Editor’s Letter – Mar/Apr 2021

You will notice as you go through this issue that we have gone heavy on the America’s Cup, and while the actual on-the-water racing might be the thing that gets all of the coverage and yields all of tickertape activity at the end of it all, there is so much that goes on behind the scenes. There is all of the finance and sponsorship rigmarole that must have been a nail-biting race in itself, but, of course, there is also the ground-breaking development in multiple disciplines of engineering and design that have gone into this campaign. Perhaps watching a Computational Fluid Dynamics Specialist run a simulation on a hull iteration isn’t anyone’s idea of compelling daytime television, but it still a vital part of all of the elements that lead up to the aforementioned tickertape activity.

The really amazing thing is that a lot of this technology and development does cross over into commercial opportunity for wider New Zealand in the way that Rocket Lab have leveraged talent and capability from past campaigns. There is probably a lesson somewhere in here about also celebrating those who shun the limelight and follow STEM fields in order to contribute as part of a community to further technology and the opportunity that comes from this. Especially in a time when we need to leverage the “Number 8 Wire” innovation that has formed part of our story. So, as we quite rightly so celebrate our sporting heroes, also spare a thought for the heroes behind the scenes.