Taupō nui-a-Tia, and University of Waikato science graduate Jonti Owen, has returned after her studies to develop her career right here in Taupō.
Jonti works for MB Century, a Geothermal and Energy Solutions Company, which completes geothermal and hydroelectrical investigation, maintenance, and development work throughout New Zealand and internationally. Jonti’s role as a Geothermal Monitoring Technician includes lots of fieldwork, tool development and maintenance, data entry, and data analysis. Field work involves ground water sampling and temperature profiling, power station production and reinjection chemistry, geothermal surface feature monitoring, and flow testing on geothermal steam pipes. Jonti has also been sub-contracted out recently to Geo40, a silica extraction company where she worked in quality control doing geochemical analysis.
“Growing up in Taupō, I was surrounded by geothermal activity which is where my passion for the Earth Sciences started. I was introduced to the ‘Girls in Science’ program through school (Taupo nui-a-Tia College), which exposed me to the different aspects of science. After university I went on a field trip with ‘Girls in High-Vis’ which
introduced me to the power industries. I showed an expression of interest at MB Century because I valued their presence in the local community and wanted to be part of an industry that supports renewable energy”.
