Ocean Mercier Explained

Ocean Ripeka Mercier
Fields:	Physics, Māori Science
Alma Mater:	Victoria University of Wellington
Thesis Title:	Optical Conductivity of Colossal Magnetoresistance Manganites
Thesis Url:	http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/handle/10063/598
Thesis Year:	2002
Doctoral Students:	Elizabeth Kerekere^[1]
Awards:	Māori Academic Achievement Award in Physics, Inaugural Recipient, 2002; Ako Aotearoa Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award, 2012; New Zealand Association of Scientists Cranwell Medal 2017

Ocean Ripeka Mercier is a New Zealand academic specialising in physics and Māori science.

Career

After a B.Sc. (Hons) Mercier did a PhD at Victoria University of Wellington, in association with Industrial Research Ltd.^{[2] [3]}

Mercier is involved in the field of Māori science, the application of scientific principles and mātauranga Māori to real-world problems. As well as teaching it,^[4] she presents a television programme on the topic called Project Mātauranga,^[5] now in its second season.^{[6] [7]} Mercier is on the editorial board of the MAI Journal.

In 2017 she was awarded the New Zealand Association of Scientists Cranwell Medal for science communication efforts.^{[8] [9]} In 2019 Mercier was awarded the Royal Society Te Apārangi's Callaghan Medal.^[10] She was a part of the Imagining Decolonised Cities Team, which won the 2021 Te Rangaunua Hiranga Māori Award, conferred by the Royal Society Te Apārangi.^[11]

Selected publications

• Harris, Pauline and Ocean Mercier. Te ara pūtaiao o ngā tūpuna, mō ngā mokopuna: science education and research In Mulholland, M. (2006). State of the Māori nation: Twenty-first-century issues in Aotearoa. Auckland [N.Z.]: Reed.
• Mercier, O. R., Asmar, C. and Page, S. (January 1, 2011). An academic occupation: mobilisation, sit-in, speaking out and confrontation in the experiences of Maori academics. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 40, 81-91.
• Mercier, Ocean Ripeka. 'Glocalising' Indigenous Knowledges for the Classroom. In Dei, G. J. S. (2017). Indigenous philosophies and critical education: A reader. New York: Peter Lang.
• Mercier, Ocean Ripeka. What is decolonisation? In Elkington, B. (2020). Imagining decolonisation. Wellington: Bridget Williams Books.
• Mercier, Ocean Ripeka and Beth Ginondidoy Leonard "Our Indigenous brothers and sisters are available for us and we are available for them": non-local relationships nurturing research through an Alaska-Aotearoa online student exchange. In Sumida, H. E. and Martin, N. D. (2020). Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies: Local solutions and global opportunities. Toronto: Canadian Knowledge.
• Palmer, S. and Mercier, O. R. (April 3, 2021). Biotechnologies in pest wasp control: taking the sting out of pest management for Māori businesses?. New Genetics and Society, 40, 2, 155-177.

Personal life

Mercier is of Ngāti Porou descent.

External links

• Institutional homepage

Notes and References

1. Part of The Whānau: The Emergence of Takatāpui Identity - He Whāriki Takatāpui . Open Access Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington . 2017-01-01 . Doctoral . en . Elizabeth . Kerekere.
2. Web site: Ocean Mercier – Te Kawa a Māui – School of Māori Studies – Victoria University of Wellington . Victoria.ac.nz . 2014-04-16 . 2014-06-18.
3. Mercier . Ocean . 2002 . Doctoral thesis . Optical Conductivity of Colossal Magnetoresistance Manganites . Open Access Repository Victoria University of Wellington, Victoria University of Wellington . 10.26686/wgtn.16945906 . free .
4. Web site: MAOR-124 – Te Kawa a Māui – School of Māori Studies – Victoria University of Wellington . Victoria.ac.nz . 2012-11-15 . 2014-06-18.
5. Web site: Project Matauranga (TV Series 2012–) - IMDb. www.imdb.com.
6. Web site: Māori Influence and Innovation Celebrated in New Season of Project Mātauranga | Māori Television . Maoritelevision.com . 2013-08-09 . 2014-06-18.
7. Web site: Project Matauranga series 2 to profile ground-breaking work of Maori scientists | Te Arawa Whānau Ora Collective . Tearawawhanauora.org.nz . 2013-08-23 . 2014-06-18.
8. Web site: New Zealand Association of Scientists – Cranwell Medal. scientists.org.nz. en. 2018-10-11.
9. Web site: Dr Ocean Mercier wins prestigious Science Communicator's Medal. Wellington. Victoria University of. 2017-11-20. Victoria University of Wellington. en. 2019-07-16.
10. Web site: 2019 Callaghan Medal: “A bridge between worlds” – physical science and mātauranga Māori. Royal Society Te Apārangi.
11. Web site: 2021 Te Rangaunua Hiranga Māori Award: What decolonisation might mean for Aotearoa’s towns and cities. 2021-11-21. Royal Society Te Apārangi.