User tools
Dr Mike Williams
- Position:
- Research Scientist
- Field:
- Physical oceanography, marine physics
- Organisation:
- NIWA
Born in Dunedin, Dr Mike Williams has travelled the world for his research as a physical oceanographer, looking at why and how the ocean circulates. He has spent time researching off the coast of Chile, in Denmark, Australia and Antarctica. He is now based in Wellington where he is interested in understanding how ocean circulation around Antarctica affects both New Zealand’s climate and the world’s climate.
As a research scientist, he spends time measuring how icebergs move and how sea ice may affect the movement of water. He also spends time doing data analysis and running complex mathematical models. His Masters degree in mathematics has provided him with a lot of experience with numbers.
“While studying at Otago University, I met people who showed me that maths is more diverse than solving equations on pieces of paper,” Mike says.
When asked what he likes most about research, Mike answered, “I think the thing I like most about doing scientific research is the problem solving – it’s not so much that I want to know everything there is about icebergs or sea ice. I want to find out why we don’t know things about icebergs or sea ice.”
This article is based on information current in 2007.
