Andrew Forsythe
Chief Scientist - Aquaculture & Biotechnology
Andrew is a veterinarian with a DVM from the University of Prince Edward Island. He came to NIWA in 2005 with more than 20 years of aquaculture industry experience from North America and Europe, and took up his current role in 2007.
Dr Andrew Tait
Chief Scientist - Climate, Atmosphere and Hazards
Andrew is Chief Scientist - Climate, Atmosphere and Hazards. His research areas of interest are climate change impacts and implications, adaptation to climate change, spatial modelling of climate, and sector and business applications of climate data. Andrew is a lead author of the Australasia chapter of the IPCC Fifth Assessment WGII Report, a member of the WMO Commission for Climatology (CCl) executive, co-chair of the WMO Focus Area on 'Climate Services for Societal Benefits', and the chair of the Pacific Islands Climate Services Panel. He was seconded to MPI in 2017 to contribute to the Primary Sector Science Roadmap and seconded to DOC from 2017-2019 to interact with researchers, managers, operations staff and the policy team to improve the understanding and use of climate data and information throughout the Department.
Nava Fedaeff
Manager - Climate, Atmosphere & Hazards
Nava joined NIWA in 2014 as a climate scientist. Her initial work focused on co-authoring client reports relating to climate cycles and climate change projections. She later upskilled in operational meteorology with the UK Met Office and began working with NIWA’s Forecasting Services team to deliver forecasts, develop new products for clients and visualise data in innovative and engaging ways. Nava is passionate about science communication and regularly engages with the public, media, business and other organisations about weather and climate.
Dr Scott Stephens
Chief Scientist - Coasts and Estuaries
Dr Scott Stephens is a coastal hazards scientist with a PhD in Earth Sciences from the University of Waikato. He joined NIWA in 2001 and specialises in extreme sea-level and wave analysis and assessment of coastal hazards for adaptation to sea-level rise. From 2019–21 Scott was an assistant regional manager, undertaking a wide range of NIWA's activities operations and science delivery. In 2021 he became Chief Scientist, overseeing NIWA’s science strategy and delivery for Coasts & Estuaries.
Dr Drew Lohrer
Strategy Manager - Coasts & Estuaries
Drew has worked for NIWA since 2002 and has extensive expertise in marine seafloor ecology in temperate coasts and estuaries and Antarctic coastal environments. This includes primary production and nutrient dynamics in soft-sediment habitats, animal-sediment interactions, disturbance-recovery processes, and ecosystem functioning. He took up his current role in 2021.
Dr Jochen Schmidt
Chief Scientist - Environmental Information
Jochen has a background in hydrology, geomorphology, soil science, geo-informatics, and hazards and risk assessment. He worked for Landcare Research between 2001 and 2003 and was instrumental in developing the New Zealand Digital Soil Map (‘SMAP’). He joined NIWA in 2003 and coordinates systems for collecting, managing and delivering environmental information – ensuring they are robust and meet best-practice standards. Jochen leads NIWA’s engagement with the primary sector.
Dr Jess Robertson
Chief Scientist - High Performance Computing and Data Science
Jess joined NIWA in 2023 and has a science background in geology, fluid dynamics, machine learning and data science, particularly in the resources and energy sectors, as well as policy and regulatory experience within the NZ public sector. Prior to his appointment as Chief Scientist, he led Innovation Policy within the Research Science and Innovation portfolio at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Dr Richard O'Driscoll
Chief Scientist - Fisheries
Richard specialises in research aimed at improving estimates of fish abundance using acoustics, trawling, and complementary technologies. Since attaining his PhD from the University of Otago in 1997, he has had extensive sea-going and practical fisheries experience both in New Zealand and overseas, including the Antarctic. Richard is the immediate past chair (2017-2019) of the ICES Working Group on Fisheries Acoustics Science and Technology. He has worked at NIWA since 2000 and is currently a programme leader for NIWA's National Centre for the Fisheries Assessment and Monitoring programme.
Chloe Hauraki
Manager - Fisheries Centre Operations
Chloe has a diverse background in project and programme management across a number of key corporate organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand and the UK, developing a broad set of skills and experience along the way. She studied Marine Biology at University of Waikato, working with Ngāi Te Rangi funding to explore habitat construction and reseeding of juvenile paua in the Tauranga Moana Mātaitai. Since joining NIWA in 2015, Chloe has held previous roles with the Fisheries Centre, and as Challenge & Engagement Manager of the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge.
Dr Julie Hall
Chief Scientist - Freshwater (Acting)
Julie is a marine and freshwater biologist who has spent over 25 years working for DSIR and then NIWA, specialising in phytoplankton, microbial food web and zooplankton studies in both marine and freshwater. She was a group manager at NIWA in Hamilton before joining the Operations Management Team in Wellington in 2008, where her focus was on staff, project and operations management. From 2015-2024 Julie was the Director of the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge.
