News Fusion | 086

NewsFusion for May 2025

Science...

• Space debris is an ever increasing problem for space travel | SpaceNews
• Swiss and Italian researchers create RoboCake, a robot with edible parts and battery | New Atlas
• US FDA approves CRISPR pigs for food | Gizmodo

Design...

• Projecting the human factor in fashion design | BoF
• Expo 2025 is promising six months of exciting innovations | Expo 2025
• How a Kingfisher helped reshape Japan's bullet train | BBC

Culture...

• Mindar the android priest in Japan's Kodaiji Buddhist temple | NHK World
• Māori youth learn traditional medicines and share with Elders | NZ Herald
• Rabat is the new must see city in Morocco | Afar

Miss Next Century | Heni Unwin

Heni Unwin is a Māori marine scientist working to integrate Mātauranga Māori (Māori traditional knowledge) and Western science. Unwin's Iwi affiliations are Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Atihaunui-a-Papaarangi.

Unwin completed her BS in Chemistry at Universityof Otago with a minor in Māori and later earned a Gradute Diploma in Marine Science from University of Auckland and a Diploma in Science in Marine Studies from Bay of Plenty Polytechnic. As of 2022, she is also working towards a Masters in Enviornmental Science at University of Canterbury and currently works as a research scientist at the Cawthron Institute in New Zealand.

It was a snorkeling adventure while visiting Raratonga when she was 10 years old that convinced her that a career in marine sciences was in her future. But the fact that that experience was also in the realm of Tangaroa (Māori God of the sea) was is as important to her as her calling to do research and she strives to ensure her work in science also serves Māori communities.

Like many indigenous scientists, Unwin has had to navigate two worlds but she has done so with positivity and enthusiasm. Even though she was often the only Māori student in many of her classes at university, the support from her parents to celebrate her Māori tradtions and ancestry has fueled her passion to share her knowledge and experiences through outreach, as well as include opportunities for rangatahi (youth) to participate in all of her research projects. Her current projects include investigating the effects of microplastics on the endemic Green-lipped mussel and launching an innteractive plastic tracking tool.

Unwin was named Future-ish's 11th Miss Next Century in 2021.

Social Media

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>> Instagram: @henwin15
>> LinkedIn

Additional Reading

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• Royal Society. Heni Unwin & Te Rerekohu Tuterangiwhiu.
• Science for Technological Innovation National Science Challenge. 2021. Heni Unwin: Māori scientist making waves in the realm of Tangaroa. sftichallenge.govt.nz
• Wilson, J. 2016. Citizen science plays key role: volunteer puts heart and soul into reef work. The Courier Mail.

NewsFusion | 060

NewsFusion for August 2019

Science...

• Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano DJs Ibiza party from International Space Station | T.H.E. Music Essentials
• One step closer to quantum internet | phys.org
• Pros and cons of nanotechnology in developing nations | SciDevNet

Design...

• The benefits of biophilia in interior environments | ArchDaily
• Privacy-friendly fashion the next big thing | Reason
• From biosolids to bioplastics, why toilets may be the key to our future | WGBH

Culture...

• Māori traditional knowledge providing solution to modern plant disease | Intercontinental Cry
• Ainu people officially recognized by Japan | CNN

NewsFusion | 050

NewsFusion for June 2018

Science...

• Robots can now grow mini organs from human stem cells | Science Daily
• Wildlife are punching in at night to avoid humans | Gizmodo
• China plans mission to moon's dark side | NBC News

Design...

• Punk Rock's impact on design | Fast Company
• Voter Guide design can impact elections | WAMU
• Transparent is the new black in Paris | GQ

Culture...

• Sacred artifacts returned to Alaska's Chugach tribe | CNN
• World premier of Disney's Moana launches with blue carpet | KHON
• Wairoa Māori Film Festival reflects full spectrum of Māori experience | kiaora.tv

NewsFusion | 049

NewsFusion for May 2018

Science...

• Hawaii lawmakers ban sunscreen that damages corals | Hawaii News Now
• If you haven't watched NBC's Genius Junior, prepare to be amazed by these whiz kids | NBC
• The physics of Leia using the force in Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Wired

Design...

• The pros and cons of designing modern day rituals | The Atlantic
• The Met Museum's 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination' exhibit | Hollywood Reporter
• The surprising role of graphic design in politics, protest, and power | Wallpaper

Culture...

