking research was more than an exercise: it could lead to publication which was a very alluring siren.

text: Lasting impressions from first conferences (with memories of H.S. Gibbs and others) I attended my first conference of the New Zealand Society of Soil Science in December, 1979. It was held at Telford Farm Training Institute near Balclutha, with John Bruce the chief organiser. With me from Waikato University was mentor Harry Gibbs, who had just retired. Perhaps the most enduring impression I have from the meeting was of the pervasive friendly and supportive atmosphere, a characteristic I have come to associate with all the Society's meetings I have since attended. In part this atmosphere is the result of the relatively small size of the Society's conferences. After I gave my talk, Phil Tonkin kindly took the time to point out several pedological features in the slides I had just shown, one being the evidence for tree overturn in a Kainui soil. This simple act has always remained with me because it showed that someone was interested in my work, which is very important for students feeling their way into the world of 'real' science. John Bruce was another who made an impression in a similar way. He was at the time putting the finishing touches to his report on the soils of Hamilton City (under the watchful eye of editor Rod Furkert). I was quite taken that he wanted to note some of my findings in his report which eventually appeared as a 'personal communication'. This demonstrated to me that undertaking research was more than an exercise: it could lead to publication which was a very alluring siren.

year: 2002

title: Development and Characterisation of Plasmonic Devices for Sensing Applications

authors: Sedoglavich, Nemanya

subjects: Plasmonic

abstract: In recent years, discoveries and advances that utilise nano-scale (10^-9m) structures and associated phenomena have led to a number of entirely new areas of research in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science. The photonic field of plasmonics is the study of light interaction with nanometer-scaled metal-dielectric features, which gives rise to a variety of phenomena, including surface plasmon resonance, localised surface plasmon resonance, and metal enhanced fluorescence. The focus of this thesis is on the development and characterisation of nanophotonic devices, which utilise plasmonic phenomena and have potential for sensor applications.
During the course of this research a surface plasmon resonance analysis platform was devised, which utilises the gold grating of commercially available compact disks as the sensing substrate. This measurement method offers a high resolution refractive index analysis of gases and surface chemistry and is capable of analysing a large number of samples by scanning over the entire disk surface. The system implements a method of phase-polarisation contrast to improve the sensing performance. It enhances signal detection through redistributing the residual p-polarised waves, which have been strongly absorbed by the surface plasmon resonance substrate/sensor. This effectively lowers the reflected light intensity at the surface plasmon resonance minimum. The scheme results in the deepening of the intensity minimum to below 3.5% reflection and the enhancement of resonance to non-resonance contrast by up to 14 times, and thereby increasing sensitivity.
A range of new nanophotonic structures have been modelled, developed, fabricated, and characterised, which we call wavelength and polarisation selective polariton generators (SPGs). These polarisation-sensitive structures combine a tuneable plasmon resonator and a subwavelength aperture to selectively generate and transmit polaritons of a desired wavelength through a central nanohole. Individual SPGs permit modulation of transmission intensity, with calculated enhanced optical transmission (ratio of output to input flux) of up to 10 and up to 4-fold measured amplitude modulation. The paired SPGs gave rise to multiple spectrally discrete transmission peaks which, when modulated, provide a multi-state operation in a single device. The measured amplitude modulation was up to 10-fold. For the linearly continuous SPG, by controlling the polarisation as a tuning variable, it selectively generated and transported polaritons of a desired wavelength. It exhibited a spectral shift of 40 nm over the full range of polarisation angles. The modelled enhanced optical transmission was calculated to be up to 17.2. An instrument was developed for measuring and characterising light transmission through single nanoholes, nanohole arrays, and other complex structures. The operational characteristics of these elements show close agreement between model predictions and experimental data. It also demonstrates new designs of plasmonic structures which utilise selective behaviour based on the polarisation of incident light.

