Management Committee

Technical Principal – Structural and Earthquake Engineering
WSP
Elected to Management Committee 2024

I am Julian, a Technical Principal in Structural and Earthquake Engineering at WSP in Taupo. With over 16 years of consulting experience, I bring a multidisciplinary approach to earthquake engineering. My expertise spans structural, civil, and geotechnical areas. I graduated from the University of Buenos Aires and later completed a master’s degree in Earthquake Engineering at the University of Canterbury. From 130-meter-high dams to tunnels and buildings, I’ve worked across various projects in active seismic zones, not only in New Zealand but around the world. Earthquake engineering has been my passion and one of the reasons to move to Aotearoa. It drives my personal purpose as an engineer as I strive to save lives by designing resilient structures and mentoring fellow engineers to find their passion in this field too. In the past year I have been part of the Management Committee and have been actively involved with the Learning From Earthquakes missions and programme, training on the seismic assessment guidelines and supporting the annual conference organisation. My vision is to continue to grow the Society by strengthening collaboration between professionals, researchers, and students and by championing policies and knowledge that promote earthquake resilience. I am committed to NZSEE’s renowned excellence. As a management committee member, I’ll contribute my knowledge and skills to create a better society of professionals for a more resilient Aotearoa. Nga Mihi, Julian.

Contact
julian.benito@wsp.com

National Technical Director
WSP, Wellington
Elected to Management Committee 2019

Brabhaharan is a National Technical Director at WSP, with a focus on earthquake & geotechnical engineering, and resilience. He has over 40 years’ experience in New Zealand and overseas, and has been a member of the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering for over 30 years.
Brabha has a passion to enhance our resilience to earthquakes, climatic and other hazards. He combines research, learning from earthquakes, assessments, design, standards and guidance development and advisory services to infuse resilience to earthquakes, geotechnical and climatic hazards.
He was a member of the Society’s management committee in 2003 – 2013 and 2019 - and a past member of the Editorial Board of the Society’s Bulletin. Taking part in Society’s reconnaissance missions following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China and the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake in Japan, he brought back and disseminated and embedded valuable lessons for New Zealand, into research and practice. Brabha shares his knowledge widely and is keen to broaden the engagement and seek ideas of a wide range of professionals, so that we can collectively focus on enhancing our resilience.

Contact:
WSP
Majestic Centre, 100 Willis St,
P O Box 12-003, Wellington 6144
Telephone +64 27 483 0705

brabha@wsp.com

Senior Lecturer
University of Auckland
Elected to the Committee 2026

Alex is currently a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland. Alex graduated with a BE(hons) and PhD both from the University of Auckland. Alex also undertook a Research Fellow and Assistant Professor posts at top ranking universities in Japan. Alex’s research interests lie primarily in the performance of reinforced concrete buildings in earthquakes, with specific topics of repaired RC buildings, base-isolated buildings and recently non-structural components. Through this work Alex has engaged with international researchers, manufacturers, design consultancy firms, and government entities. This aligns with NZSEE's objectives of promoting international collaboration across the field and advancing the field's science and practice.
As a long-standing member in NZSEE, presenting at conferences and earning accolades such as the Best Paper Awards and the Otto Glogau Award, Alex has demonstrated strong support for the Society's mission. This history of engagement and commitment to excellence in earthquake engineering research positions Alex as an ideal candidate for the Management Committee. By representing the academic community and giving back to the earthquake engineering field, Alex seeks to enhance NZSEE's role in promoting innovation, safety, and resilience in earthquake engineering.

Contact
alex.shegay@auckland.ac.nz

Research Fellow
Joint Centre for Disaster Research at Massey University
Elected to Management Committee 2024

Catalina Miranda is a lecturer at the Joint Centre for Disaster Research at Massey University. Originally a structural engineer from Chile, Catalina moved to Aotearoa, New Zealand, after working for four years in the industry as a project engineer. Catalina obtained her PhD in civil engineering from the University of Auckland. Catalina is interested in timber-framed structures' performance during earthquakes and factors influencing structural preparedness. With a strong technical foundation in timber engineering, Catalina is fascinated by understanding community perceptions of risk and actions to mitigate it. Her research work contributes to enhancing resilience through understanding the intersection between social science and engineering. Her recent research publications cover a range of topics, including seismic risk communication and seismic performance of timber-framed houses. Catalina brings an emerging multidisciplinary research and practice perspective to NZSEE, and with her current relationships, she would work with a variety of people and agencies to advance NZSEE's aims.