• Moving forward with urban planning for indigenous peoples in Australia means looking back first | The Conversation
• Scientists continue to turn to Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) for insights on natural world | Yale Environment
• Jessica Tyson, 2018 Miss New Zealand aspires to be role model for Māori and other youth | TV New Zealand

SeanChron | Melanie Cheung Hongis with Pope Francis

Māori Huntington's Disease researcher Dr. Melanie Cheung meets Pope Francis in Rome with a hongi. Image credit: via Melanie Cheung)
This is SO awesome! Proof that science and culture can coexist (though there is much history that still needs to be healed). Notice her small cultural protocol in the video when she enters the lab. She spent many years developing cultural protocols for her work to compliment the scientific protocols that are part of her research on Huntington's Disease.

Having met Melanie on several occasions, I could tell she was a game changer, plus she always did things in a fun positive way. Definitely my world's colliding too...paddling and Schuhplattler (strong Catholic traditions). Mahalo and Aloha to Melanie 🌺

Full article: Hongi-ing the Holy Father: The Kiwi who taught Pope Francis the traditional Maori greeting

Old AND New - Modern Wedding with Māori Haka Goes Global

Aaliyah and Ben Armstrong. Image credit: Stacey Leah Photography
It's the wedding ceremony that's gone global and its everything Future-ish is all about.

New Zealand's Aaliyah and Ben Armstrong both share Māori ancestry so Ben's best man decided to incorporate a haka into their wedding ceremony. Friends filmed it, Westone Productions edited it, Ben posted it on his Facebook page on January 20th, 2016, and then the Facebook Page "I'm proud to be Tongan" shared it. Within a few days, the video had been viewed over 30 millions times.

Haka is a traditional Maori posture dance. Often used in war or other challenge situations, it also makes appearances in important community or life events, such as weddings, to honor those involved.

Incorporating a haka into a thoroughly modern wedding ceremony is exactly the sort of thing we want to highlight here at Future-ish. There is certainly the aspect of walking in two worlds that is often mentioned in such situations...which in itself has many layers of inspiration. But for us, it also points out the need to bring culture back into conversations of shaping the future and creating an inclusive future.

For us, it's clear that haka at weddings will continue to be practiced throughout this century and for centuries to come. It will be incorporated into more Māori weddings held in Aotearoa (the accepted Māori name for New Zealand), in other parts of the world, and yes, perhaps someday on one of Saturn's moons.

>> View the original video here

Additional info:

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• Jones, K. 2016. Emotional wedding haka moves New Zealand bride to tears: video and photos. The KnotM.
• Tapalaeo, M. 2016. Millions fall in love with wedding haka. Daily Mercury
• BBC. 2016. Wedding haka moves New Zealand Maori bride to tears. BBCM/li>
  

Futurazzi | Māori Moment for William and Kate

Here at Future-ish, we love when worlds collide. That's precisely what happened with Prince William and Princess Kate visited New Zealand in April 2014. Like many guests, William and Kate participated in a traditional Māori greeting ceremony, or pōwhiri. The cross-cultural exchange was particularly striking given the couple's Western attire juxtaposed with the traditional Māori attire which can include face and body tattoos and painting.

The ceremony included the hongi, a traditional Māori greeting in which participants presses noses and forheads together to exchange ha (the breath of life). Both Prince William and Princess Kate took part in the hongi with local Kaumatua (Elder), Lewis Moeau and others.

Image credit: Tim Rooke

Future-making Māori Role Models

If there was a prize for websites we here at Future-ish love, Love, LOVE, it would go to Māori Future Makers, a new website supported by Te Puni Kōkiri (the New Zealand Ministry for Māori Development) that features 30 outstanding Māori scientists, designers, and cultural leaders shaping the future.

The goal of the website is to provide role models from diverse fields and industries to inspire other Māori youth and adults to pursue higher levels of education, training, employment, enterprise, and innovation. To accomplish this, each of the individuals shares personal stories about their motivations, challenges, opportunities, and successes they faced in working towards their academic and professional aspirations. There is also valuable information and unique resources on education, training, and professional development on the website as well.

SeanChron - Pōwhiri Starts Filming of The Hobbit

I finally got around to watching The Hobbit this last weekend. I know, I am WAY behind on this.

