Robert Davey

Citation on the award of NZSEE Fellow, April 2021

Robert Davey is a nationally recognised and respected expert in earthquake engineering, specialising in
structural earthquake engineering, and loss estimation. He has been a member of the Society for over 30
years and is a Chartered Professional Engineer and Fellow of Engineering New Zealand. Engineering New
Zealand conferred the 2015 Freyssinet Award for his supreme technical contribution to the engineering
profession.

He was heavily involved with the response and recovery after the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake
Sequence and has assisted Engineering NZ and the Earthquake Commission with expert advice in resolving
insurance claims.

Robert has led many earthquake loss assessments for insurance companies, and for local authorities, both in
New Zealand and overseas. The Wellington earthquake damage and loss assessments that he led for the
region and lifelines in the early 1990s formed the basis for planning by the profession and the emergency
management sector for many years.

He was part of the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering management committee during 2013-2015 after
the Canterbury earthquakes and contributed to several Society initiatives to enhance the resilience of New
Zealand to earthquakes. He has published technical papers in the Society’s Bulletin and presented at its
annual conferences and the 2000 World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Robert was chairman of the
NZ Standards committee and led the update of the Standard NZS 3106:2009 on Liquid retaining structures.
Robert was part of the New Zealand seismic rehabilitation team to Iran after the 1990 Manjil Earthquake,
was a member of the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering reconnaissance team to Taiwan after the 1999
Chi Chi Earthquake and has brought back valuable lessons from these earthquakes for engineering practice
in New Zealand.

Robert held leadership positions in the Ministry of Works and Development, Works Consultancy, and Opus
International Consultants (now WSP), and led numerous projects involving the seismic design of buildings
and water retaining structures, the seismic assessment of buildings, water retaining structures and other civil
infrastructure, and development of strengthening to enhance seismic performance. Through these projects,
he trained and developed many structural engineers in earthquake engineering over the last few decades.
Robert is conferred Fellowship of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering for his exceptional
services to earthquake engineering over a very long period in New Zealand.