Dr Neale Hudson
Manager - Freshwater
Neale manages NIWA’s Freshwater and Estuaries platform. He works closely with Chief Scientist - Freshwater, programme leaders and external stakeholders to position NIWA as the authority in the area of freshwater and estuaries in New Zealand. Neale’s research has focused on novel methods for water quality assessment, in particular better understanding the information hidden within high-frequency water quality data. He is also interested in undertaking short-term, focused assessments that are critical to many resource consent applications, where he has led many commercial projects, particularly in the area of microbial risk assessment. Neale is committed to mentoring early-career scientists and supporting teams formed to deliver complex, interdependent and cross-discipline scientific research.
Dr Mike Williams
Chief Scientist - Oceans
Mike joined NIWA in 2001 and has a science background in physical oceanography, ocean acidification, climate change and ocean processes associated with Antarctic sea ice and ice shelves. Prior to his appointment as Chief Scientist - Oceans in 2021, Mike held a joint appointment as Director of the Deep South National Science Challenge and Principal Scientist, Marine Physics.
Dr Joshu Mountjoy
Strategy Manager - Oceans
Joshu Mountjoy has a background in marine geoscience and has undertaken research across New Zealand’s EEZ, the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. His role as Strategy Manager Oceans enables him to develop new business and research directions drawing on the range of technical and research capability within the Oceans Centre and across NIWA. Joshu works closely with Te Kuwaha to develop stronger working relationships with Māori, and is building NIWA’s presence in renewable energy to support Aotearoa New Zealand’s decarbonisation goals.
Dr Graeme Inglis
Chief Science Advisor
Graeme leads NIWA's Marine Biosecurity research programme, which is a partnership involving NIWA, the Cawthron Institute, and the Ministry for Primary Industries. He is a member of the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group, a Technical Advisor to the GEF/UNDP/IMO Global Ballast Water Management Programme and sits on advisory panels for implementation of New Zealand's Biosecurity Science Strategy and MAF Biosecurity NZ's Biosecurity Surveillance Committee. Graeme's research is primarily on the design and implementation of marine pest surveillance, including early detection, baseline and delimiting surveys for unwanted marine organisms.
Greg Foothead
Ship Technical Director
Greg has a background in automotive and industrial engineering. He joined NIWA in 2000 as Engineering Manager for NIWA’s vessel fleet and became General Manager – Vessel Operations in 2010. In 2022, Greg took up the role of Ship Technical Director, where he oversees the replacement of NIWA’s vessel fleet and acts as a technical advisor for the vessels operations team.
Rob Christie
Manager - Marine Resources
Rob is manager for NIWA's marine resources. He is responsible for the utilisation of NIWA's marine assets and coordinating the application of marine science. A Chartered Water and Environmental Manager and Chartered Scientist with close to 30 years international experience, Rob has worked as environmental scientist/engineer in environmental consultancy and science sectors in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Rob Joined NIWA in 2013 and coordinates NIWA's maritime commercial work focusing on NIWA’s research vessels and is based in our Wellington office.
Contact for strategic development, marine infrastructure, vessel enquires and scheduling.
Sol Fergus
General Manager - Vessel Operations
Sol joined NIWA in 2022 and oversees the general operations of NIWA’s research vessels RV Tangaroa, Kaharoa, Kaharoa II and Ikatere. He has a BCA (Hons) with a background in development and management of vessel operations policies, directives, and staff training.
Before joining NIWA, Sol held Commercial Manager, and General Manager roles at New Zealand Diving and Salvage Ltd.
Dr Mark Bojesen-Trepka
Manager, Marketing and Industry Engagement
Mark is a career industrial marketer. He has led the marketing, technology transfer, and business development effort for a number of industrial firms in a range of industry sectors in New Zealand and abroad. Mark has a Bachelor of Social Science, an MBA, and a PhD on marketing's role in technology transfer.
Alan Grey
Manager, Research & Evaluation
Alan's academic background was firstly in the earth sciences, emphasising geology, ecology and fluid dynamics; more recently, it has focussed on evaluation research. He has extensive experience in research administration and S & T programme evaluation, and is a member of the American Evaluation Association. He oversees NIWA's obligations to government funding agencies, as well as its responsibilities in undertaking research that will be of benefit to New Zealand.
Dr Chris Daughney
Chief Science Advisor
Chris joined NIWA as Chief Science Advisor in 2020. Prior to joining NIWA, he held roles as Principal Science Lead at the Ministry for the Environment, and as Director of the Environment and Materials Division within the Executive Team at GNS Science. Chris has had previous science advisory positions within Central Government, several regional councils, and the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency. He has research interests in groundwater quality, geomicrobiology and numerical flow and transport modelling of hydrological systems.
