Review

science and computer science that are my academic and research fields. These fields impact most engineering professionals. I strongly believe ICT engineering will have a huge space to develop, grow, and be applied to many other engineering professions.

What is the top book you’d recommend to other engineers and why?

Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans by Melanie Mitchell. As AI and machine learning techniques are so useful for all engineering fields and our daily lives, it would be helpful if our engineering professionals have some general knowledge of AI.

What publication has most influenced your career?

The lectures and books by Professor Pusheng Kuang in China in the late 1980s. He was the first person who successfully used and applied AI techniques to mechanical engineering in China. Modern Machinery Fault Diagnosis Principle and Techniques was the first book in China that applied AI techniques to equipment fault diagnosis with future trends. More than 30 years later, the patterns he identified then are still in the “frontier” of engineering and agricultural/horticultural/aquacultural research now.

What work-related books are on your must-read list?

Zbigniew Michalewicz’s How to Solve It: Modern Heuristics and Genetic Algorithms + Data Structures = Evolution Programs are top of my list. They connect AI and evolutionary computation to engineering applications.

What do you read for fun?

Old historical stories and modern international news. I also look at the impact metrics for non-engineering professions, particularly those in social sciences and legal fields.

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Aroha – Māori Wisdom for a Contented Life Lived in Harmony with Our Planet

By Hinemoa Elder Publisher: Penguin Random House RRP: $30

With Te Wiki o te Reo Māori in September (12–18) and Mental Health Awareness Week also kicking off later that same month, (26 Sept–2 Oct), this book beautifully weaves together the two areas.

Written by Hinemoa Elder MNZM, Aroha - Māori Wisdom for a Contented Life Lived in Harmony with Our Planet, contains the timeless wisdom of Māori proverbs. The book comprises 52 whakatauki – simple, powerful life lessons – and there’s one for every week of the year. Hinemoa is a child and adolescent psychiatrist who works at Starship Hospital’s Child and Family and Mother and Baby Units and various community clinics. She explains each whakatauki to show people how to live a less stressful daily life, with more contentment and kindness for each other and the planet. The book looks at how the power of aroha can help you each day, and through its many meanings – fundamental Māori values – create a happier world. Chapters include manaakitanga (love for each other); kaitiakitanga (respect for our planet); whanaungatanga (community and connectivity) and tino rangatiratanga (selfdetermination).

The top-selling New Zealand non-fiction title of 2021, Aroha also got a shout out from Oprah Winfrey with a mention on one of the Oprah’s Book Club lists. At the time of publishing, Aroha continued to feature as one of the week's top 10 biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list.