Massey University funded Research Programmes

Protecting New Zealand from the consequences of future volcanic eruptions requires a National Volcanic Hazard Model (NVHM), future-proofed for environmental changes. Volcanic eruptions present a poorly understood danger to Aotearoa-NZ from loss of lives, threats to our tourist and recreational industries, to the potentially $10 billion consequences of an Auckland eruption. Central to this lack of understanding is the absence of a robust forecasting system. Present forecasts are limited to an increased likelihood of an eruption onset, without the much-needed forecasts of hazards from the ensuing eruption. A future NVHM, underpinned by the critical gaps bridged in this Programme, can then assemble past data and current monitoring to provide guidance on everything from personnel exclusion zones to the siting of critical infrastructure.

Using advanced simulation facilities, engagement with stakeholders, and probabilistic modelling, this research will deliver a clearer understanding of how hazards are initiated and evolve in response to environmental changes. We will focus on developing techniques to forecast hazard and impact rather than simply the onset of an eruption. Our conceptual climate-driven volcanic hazard and impact framework aligns to existing mātauranga and Te Ao Māori concepts of the driving forces on change in our volcanic hazardscape. Building on iwi taiao monitoring strategies and frameworks with our existing iwi partners in exploring iwi-based volcano observatories, we will design a system for robust monitoring and decision-making around our co-governed volcanoes. Reducing uncertainty through revolutionary multi-hazard/multi-vulnerability and impact models will allow for better preparedness.

This research will confirm New Zealand as an international leader in conceptualising and quantifying hazard and impact and continue to strengthen the knowledge and capacity of our volcano advisory groups and CDEM groups to protect New Zealand.

Our food production and consumption must achieve sustainability for our environment and people. It is imperative that equitable and resilient food systems are developed to reduce Aotearoa-NZ’s vulnerability to changing environmental, economic, and social pressures, while enhancing the wellbeing of people (tangata ora) and the environment (taiao ora). To ensure that the Aotearoa-NZ food system delivers nourishment to all our communities, enhances the wellbeing of Te Taiao, and supports economic prosperity, a computational model of our food system will be developed by the Sustainable Nutrition Initiative^® of the Riddet Institute, hosted at Massey University, in co-leadership with Wakatū Incorporation who represent the hapū land owners in Whakatū, Motueka and Mōhua rohe. The model will help transition our food sector to a carbon-neutral economy, underpinned by field trials and data collection in Te Tauihu.

The ability to simulate national and regional outcomes from changes in agricultural practises will enable climate and trade resilience to be built into decision-making alongside economic consequences. This system-unified approach is not currently possible. Understanding the current characteristics of our food system, including new data generation applied to advanced modelling, will enable prediction and assessment of the impacts of future change and aid food sector enterprises in planning and implementing production transitions.

The programme will support hapū-led research including assessment of the food system in Te Tauihu; developing a pathway towards a knowledge-intensive regenerative and resilient food system; and testing the scalability of current, new, and indigenous crops and species through a tikanga-led, customary approach which supports the momentum towards climate positive food production systems. The programme will inform evidence-based decisions leading to sustainable change to the Aotearoa-NZ food system that supports a resilient food sector and enhances tangata ora and taiao ora nationally and regionally.

Led by Professor Fiona Alpass (Massey University) and Dr Brendan Stevenson (Allen & Clarke Ltd), the team also includes pre-eminent national (Universities of Waikato and Auckland, Victoria University, Te Pūkenga and Te Whare Wānanga O Awanuiārangi) and international researchers (Australia, Japan, Wales, Canada, England, Scotland, USA, and The Netherlands). Building on over 2 decades of ageing research, including information about lifecourse events predicting frailty or thriving in older age, and public health data, the team will pioneer the use of innovative ‘big data’ and modelling techniques in ageing research. The results will highlight preventable factors leading to frailty in older age, including the Māori, Pasifika, and Chinese populations that make up much of NZ’s multicultural society. Findings will provide specific targets for changes in social policy and practice to prevent experiences such as loneliness, dementia, and falls in the community, and highlight the different lifecourse pathways to frailty or thriving. In addition to informing NZ policy through the extensive involvement of end-users, findings will have a global impact by contributing to international policy that supports older people to thrive.

Pumice, a vesicular volcanic rock with unique properties, is found in large quantities in the central North Island, particularly in forestry lands owned by iwi settlement trusts. Although Māori used pumice traditionally for a wide range of applications (e.g., fishing, containers, and ornaments), and pumice is used for a range of applications overseas (e.g., construction, insulation, cosmetics, polishing), today there are relatively few pumice operations in Aotearoa-NZ. Working with governance entities and iwi/hapū/whānau of Te Arawa Waka, this research programme seeks to kick-start a new pumice economy, driven by Māori, and fulfilling aspirations around intergenerational wellbeing, kaitiakitanga and leadership in a low-carbon future.

