Rate My Professor Judy Rodda

Dr. Judy Rodda serves as Technical Officer in the School of Surveying within the Division of Sciences at the University of Otago, a position she joined in 2019 after working as a research assistant in the same school. She earned a BSc in Physics from Presbyterian College, an MSc in Oceanography from the Florida Institute of Technology, and a PhD from the University of Otago in 2016. Her doctoral thesis, supervised by Associate Professor Tony Moore and Professor Liz Slooten from the Department of Zoology, titled 'Analysis and Geovisualisation of Hector’s Dolphin Abundance and Distribution Patterns in Space and Time,' examined two years of monthly photographic data on the endangered Hector’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) along the south coast of the South Island. Employing geovisualisation and spatial statistics, the research revealed that these dolphins prefer aggregating in groups near freshwater outputs and, for the first time, that individuals specifically congregate in eastern and western portions of the study area. In her current role, Dr. Rodda provides technical support for teaching, research projects, and field camps, assisting both staff and students.