Citation on the award of NZSEE Fellow, April 2025
Dr Dean Bruce Saunders has been a member of NZSEE for about 20 years, a management committee member in 2006-7 and facilitator/editor for the 2009 revision of the Society’s Recommendations for the Seismic Design of Storage Tanks. He has presented papers on the seismic design of tanks and other aspects of the seismic design of industrial facilities, and chaired sessions at annual conferences.
He is highly respected among his professional colleagues for not only for his experience (both pragmatic, conceptual and detailed) in earthquake engineering, but particularly as a go-to for all aspects of the seismic design of tanks. The 2009 Recommendations include commentary, design charts and design examples often cited by designers in other countries. Over the intervening years, NZSEE has referred a majority of the queries re these recommendations to Dean for a response – often directly to the enquirer.
Dean’s PhD topic was the Seismic performance of pre-1970s non-ductile reinforced concrete waffle slab frame structures constructed with plain round reinforcing steel. (University of Canterbury, 2004). His intensive structure-testing experience and his development of elements of an assessment methodology for reinforced concrete structures, together with the postulation of damage-state indices, have served him well in his subsequent career with Beca in Wellington.
Within Beca, Dean is well known for his technical mentoring of colleagues on seismic design and rigorous assessment of a wide range of structures.
After earthquakes spanning Gisborne 2007 to Kaikōura 2016, he has been involved in site damage assessment and recovery efforts of winery facilities, particularly re tanks in Marlborough. He is often contacted for specialist advice by owners, designers, fabricators and insurers. Dean’s commitment to the assessment and repair of the Queensgate Mall after the latter earthquake in his home territory in Lower Hutt is legendary.
Many of the projects Dean works on use his knowledge of tank design and performance together with a sound understanding of the various New Zealand regulations covering Major Hazardous Facilities, pressure equipment and hazardous substances.
Dean’s contributions to NZSEE and his status in earthquake engineering well meet the criteria for him to be a Fellow of NZSEE.
