Post by Victoria University of Wellington

Professor Ocean Mercier is at the forefront of exploring ways the knowledge systems of science and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Māori community can speak to each other to tackle pressing issues ranging from climate change to genetic modification. Her work includes Māori perspectives on the development of biotechnologies for pest control in Aotearoa. She works with Taihoro Nukurangi, Earth Sciences New Zealand, looking at tohu (environmental indicators) in Antarctica, including the impact of the lunar pull of marama (the moon) on seafloor seeps of greenhouse gases, and in a project with Te Pū Ao, Earth Sciences New Zealand that is focused on future proofing groundwater under climate change. A Principal Investigator at MacDiarmid Institute, in its Pūtaiao Māori Research Programme, Professor Mercier is investigating pathways for Māori in the physical sciences. “Mātauranga Māori [Māori knowledge] is rooted in Pacific knowledge, the navigations and migrations of Polynesian ancestors, and the accumulated observations, knowledge, and practices developed by Māori living in Aotearoa. “Bringing together bodies of knowledge and working with their similarities and differences can make a positive change to our future” says Professor Mercier. Read more about Professor Mercier’s work.