BRANZ Scientist Wins Royal Society Te Apārangi Video Competition

BRANZ Materials Scientist, Anna Walsh, has won the professional category of the Royal Society Te Apārangi 180 Seconds of Fascination video competition.

This competition is open to early career researchers and challenges participants to take a storytelling approach to their work by producing a three-minute video suitable for a general audience.

Anna worked with colleagues to put together the video that explains how structural insulated panels, or SIPs, are being tested to help improve the quality, speed and cost of New Zealand construction.

"SIPs are commonly used in some other parts of the world, but we need to find out more about how they perform here," explains Anna.

"We wanted this video to demonstrate why our work is important not just to the construction industry but to the public too."

"Housing is a subject that impacts almost every New Zealander. We want to show how we test new construction systems so we can be confident they perform well in the long term under our harsh climate and during an earthquake or fire."

The SIPs research is co-funded by EQC and the video is one of several outputs that the project team has worked on this year.

"We have made communication of our research a priority from the outset," explains Anna.

Anna’s video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjBmBxrf0js&list=PLDLCKxqrGZ1SXDtcyv936ZyxquEUnHaO2&index=2

The 180 Seconds of Fascination video competition is sponsored by the Royal Society Te Apārangi and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

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