Environmental Information key contacts

Rob is an environmental scientist specialising in water quality and aspects of stream ecology. He has an MSc in Earth Sciences (Waikato University) and PhD in Environmental Engineering (Water Resources; Oregon State University). His research interests range over general water quality, diffuse pollution from land uses (particularly pastoral agriculture), microbial contaminants and disinfection, optical water quality, natural wastewater treatment, and physical aspects of stream and riparian ecology. Applied/consulting work includes development of water quality guidelines/standards, assessment of wastewater assimilation, and impacts of livestock on streams. Rob is scientific spokesperson for the National Rivers Water Quality Network (NRWQN). 

EI Role: Coordinator, NIWA Marine Databases. Kevin Mackay (Bsc. Hons) is a geologist who as been working for NIWA for 22 years in the Fisheries and Ocean Geology groups. He has experience in relational database management and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He has worked extensively with a variety of data sets in the marine environment including geology and geophysics, hydrography, freshwater fisheries, oceanography, fisheries, and biodiversity. Since 2010, he has been the IODE (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange) National Coordinator for Oceanographic Data Management. 

EI Role: Coordinator, NIWA Product Database and Delivery. Bernard is an ex-meteorologist with a BSc (Hons Physics) and MSc (Meteorology) from McGill University (Canada). He manages the forecasting and remote sensing operation part of EcoConnect, where several numerical models developed at NIWA are producing twice daily weather, ocean and river forecasts and satellite images are processed mainly for commercial and research users. Bernard was a meteorologist and sea ice forecaster for over 17 years for Environment Canada, and was data manager for a number of years for the CliC-SCAR WMO-WCRP program based at the (Norwegian Polar Institute, Norway) and the IODP program (Hokkaido University, Japan). 

EI Role:  Project Manager, Climate Database. Group Manager, Climate Data and Applications. This group manages the National Climate Database CLIDB, and the associated services that contribute to the science and applications of NIWA's National Climate Centre. Alan is also Project Manager for a range of climate early warning system developments in Pacific SIDS, including the development of the CliDEsc software platform. My background is in agriculture, having worked on a range of farms, and managed an experimental pedigree Jersey dairy farm in India for almost 10 years. I have a Diploma of Field Technology from Lincoln University, and a WMO post graduate certificate in Agricultural Meteorology gained in Israel. Gaps in my education have been plugged by extra mural papers from Massey University. Prior to the establishment of NIWA I was a research assistant at the New Zealand Meteorological Service.