The research will determine how new types of concrete can be produced using Aotearoa-NZ pumice as a cement replacement. This is globally important, given that cement is a major source of carbon emissions and concrete consumption is increasing. The programme will also ascertain the extent to which Aotearoa-NZ pumice exhibits properties needed for other new and exciting applications, e.g., architectural paints, filtration, mesoporous technologies. By matching knowledge of required properties with their availability, and applying a range of geological and analytical techniques, a detailed inventory and characterisation of the resource will be established.

Many researchers in the programme are Māori and several whakapapa to Te Arawa waka. To ensure that the future pumice economy is developed appropriately, balances risks and can meet iwi landowner/investor aspirations, the programme interweaves mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) with state-of-the-art tools and approaches from other science disciplines.

The vision is for this programme to be a catalyst for historic pumice mātauranga to be reinvigorated and reinterpreted, with the emergence of new cultural products, as well as products/applications that are widely beneficial across Aotearoa-NZ.

The SmartBioplastics team will use innovation and challenging scientific hypotheses to bring New Zealand to the forefront of a green plastic revolution. This innovative programme will deliver ground-breaking new food-packaging materials made of biodegradable, compostable and/or edible materials that are cleverly functionalised to actively inhibit food-borne pathogens and spoilage microbes. These next-generation materials will increase shelf-life and provide improved food safety for New Zealand’s fresh foods. The multidisciplinary SmartBioplastics team unites eminent scientists in microbiology, bacterial fermentation, biotechnology, and polymer and material sciences to leverage one of New Zealand’s key strengths: the primary sector.

Shelf-life limitations on fresh agricultural products are one of the most critical factors currently restricting our export markets. Microbial contamination, most notably by Clostridium and Campylobacter, shortens product shelf-life, increases health risks, and causes significant wastage. At the same time, global consumers are demanding a shift towards sustainable and environmentally-friendly packaging materials, prompting a move away from commonly used petroleum-based plastic packing materials due to the pollution they create.

The SmartBioplastics programme will create world-first fully-compostable and/or edible functionalised packaging materials and coatings able to keep food fresher for longer by killing harmful bacteria, initially focussing on protecting fresh meat products against food-spoilage by Clostridium and food-borne disease by Campylobacter. This will add value to the New Zealand primary sector both domestically and internationally by extending product shelf-life, while benefiting all of New Zealand by protecting human health and reducing environmental impact.

The NZ Government is embarking on a substantial spending programme in the built environment to deliver societal improvements. It has formed the NZ Infrastructure Commission to lead this programme, developing a strong project pipeline of work planned across New Zealand, including road upgrades, land development, and housing, with investment coming from departments, agencies, local authorities, and the private sector. In parallel with these plans, the construction sector has joined with government to address well-recognised shortcomings and needs for improvement in the delivery of construction projects, through the NZ Construction Sector Accord.

A collaborative team of university academics and industry professionals, headed by Professor Monty Sutrisna, School of Built Environment, Massey University, will help improve the delivery of these new national projects by creating a world-first smart system, called CanConstructNZ, that will model and report the dynamic inter-relationships of New Zealand’s infrastructure work pipeline (the proposed building, construction, and infrastructure projects) against the construction sector's capacity and capability to deliver (including: procurement & processes, supply chain & organisations, people, and technology & tools).

By providing focus to this supply and demand situation, CanConstructNZ will enable tailoring of projects to the delivery constraints, while enabling enhancement our construction sector’s performance, allowing optimised solutions, so that New Zealand’s future construction projects will be delivered efficiently, effectively, sustainably, and safely.

It is envisaged this collaborative endeavour CanConstructNZ, led by Massey University, will bring about a fundamental change in the construction sector by creating a new level of visibility for all stakeholders, enabling investor confidence in delivery, stability of construction companies and resource planning, confidence to people seeking training and education to work in the sector, and a brighter future for all.

The Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy states: “While most NZ children and young people are doing well, the distressing reality is that many are not experiencing anything close to a good life”. Practitioners working with vulnerable youth report a critical need for culturally and contextually responsive resources that support them to increase the impact they have on the lives of these youth. These resources need to enable relational practices because the evidence has connected these practices to better outcomes. This research builds on a longitudinal study of pathways to adulthood of vulnerable youth which demonstrated the connection between positive relational practices and better youth outcomes. It creates a diverse kete of culturally and contextually anchored resources that youth practitioners can use to build and sustain effective, change-making relationships with vulnerable youth. The resources will be available in a range of formats and able to be used across service systems. They will be tested in diverse practice settings to establish their efficacy and usability. The kete includes tools that can be used to plan, review and track intervention progress and to measure the impact of the work. As a result, organisations can demonstrate the positive impact of their work in a uniform and consistent way and funders can use this data to support decision-making that encourages the use of these relational practices. The research team comprises practitioners, researchers and youth-clients who use a co-design methodology so that resources are culturally and contextually responsive and meaningful to those working in the varied organisations that provide support to vulnerable youth. The kete will be managed by sector organisations so that they are accessible and widely available.