Meet the first Māori quantum physicist: Jacob Ngaha

Dr Jacob Ngaha, New Zealand's first Māori quantum physicist, enjoys outreach with schools “to show that it’s possible to be Māori and work in the area of science and physics,” he told Radio New Zealand.

“For Māori youth, meeting someone like me may not be something they see every day.”

Theoretical quantum optics is Ngaha’s field and 'Frequency-Filtered Photon-Correlations' was the title of his thesis for his PhD, supervised by Professor Howard Carmichael – “a hugely important role model.”

Ngaha’s now a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Mathematics, part of the non-linear dynamics group looking at quantum effects in coupled nano-lasers.

With tribal affiliations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Kahu, and Waikato Tainui, Ngaha is someone who believes mātauranga Māori should be valued.

“At the end of the day, science is about knowledge and figuring things out. There’s not just one way to figure things out. Dismissing Māori teachings outright is not a scientific thing to do,” he told RNZ.