text: Development and Characterisation of Plasmonic Devices for Sensing Applications In recent years, discoveries and advances that utilise nano-scale (10^-9m) structures and associated phenomena have led to a number of entirely new areas of research in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science. The photonic field of plasmonics is the study of light interaction with nanometer-scaled metal-dielectric features, which gives rise to a variety of phenomena, including surface plasmon resonance, localised surface plasmon resonance, and metal enhanced fluorescence. The focus of this thesis is on the development and characterisation of nanophotonic devices, which utilise plasmonic phenomena and have potential for sensor applications.
During the course of this research a surface plasmon resonance analysis platform was devised, which utilises the gold grating of commercially available compact disks as the sensing substrate. This measurement method offers a high resolution refractive index analysis of gases and surface chemistry and is capable of analysing a large number of samples by scanning over the entire disk surface. The system implements a method of phase-polarisation contrast to improve the sensing performance. It enhances signal detection through redistributing the residual p-polarised waves, which have been strongly absorbed by the surface plasmon resonance substrate/sensor. This effectively lowers the reflected light intensity at the surface plasmon resonance minimum. The scheme results in the deepening of the intensity minimum to below 3.5% reflection and the enhancement of resonance to non-resonance contrast by up to 14 times, and thereby increasing sensitivity.
A range of new nanophotonic structures have been modelled, developed, fabricated, and characterised, which we call wavelength and polarisation selective polariton generators (SPGs). These polarisation-sensitive structures combine a tuneable plasmon resonator and a subwavelength aperture to selectively generate and transmit polaritons of a desired wavelength through a central nanohole. Individual SPGs permit modulation of transmission intensity, with calculated enhanced optical transmission (ratio of output to input flux) of up to 10 and up to 4-fold measured amplitude modulation. The paired SPGs gave rise to multiple spectrally discrete transmission peaks which, when modulated, provide a multi-state operation in a single device. The measured amplitude modulation was up to 10-fold. For the linearly continuous SPG, by controlling the polarisation as a tuning variable, it selectively generated and transported polaritons of a desired wavelength. It exhibited a spectral shift of 40 nm over the full range of polarisation angles. The modelled enhanced optical transmission was calculated to be up to 17.2. An instrument was developed for measuring and characterising light transmission through single nanoholes, nanohole arrays, and other complex structures. The operational characteristics of these elements show close agreement between model predictions and experimental data. It also demonstrates new designs of plasmonic structures which utilise selective behaviour based on the polarisation of incident light.

year: 2009

title: Haumanu Hauora: Strengthening health institution responsiveness to climate change

authors: Masters-Awatere, Bridgette

abstract: The “Haumanu Hauora: Strengthening health institution responsiveness to climate change” project (Haumanu Hauora) is funded by the Deep South National Science Challenge. Our research team has 
been working to determine how health institutions (for example DHBs) develop Māori responsive policy as a preparatory step in anticipation of climate change impacts on Māori health. The project 
has involved several components, one of which involved speaking with tāngata whenua and DHB staff from the Bay of Plenty, Lakes and Waikato DHB regions about their experiences of climate 
change and involvement with health services. Another component was an environmental scan of available website information on the 17 other DHBs to ascertain the extent of policy that speaks to 
both the Treaty of Waitangi and climate change. This report presents an overview of the findings. 

This report begins with some context setting. We provide a summary of our literature reviews before a brief outline of the establishment of DHBs, which are the “health institution” of focus for 
this research. As the primary health provider and funders around the country, DHBs have been engaged as the site through which to understand the Māori health and climate change policy needs. 
Although DHBs were disestablished at the conclusion of our project, there are still lessons to learn from the ‘old’ health system. We present themes from tāngata whenua and rangatahi interviews as 
a way to foreground policy development information provided by DHB staff.

text: Haumanu Hauora: Strengthening health institution responsiveness to climate change The “Haumanu Hauora: Strengthening health institution responsiveness to climate change” project (Haumanu Hauora) is funded by the Deep South National Science Challenge. Our research team has 
been working to determine how health institutions (for example DHBs) develop Māori responsive policy as a preparatory step in anticipation of climate change impacts on Māori health. The project 
has involved several components, one of which involved speaking with tāngata whenua and DHB staff from the Bay of Plenty, Lakes and Waikato DHB regions about their experiences of climate 
change and involvement with health services. Another component was an environmental scan of available website information on the 17 other DHBs to ascertain the extent of policy that speaks to 
both the Treaty of Waitangi and climate change. This report presents an overview of the findings. 

This report begins with some context setting. We provide a summary of our literature reviews before a brief outline of the establishment of DHBs, which are the “health institution” of focus for 
this research. As the primary health provider and funders around the country, DHBs have been engaged as the site through which to understand the Māori health and climate change policy needs. 
Although DHBs were disestablished at the conclusion of our project, there are still lessons to learn from the ‘old’ health system. We present themes from tāngata whenua and rangatahi interviews as 
a way to foreground policy development information provided by DHB staff.

year: 2022-07-12