Citation on the award of NZSEE Fellow, April 2024
Stuart Palmer is conferred Fellowship of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering for his
services both to the Society and for his work in earthquake engineering professional practice in New
Zealand.
For over 30 years, Stuart has promoted and fostered the technical development of earthquake foundation engineering – in particular foundation design for new buildings and assessment of existing buildings along Wellington’s reclaimed waterfront. He is highly respected for his work regarding liquefaction and lateral spread, soil structure interaction, assessment of existing buildings and low damage seismic design.
Stuart’s trademark is collaboration. In his practice as an earthquake foundation engineer, Stuart has championed a collaborative structural/geotechnical approach, encouraging closer working of structural and geotechnical engineers to achieve balanced, practical outcomes for their clients.
This collaborative approach extends beyond the engineering practice of Tonkin and Taylor, to adding a geotechnical perspective to the NZSEE Management Committee from 2016 to 2018, and the Joint Committee for Seismic Assessment of Existing Buildings since 2022. As well as other working groups drafting guidance such as Design Guidance for Design of Conventional Structural Systems; Seismic Assessment of Existing Buildings Section C4 Geotechnical Considerations; Low Damage Seismic Design handbook; and Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering Practice modules.
Stuart is held in high regard by his peers across the structural and geotechnical fields. He is invited to speak at workshops and conferences to help bring an interdisciplinary perspective. He often presents jointly with structural engineering colleagues. Some highlights are “Integrated Design: Geotech” for SESOC Emerging Structural Engineers/NZGS in 2020; “Combining geotechnical and structural for the best results” for NZGS in 2021; and “Integrated Design: Geotechnical & Structural” for NZGS/SESOC in 2021.
Finally, we note that Stuart is known for supporting younger engineers, passing on his knowledge, advancing their technical and professional development and in doing so encouraging the next generation of earthquake engineers.
His efforts are very greatly appreciated by the Society and are acknowledged with the award of a New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering Fellowship
