SPEAKERS

Laurie Johnson is an internationally recognized urban planner specializing in disaster recovery and catastrophe risk management. For over 35 years, she has combined her unique blend of professional practice and research in earth science, urban planning and public policy to help communities, the insurance industry and other organizations address the complex challenges posed by natural hazards and disasters. Much of her community recovery management and research experience is captured in her book, After Great Disasters: An In-Depth Analysis of How Six Countries Managed Community Recovery. She was the 2019-2022 president of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute and 2012-2018 chair of the U.S. Advisory Committee for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, and currently chairs the Advisory Board for the Global Earthquake Model Foundation. In 2024, she received EERI’s Alfred E. Alquist Special Recognition Medal for her extensive work and dedication in improving the seismic safety and resilience of communities around the world.

Santiago Pujol is Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Canterbury. Prior to moving to New Zealand, he was Professor of Civil Engineering at the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University. His experience includes: earthquake engineering, evaluation and strengthening of existing structures, response of reinforced concrete to impulsive loads and earthquake demands, instrumentation and testing of structures, and failure investigations. He is a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute (ACI), and member of ACI committees 445 (Torsion and Shear), 314 (Simplified Design), 133 (Disaster Reconnaissance), and 318R (High-Strength Reinforcement). He is also member of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), associate editor of Earthquake Spectra, and founder of datacenterhub.org (a site funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and dedicated to the systematic collection of research data). He received the Chester Paul Siess Award for Excellence in Structural Research from ACI, the Educational Award from Architectural Institute of Japan, and the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from ASCE.

Moustafa is the Lead Advisor Structures at the New Zealand Transport Agency. He completed his PhD at the University of Auckland and his experience spans across design, assessment and research for bridges in particular and structures in general. He has experience working with codes from New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada and Europe.His research interests include the analysis and design of seismically-isolated bridge structures for earthquake resilience using a variety of earthquake protection systems, and the design of bridge structures to a variety of international design codes. Moustafa is also committed to contribution to advancement of the engineering industry, through presentation of industry seminars and involvement in professional organisations. He is the current President of the Concrete NZ – Learned Society, is NZ Head Delegate for fib, and has ongoing involvement in technical activities within Austroads, fib, IABSE, and the TRB.

Julian is a Technical Principal in Structural and Earthquake Engineering at WSP serving as a technical leader for the regional business. With over 17 years of consulting experience and two master's degrees, he has wide ranging knowledge that brings a holistic approach to earthquake engineering. He specialises in the seismic assessment of building structures and seismic soil-structure interaction. Julian has served as a member of NZSEE's Management Committee and have been actively involved with the Learning From Earthquakes mission to Hualien, Taiwan, sharing  the lessons with the members of the Society and the engineering community.

Brabha is a nationally recognised leader in geotechnical engineering and resilience who has worked in the field for over 35 years. He is National Technical Director for Geotechnical Engineering and Resilience for WSP in New Zealand and has led contributed to many of the most geotechnically complex infrastructure projects in New Zealand in this time. Brabha is the current NZSEE president. 

Assoc. Prof Julia Becker is an Associate Professor at the Joint Centre for Disaster Research (JCDR) in the School of Psychology at Massey University, Wellington. Her areas of expertise include perceptions, preparedness, community resilience, emergency management and warnings.  Her research has focussed on earthquakes as well as other perils such as flooding, volcanic and coastal hazards. 

Charlotte is Joint Managing Director of ResOrgs, a research, consulting and training group helping organisations, groups and communities to be future ready.  As a social scientist with a civil engineering background, Charlotte often works at the interface between physical and social sciences.  Charlotte’s areas of specialty include risk management, systems thinking, decision-making and organisational resilience.  Charlotte also has particular strengths in the practical application and communication of research.  Charlotte is an Adjunct Fellow with the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.  

Dave Brunsdon represents SESOC on the Joint Committee for Seismic Assessment and retrofit, and is a member of MBIE’s Seismic Review Steering Group.

Prof. Ken Elwood joined the University of Auckland in July 2014 after 11 years on faculty at the University of British Columbia, Canada. He served as the inaugural Director of Te Hiranga Rū QuakeCoRE: Centre for Earthquake Resilience.

In November 2021 Ken started a multi-year secondment to the New Zealand Government to serve as the MBIE/EQC Chief Engineer (Building Resilience). Through this role, Ken champions the resilience of New Zealand’s built environment, by establishing strong stakeholder connections and promoting collaboration between relevant research, policy, and practice players.Ken received his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2002, M.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1995, and BASc from the University of British Columbia in 1993.

Jeff, with more than two decades in building regulatory roles, leads the Auckland Council building inspection team. Annually, his team conducts over 200,000 inspections, offering valuable insights into construction quality across Auckland. Jeff is also a Tier 1 Building Response Manager who manages rapid building assessment operations after disaster events. He is currently sitting on the board for the Chartered Professional Engineers (CPEng) and the Building Officials Institute of NZ (BOINZ). He also sits on the Building Research Advisory Council (BRAC) and is a member of the Association of Building Compliance.

