Featured researchers
The University has hundreds of research staff working at the forefront of knowledge, including many renowned experts who are world leaders in their field.
Discover some of the inspiring stories behind the ground-breaking work of our researchers. Read about how their research addresses local, national or global challenges, the impact it’s having, what drives them, and how they came to be a researcher in the first place.

The feature attraction
Bing Xue uses evolutionary computation to help us make sense of the larger picture in areas such as biomedical sciences and aquaculture.

The foreign policy ‘hustler’
An expert in politics and security in the Asia-Pacific, Van Jackson has been an advisor to the US government and now shares his insights with the world.

Amazing Grace
What began in childhood with his family’s Sinclair ZX81 home computer led to James Noble co-creating a new computer language called GRACE.

Listening to voices missing from the debate
Socially engaged research is important to anthropologist Catherine Trundle who is currently exploring the effect of the housing crisis on women.

Living between two worlds
New Zealanders need to move beyond seeing China just in terms of trade says Jason Young, whose research aims to deepen our knowledge of the emerging superpower.

Te reo Māori—a language of law
Law lecturer Māmari Stephens was delighted when the Dictionary of Māori Legal Terms she co-led became a valuable resource for the Māori Language Act 2016.

Mapping a digital landscape
Leon Gurevitch’s design research builds bridges between disciplines and includes exploring the migration of Hollywood visual-effects artists.

In defence of democracy
Joel Colón-Ríos explores the need for a New Zealand constitution in a ‘post-truth’ world of alternative facts and fake news.

From dairymaids to soldiers
Charlotte Macdonald’s research has focused on the history of New Zealand women and on the troops who fought in our bloody 1860s Land Wars.

All featured researchers
Find more stories about the exciting and important work of researchers across many subject areas at Victoria University of Wellington.