In addition to being really pleased with the movie (though quite long and quite 'Hollywoody'), I was especially pleased to see something in the production video segments that are part of Peter Jackson’s Video Blogs on the making of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey that are part of The Hobbit Blog.

Here at Future-ish, we are all about science, design, and culture shaping the future. It is the culture part of the equation that is often the hardest element to ensure gets included in discussions of future-shaping people, projects, and ideas. We also always do our best to seek out stories of culture playing a role in shaping the future. We also do our best to honor the people, place, and host culture of places where we live, work, play, and travel. So, when I saw a Pōwhiri (a Māori Welcoming Ceremony) in Production Video #1 (see below, about seven minutes in), I literally jumped out of my comfy couch. Best of all, it is clear in the video that Peter Jackson, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, and the entire cast and crew appreciated the unique value the Pōwhiri added to the entire project.



This is a great real world example of honoring people, place, and the host culture "in a good way" as is often said. Just imagine if every film project was started by asking the host culture of the location to participate in a welcoming event. It allows both sides of the project, the host culture and the guests, to start things off the way these things should be started off. Kudos to Peter Jackson, lets hope this catches on across the industry and becomes a best practice...or even better, a standard.

Indigenous Diva: Dame Kiri Te Kanawa

I have been a fan of Maori opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa since high school when I first heard her beautiful soprano voice in the film "A Room With a View" singing Puccini's aria "O mio babbino caro". My iTunes library is full of her pieces and I've had the pleasure of hearing her sing in person several times. I can think of few individuals who have lived in two worlds as visibly as Dame Te Kanawa. She embraces her Maori and New Zealand roots boldly, has sung in operas and recitals around the globe, and today is one of the most beloved opera singers of all time.

(Image courtesy Ravinia Festival)

I recently came across this video below of Dame Te Kanawa singing "Tarahiki", an ancient Maori song/chant about the beauty and strength of the cicada dance. It totally blew me away.

Read more about Dame Te Kanawa on her Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation website, her IMG Artists website, and Wikipedia. There are many more videos of her singing on YouTube as well.



And here is another version with Maori chorus from millennium celebrations in NZ...



A couple other favorite vids of mine...Dame Te Kanawa singing "Pokarekare Ana" in 1990 and more recently for the NZ millennium celebrations.

Rugby, Maori style

The New Zealand national rugby team, the Allblacks, may all dress alike in their black uniforms, but one this is for sure...they will certainly never lose their identity as a team inspired and energized by Tikanga Maori (Maori ways of thiking, being, doing). The Allblacks start each match with their traditional war dance, the Haka. Sport, competition, and warrior-athletes have been a part of human culture for thousands of years around the world so its good to see that the Allblacks and other teams honor both sport and their culture with this modern tradition. A little surfing on YouTube and you'll also find the Somoan national team performing their Siva Tau, as well as Tonga with thier Sipi Tau and Fiji with their Cibi.

Below the Allblacks take on France in 2009:



And here the Allblacks take on Tonga who reply with their Sipi Tau:

An evening with Melanie Cheung

9/19/09. This evening I had the great honor of attending a lecture by Maori neuroscientist Melanie Cheung on her research into Huntington's disease, her efforts to apply Tikanga Maori (Maori ways of thinking, being, doing) to her work with human brain tissue in a culturally safe and sensitive way, and her experience in both Indigenous and Western science. Cheung's lecture was part of the Indigenous Wellness Research Institutes annual celebration and having just finished Gregory Cajete's book, Native Science, and then finding a fantastic article by Cheung on Indigenous science, I was very much looking forward to hearing Cheung in person.

The results...she was FABULOUS!. Her research is fascinating and her journey to apply Tikanga Maori to her work is nothing less than inspiring as it invites a deep respect and sensitivity for people, protocol, and life back into science, something that has been lacking in Western science...well for centuries. As opposed to the Western worldview in which science and spirituality don't get along so well, in Indigenous Science science and spirituality are often one and the same. In fact, Cheung considers her ability to bridge the two worldviews as a benefit as it allows for more open-mindedness and more diverse perspectives in both asking and answering research questions. Add to all this a great sense of humor and fantastic storytelling skills and you've got one really fun, really inspiring evening.