Q. What is your educational background and what drew you to studying science?
I have always had an interest in science but started out with grand plans to be a forensic pathologist thanks to Patricia Cornwell novels growing up. It turned out that going down the medical path didn’t quite fit me – thinking about dealing with live patients and needles. I ended up at Otago University doing a BSc (Hons) in chemistry. If you’d told me at high school I’d be studying chemistry, I would have laughed at you. I’d say a lot of my lecturers at Otago fostered the love of chemistry. They were always so enthusiastic about it – especially my honours supervisor Professor Lyall Hanton. After my original degree, I still had a hankering for forensics and completed my master’s and PhD in forensic science at the University of Western Australia, looking at interactions between cadavers and grave soil during the decomposition process. If you want a lab to yourself, dealing with decomposing tissues is a good way to go! More recently in my spare time, I’ve been completing a graduate diploma in oenology – wine science – through EIT and really loving it.
Q. What is your work history and what do you do at BRANZ?
After completing my PhD, I was keen to return to New Zealand and see proper green again. I got a job at the Defence Technology Agency NZDF – now Defence Science and Technology – as an applied scientist. I worked across a range of areas including water treatment, explosives and personal protective equipment. There was lots of variety, and I never knew what the next question might be. After over 7 years there, I wanted a change away from Auckland and accepted a job at BRANZ. I’ve been here over 8 years now and counting. I am a senior materials scientist, and my original focus was looking at flood impacts on tiny buildings. I’ve also spent a lot of my time working in the timber durability space as well as looking at methodologies for assessing the contamination of buildings and their component materials. Right now, I’m using my skills in a new project looking at the resilience of our buildings to climate change and other disaster events.
Q. What are the main issues facing materials scientists – particularly in this changing environment where the weather presumably has an impact on building materials?
We tend to follow one basic building style across the country, regardless of the geography and climate that we are building in. When weather is moderate, this might work, but as we see more extremes in our weather – wind, drought with wildfire risk, rain, sunlight (UV) exposure and coastal inundation – we must start taking these risks into account. This is coupled with the less predictable and inherent hazards we face with seismic and volcanic events that we need to consider. As scientists, we must constantly be thinking forward. When we change part of the system, whether that is the materials, structure or design, we need to think what flow-on effects that has to the rest of the building.
Q. You are a lead on the BRANZ resilience project – could you explain a bit about what this is about?
The new project is focusing on three areas. The first is options for recovery after an event, including a comprehensive review of guidance that already exists in both Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. This is with a view to updating or adapting the guidance for multiple audiences but also preparing your home to minimise damage where possible. The second is addressing the question of how a building is classified for rebuild or demolition after a severe event or to limit damage before an event through relocation or preventive measures, and the third is identifying knowledge gaps where we need more research to provide evidence-based guidance.
Q. What excites you most about your job – what challenges do you face and what are the opportunities?
As a research scientist, I really enjoy being able to turn research into something that is useful to people. As scientists, we aren’t always trained very well to communicate our science to everyday people in a way that makes sense so I’m constantly facing challenges and learning in this space! I feel like we have so many opportunities to provide information that will improve homes and quality of life.
Q. Science is very important to help solve problems, but we live in a time where there is a lot of scepticism about it along with plenty of other ‘norms’ – do you have any ideas about how this should be addressed?
As much as science is great and can help improve things, I think people need to be given the chance to consider multiple sources of knowledge. We should always present our information and the ‘so what’ of following recommendations through clear communication. I don’t think we will necessarily get anywhere by forcing people to follow one pathway of thinking. There needs to be some freedom of choice to allow people to feel empowered.