EG Quiz – Issue 34

1. The Wairākei Power Station was the first in the world to use flash technology for power generation.
2. The 2026 Fellows’ Dinner in Wellington on Friday 20 March will celebrate and honour how many new Fellows and Distinguished Fellows? (A) 31; (B) 41; (C) 51.
3. What is the International System of Units (SI) unit of pressure?
4. *How many rail lines do Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains operate on?
5. The Modified Mercalli intensity scale is used to categorise what natural phenomenon?
6. *What is the capacity of the Waimea Community Dam, completed in February 2025? (A) 1,300,000m3; (B) 13,000,000m3; (C) 130,000,000m3
7. A 2023 review into the design of what structures prompted the development of a series of modules to provide guidance on and improve approaches to their design?
8. The Arthur Mead Award at the 2026 Auckland Awards honours the legacy of the eminent engineer who was instrumental in designing which two Auckland dams?
9. The secondary purpose of Te Ara Tupua – the coastal path along State Highway 2 between Wellington and Lower Hutt – is to provide a safe walking and cycling track. What is its primary purpose?
10. *Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – huge explosions on the Sun that trigger geomagnetic storms – can have dire implications for which critical infrastructure?

*This issue of EG holds the answer you’re after – hunt around and get reading!

Got a question that’ll leave your peers stumped? Submit it to eg.quiz@engineeringnz.org

ANSWERS

1. Steam. It was the second geothermal power station in the world, and the first to use flash steam from geothermal water to generate electricity. Pretty flash, right?! Read more
2. (C) 51 – Five Distinguished Fellows and 46 Fellows will be celebrated for their impact on your profession.
3. Pascal (Pa)
4. Nine
5. Earthquakes. New Zealand uses the 12-step Modified Mercalli scale (the original is 10 steps) as an indication of an earthquake’s effects on people and their environment.
6. (B) 13,000,000m3
7. Warehouses. Members can access the first three in a series of modules on the Member portal.
8. Upper Nihotupu and Huia Dams. Meet the winners and flick through the album to see how it all went down on the night!
9. To improve transport resilience along this vital stretch into and out of Wellington – one of only two main corridors into and out of Wellington. Want an insider’s look at the project from Senior Project Engineer Brandon Murray? Read Brandon’s story
10. Electricity. For most people, a geomagnetic storm means taking awesome photos of auroras in the sky – for those managing electricity grids, they can spell disaster.