Kannan Ridings

Experience

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  The University of Auckland

  Jan 2015 - now

  Currently, I am working as a lecturer at the University of Auckland. I currently lecture the foundation physics course 92F, where I cover topics from circular motion, electricity and magnetism, to waves and particles. As a lecturer, I write up examinable material for the students in the form of assignments, tests, and exams. My current research is for Te Pūnaha Matatini, where I am part of the team looking at the modelling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand, which I have been doing since November 2020 until the present. Afișează mai puține The Tuākana programme at the University of Auckland is aimed at supporting and guiding Māori and Pacific students through their studies at the University of Auckland, offering tutorials/information based on their courses, as well as exam workshops and advice on what they can do to succeed in their desired study/career path.Throughout my time as a graduate student, and now as a member of staff at the University of Auckland, I have had different roles in the Tuākana physics programme. I have been a tutor, where I help assist students with their physics courses at weekly tutorial sessions, and I have been a coordinator, where I help in organising the administrative side of the Tuākana programme in physics. This involves organising events for the students, taking initiatives to improve student engagement, and partaking in science outreach. Afișează mai puține For my Ph.D. in physics, I specialised in computational nanotechnology. My project involved mathematical modelling and molecular dynamics simulation of nanoscale systems. I studied the thermal properties of metal nanowires for different metals, in particular, studying how the surface melting and solid-liquid interface dynamics changed for metals that have surfaces with different wettabilities. Additionally, I studied the stability of the solid-liquid interface during the melting transition to better understand nanowire stability at temperatures close to their melting point. In November 2020, I successfully defended my thesis, and am currently awaiting to graduate formally. Afișează mai puține For one of my research projects as a R.A, I looked at the capability mapping of concrete and cement research in New Zealand. This was done for CCANZ. This involved comparing a global network of the selected research topics to a network specific to New Zealand, and identifying potential subject areas in New Zealand research which may be lacking in funding or impact. These lacking areas can potentially be a bridge between two or more different subject areas which may all be mutually beneficial to one another. Please read the attached documents for more information.Another project looked at scientific articles published by one of New Zealand's Centres of Research Excellence (CoREs) and mapped out the various research topics within the institute, and created a network to examine the connectivity between different subject areas and their impact. For more information, please contact me. Afișează mai puține

  • Lecturer

    Aug 2020 - now

  • Tuākana Physics Coordinator/Mentor

    Jan 2016 - now

  • Researcher Phd Candidate

    Jan 2016 - Nov 2020

  • Research Assistant

    Jan 2015 - Jan 2016
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  The Ākina Foundation

  Jan 2020 - Oct 2020

  Data Strategist

  In 2020, I was awarded an internship funded by the MacDiarmid Institute through the Victoria University of Wellington, to work with an organisation, the Ākina Foundation. The Ākina foundation is a purpose-led organisation that works in developing the social enterprise sector in New Zealand.During my time with Ākina, I have worked on creating outlines and a framework fora data strategy to be implemented and used by the organisation and creatingother systems and processes to help establish this. This was primarily done withthe help and guidance of Julie Youngman, the Social Procurement Supplier Lead atthe Ākina Foundation, and at times collaborating with people from other externalorganisations.My initial duties involved discussing and interviewing Ākina staff and talking about what data needs they had in particular, collating relevant internal and external data sources, looking at the data landscape of the organisation, and combining this information to form a picture ofwhat needed to be done to build a data strategy. Afișează mai puține