Dr Joel Rindelaub: “How fresh is the air that we breathe?” Shadows Bar at 8pm on Tuesday 20 April.
Aucklanders wanting to make the most of Aotearoa New Zealand’s freedom to socialise, and to keep abreast of the latest thinking, have their chance on 20 April at Raising the Bar.
Raising the Bar, a global initiative that originated in New York, hosts academics in bars around Auckland to present some of their most interesting research in a convivial setting, bringing topical subjects out of lecture halls and into the neighbourhood.
The 20 topics this year range from searching for alien worlds to the challenges of keeping premature babies growing, and will take place in ten locations in Parnell, Ponsonby, Grey Lynn and the CBD.
Director of Alumni Relations and Development, Mark Bentley says it’s good to be able to bring the event back into real time.
“This is the fifth year we have held Raising the Bar. Last year’s online event, necessitated by lockdown, ended up being a great success – especially for taking the event to international audiences. We plan to do a similar online event later in the year,” Mr Bentley said.
“In the meantime, we’re looking forward to an in-person event where people get together with friends to listen to some world-leading research and perhaps debate some of the findings over a drink and a pub meal,” he says.
“Our academics enjoy the opportunity to share their work with a different group of people and it certainly underlines the fact that the research being done is highly relevant to our communities – and not just a small group of people up on the hill.”
There are two sessions per bar at 6.30 and 8pm, each one lasting approximately 45 minutes. Entry is free but attendees must register at rtbevent.com/auckland-21.
Venue | Time (pm) | Speaker | Topic |
Shadows | 6.30 | Dr Joya Kemper, Business School | What does sustainable consumption truly mean? |
8 | Dr Joel Rindelaub, Faculty of Science | How fresh is the air that we breathe? | |
Sweet Affair | 6.30 | Associate Professor Linda Tyler, Faculty of Arts | Art: What is it good for? |
8 | Associate Professor Katie Fitzpatrick Education and Social Work | Why are schools not prioritising mental health and sex education? | |
Little Easy Fort St | 6.30 | Dr Sandeeka Mannakara Faculty of Engineering | Survivor: Planet Earth 2021 |
8 | Dr Jemaima Tiatia-Seath School of Māori Studies and Pacific Studies | Brown girl in the ring: a Pacific academic takes her gloves off | |
Everybody’s | 6.30 | Professor Steven Dakin School of Optometry and Vision Science | Hate eye tests? Soon you’ll be able to monitor your eyesight at home |
8 | Associate Professor Nabeel Zuberi School of Social Science | Play it again, Samsung! Are we really in the midst of a paradigm shift in listening to recorded music? | |
The Birdcage | 6.30 | Dr Hilary Sheppard Faculty of Science | Human genome editing: are we ready? |
8 | Associate Professor Suresh Muthukumaraswamy School of Pharmacy | On a trip back from the fringe: the recent renaissance of psychedelic drug research | |
La Zappa | 6.30 | Darsel Keane, Associate Director Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship | The extraordinary benefits of an entrepreneurial mindset |
8 | Professor Frank Bloomfield Liggins Institute | Breathing, sucking, swallowing: the challenges of keeping premature babies growing | |
Dice and Fork | 6.30 | Associate Professor Saeid Baroutian Faculty of Engineering Dr Rob Burrell Chair, A&NZ College of Anaesthetists Sustainability Group | The secret waste of healthcare: an insight into new technologies to deal with pharmaceutical waste |
8 | Associate Professor Alys Longley Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries | Making art across time, space and borders | |
The Oakroom | 6.30 | Dr Nicholas Rattenbury Faculty of Science | Mission possible: searching for alien worlds and alien life |
8 | Dr Anne Bardsley, Deputy Director Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures | She’ll be right: risk perception, politics, and failing to prepare for the inevitable | |
Little Easy Ponsonby | 6.30 | Associate Professor Mike Lee Business School | Anti-vaxxers and Covid-19: who will get the jab? |
8 | Associate Professor Scott Optican Faculty of Law | “Dude, you’re a cop …?!” Scenario operations, ‘Mr Big’, and evidence obtained by undercover policing in NZ criminal courts | |
Revelry | 6.30 | Dr Kelly Burrowes Auckland Bioengineering Institute | Is vaping safe? Let’s clear the air |
8 | Professor Anthony Hoete, Architecture and Planning | Is gaming the answer to our housing crisis? One architect starts playing |