The MacDiarmid Institute is a network of New Zealand researchers who focus on material sciences and nanotechnology. A cool side note, the organization is named after Alan MacDiarmid, a kiwi who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000. If you ever visit Wellington, I'll show you his Nobel Prize Medal, because it's on display in the lobby of our building.
For the student at this meeting, our focus was "Future Proofing Your Skills" and we had talks on topics such as job hunting, starting your own research group, finding funding and commercializing your research. The meeting was held at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. Many of you probably remember I've visited Christchurch in the past on my way to Antarctica. In September 2010, Christchurch suffered a severe earthquake that devastated the CBD.
Perhaps you remember seeing my previous pictures, from my Antarctic days, of the Christchurch Cathedral. It's a very different view today. The picture above was taken next to the hotel that I stayed in on my 2009 trip to the ice.
While there's a lot of work to be done over the next decade or two to repair Christchurch, there are beacons of hope. In the dead space from demolished buildings new public spaces are opening up, like this soccer field.
To help businesses recover, a new open air mall, named Re:START has opened. The building below (and the entire mall) is completely made from converted shipping containers!
While it was a somber visit around the rubble, it was encouraging to see that recovery was under way. Next time Bridget and I are in Christchurch, we'll let you know what progress they've made with their rebuild.
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