Finalists for the 2022 Wellingtonian of the year Awards (The Wellys) have been announced and we are proud to share that Institute of Building member Dr Negin Imani has been named as a finalist in the Environment category.

The Wellys celebrates people across nine categories, with one overall Welly Recipient recognised as the supreme winner - The Wellingtonian of the Year. The Awards evening will be held on 29 March at the Embassy Theatre.

When you look into Dr Imani’s work it’s hardly surprising she’s been named as a finalist. Her list of accomplishments is impressive and ever growing!

Dr Imani is the Science Leader of NZ's National Science Challenge Science for technological innovation', researching in the field of Biomimetic buildings for climate change adaptation. Dr Imani is the founder of Biomimicry New Zealand, which is part of Biomimicry Institute global network. She’s also a TEDx speaker and a published author. She also works part-time at the Open Polytechnic of NZ.

Dr Imani’s research focuses on biomimetic energy-efficient building design with a focus on thermal regulation. She explores the possibility of designing fully automated buildings that respond to their environments the way living organisms, such as plants, do. Her research looks to bridge the gap between biology and architecture.

We are proud to have Dr Negin Imani as a member of the Institute and we will have our fingers crossed for her on the night of the Wellys!

Find out more about Dr Negin Imani and her work:

• Negin has published her research outputs through co-authored books:
• She has co-authored two published books: ‘Heating with Wolves, Cooling with Cacti’  and “Biomimetic Buildings: Copying Nature for Energy Efficiency” 
• Find out more about Biomimicry 
• Watch Dr Imani on You Tube