John Hare is a structural engineer and Managing Director of the Holmes Group of companies.  He has worked in NZ, UK and the US, and is now based in Christchurch.  He has extensive experience in both the design of new structures and in the assessment and strengthening of existing buildings.  He has had extensive involvement with a number of Christchurch landmarks, including the Town Hall, Old Government Buildings, Arts Centre and the Christchurch Cathedral. John is a Distinguished Fellow of Engineering NZ and a Life member of both SESOC and NZSEE

Rob’s 47-year career with Beca has involved many areas of structural engineering and he currently holds the position of Beca’s Chief Structural Engineer. His advice is often sought on all aspects of structural and earthquake engineering and he is currently advising the New Zealand Government on several issues including seismic design standards for New Zealand. Over the last thirty-five years Rob has participated in the development of earthquake standards for New Zealand, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Romania and Nepal. He acted as a key specialist in the Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission of Enquiry and in the evidence gathering exercise related to the collapse of the CTV Building, the PGC Building collapse and the stair collapses in the Forsyth Barr Building during the Christchurch 2011 earthquake. Rob was chief editor for Guidelines for the Seismic Assessment of Existing Buildings, the document that is the basis for seismic assessments of existing buildings in New Zealand and is currently a member of the seismic risk working group and chair of the TS 1170.5 committee. Rob is a Life Member of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering and the New Zealand Society of Structural Engineers and is a Distinguished Fellow of Engineering New Zealand. Rob received the ONZM in the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours list for his services to structural engineering.

Dr Royce Liu is a Bridge Engineer working at the Christchurch Office of WSP. He has nearly 3 years of industry experience and 7 years of academia experience. Dr Liu obtained his doctorate in Earthquake Engineering from the University of Canterbury in 2019 through his thesis titled “Multi – Performance Seismic Design of Low Damage Bridge Piers”. Dr Liu’s, specialties cover: low damage seismic design, structural analysis, and the assessment of bridges. He also has interests in soil-structure interaction and low embodied carbon design of bridges. 

Matthew is the Manager Building Performance and Resilience at MBIE. His team has a policy focus on building resilience encompassing climate, fire and the seismic resilience of existing buildings. He has worked in the fields of public policy, resource management and landuse planning and has worked in both local and central government since graduation.

Hamish McKenzie is Industry Engagement Lead and Principal at Holmes with nearly 30 years of experience as a consultant structural engineer over half of that based in Wellington.  He is a Chartered Professional Engineer, Fellow of Engineering New Zealand and Life Member and Past President of the Structural Engineering Society of New Zealand.  Hamish has been involved in a multitude of structural design, earthquake engineering, seismic assessment, and adaptive re-use projects, including many well-known Wellington buildings such as Parliament Buildings, Aurora Centre, Majestic Centre and Wellington Railway Station and has advised many clients in expert and advisory roles.

Maria Mingallon leads the Knowledge and Information team for Mott MacDonald in the Asia Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand region, overseeing governance and implementation of AI solutions. With over 20 years of experience in AI, Robotic Process Automation, Computational Design, and Data solutions, Maria offers a unique blend of technology knowledge and domain expertise in structural engineering and architecture. She holds a Master's in Emergent Technologies and Design from the Architectural Association and certifications in AI/ML from Columbia University. Maria has pioneered digital innovations in the construction industry across the UK, Canada, and New Zealand. She has been recognised with awards such as the 2015 Visionary Prize and the 2020 Autodesk’s 40 Under 40. As a member of the Executive Council of the Artificial Intelligence Forum of New Zealand, Maria chairs the AEC Working Group, driving AI adoption in the AEC sector.

Associate Professor Raj Prasanna is a distinguished expert in technology and systems supporting emergency management. He leads the CRISiSLab at Massey University's Joint Centre for Disaster Research, focusing on integrating disruptive technologies into solving complex crisis management problems. Raj's research interests encompass the Internet of Things (IoT) application for disaster management, distributed warning system architectures, AI-driven data fusion, human-computer interfaces, and alternative data communication solutions supporting emergencies. At CRISiSLab, he spearheads pioneering research into decentralised earthquake early warning systems, utilising community-engaged, low-cost ground motion detection devices. Raj has served as a board member of the Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM) Association, contributing to the global research network dedicated to information systems for crisis response and management. Prior to his academic career, Raj worked in the industry for nearly a decade in various managerial and technical roles, including a top managerial position in a large-scale manufacturing company in Sri Lanka.

Henry is chartered professional engineer and has 20 years of structural engineering experience across a wide range of structures. For the last 15 years the focus of his work has been providing clients with seismic advice in relation to both existing and new buildings.  He has provided portfolio seismic advice to clients with large asset bases with a focus on sound risk management balanced against other portfolio constraints. Through this work Henry has been responsible for numerous seismic assessments of existing buildings. He has recently advised clients on issues relating to the new national seismic hazard model and how to mitigate the impacts of this when considering the design of new buildings.

Henry is a member of the Joint Committee for the Seismic Assessment and Retrofit of Existing Buildings, a committee chaired by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment with representation from the technical societies and responsible for providing guidance on maintenance and updating of New Zealand’s seismic assessment guidelines.

Henry is a member of Engineering New Zealand, New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering and the Structural Engineering Society of New Zealand and a Chartered Professional Engineer.

Jenni Tipler Manages the Resilient Buildings team at Wellington City Council, responsible for the implementation of earthquake-prone building policy in Wellington. Her background is in structural engineering (BE(Hons), MEEES (EU), Engineer Degree (USA)), public policy and regulation (BA, MPP). She has worked both in the private sector as a structural engineer, and in the public sector, where she worked at MBIE and was responsible for managing the Building Code.

Sonny Vercoe (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Tahu, Ngāti Whakaue) is an emerging Māori researcher in civil engineering dedicated to developing the seismic assessment of wharenui. Currently a PhD candidate at The University of Auckland, his research focuses on investigating the wharenui structure and current seismic assessment practice. A product of his time in kōhanga reo, kura kaupapa and marae, Sonny draws from his cultural and engineering backgrounds to contribute to and enhance the understanding of research that is particularly relevant to Māori communities.