Contact
c.miranda1@massey.ac.nz

Beca
Technical Director – Structural Engineering
Elected to Management Committee 2023

Dion currently sits on the NZSEE Management Committee.
Dion is a Technical Director & Principal with Beca Ltd. Prior to returning to New Zealand and joining Beca, Dion worked as a Senior Structural Engineer & Technical Director in California from 2016-2022, where his project experience included assessment and retrofit of existing buildings (his passion), and new construction, covering the commercial, residential, and historic preservation sectors. During his time in California, Dion was active within the engineering profession - he is a current Associate Voting member of ASCE7-28, ASCE41-23, and contributes to several Task Groups within those organizations.
Dion is motivated to support industry working groups - particularly in areas that disseminate knowledge and support to practicing engineers, and to help make every day better.
Dion is currnetly supporting a Task Group that is working towards finalising the NZSEE (Draft) Seismic Isolation Design Guide.

Contact
Dion.Marriott@beca.com

Holmes NZ
Technical Director
Elected to Management Committee 2025

Didier is a Technical Director in the Structures team at Holmes NZ, based in Christchurch. His role with Holmes includes project delivery, technical advancement and overseeing development and maintenance of internal design guidance. He also holds a position as Adjunct Professor of Practice at the University of Canterbury, teaching courses as part of the Masters of Architectural Engineering programme.
Didier has a keen interest in new earthquake engineering research and how practicing engineers can both adopt and contribute-to this in New Zealand. He has been a regular participant and contributor at NZSEE conferences, along with co-authoring a number of papers and providing peer reviews for the NZSEE Bulletin.
The close connections between research and practice in New Zealand and the role that NZSEE plays in promoting this is an exciting part of Earthquake Engineering in this country. Didier is keen to play an active role in the Management Committee to help facilitate and strengthen the connections between research and application in the industry, and to champion the opportunity that membership provides for students and young engineers who are taking the first steps in their careers.
Didier's 13 years of project experience in New Zealand ranges across new design and assessment/retrofit, along with low-damage seismic design using base isolation and supplemental damping. He also spent four years working on the West Coast of North America with a number of high-rise projects based on early performance-based design procedures. More recently Didier was a member of the working group that developed the NZSEE Guideline for the Design of Seismic Isolation Systems for Buildings, and is currently co-lead of the Structural Factors team as part of the Seismic Risk Working Group.

Contact
Level 2, 254 Montreal Street
Christchurch Central
didier.p@holmesgroup.com

Senior Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Canterbury
Elected to Management Committee 2026

Dr. Ke Jiang is a Senior Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Canterbury, specialising in high-performance steel and composite structures. Her research integrates experimental testing, numerical modelling, and developing practical design approaches, with a strong focus on structural performance and resilience. Ke completed PhD in Structural Engineering at Nanyang Technological University Singapore in 2022, and received the 2023 Women in Engineering, Science and Technology Award in recognition of her outstanding research achievements and innovative discoveries. Since joining the University of Canterbury in 2023, she has actively contributed to national and international structural engineering community. She serves as an Associate Investigator of QuakeCoRE, Associate Editor of Structures (Tier 1 journal) and Editorial Board Member of Engineering Structures (Tier 1 journal), demonstrating leadership, research excellence, and a strong commitment to knowledge dissemination. Ke is a member of NZSEE Learnings from Earthquakes subcommittee and participated in reconnaissance mission following the 2024 Hualien Earthquake in Taiwan, contributing to field surveys, post-event assessments and dissemination of findings. Through her research expertise, collaborative engagement, and professional service, Ke is well-positioned to support NZSEE’s mission to advance earthquake resilience in NZ.

Contact
ke.jiang@canterbury.ac.nz

Principal Structural Engineer
Mott MacDonald
Elected to Management Committee 2026

Nikoo Hazaveh is a Principal Structural Engineer at Mott MacDonald. She is a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng), with over 10 years of experience working on commercial, residential, retail, institutional, and health projects in New Zealand and the Middle East, using NZ and US codes and standards. Nikoo strongly advocates for resilient and low-damage design, contributing to several recent projects using base isolations and viscous dampers in New Zealand and California.

She holds a PhD in Structural/Earthquake Engineering from the University of Canterbury, focusing on low-damage design, and has introduced and built the next generation of a viscous damper called the D3 Viscous Damper.

Nikoo has received several awards throughout her career, including the 2022 NZSEE/QuakeCoRE Women Leaders in Earthquake Engineering Award, the 2017 NZSEE/ASSISI Best poster/paper Award, the 2015 Quakecore Research Grant, the 2013 Natural Hazards Research Platform (NHRP) PhD Scholarship.

Her involvement with NZSEE began in 2022 when she joined the conference organising committee. These experiences have allowed her to contribute ideas and time to the conference and NZSEE, while learning about how the society runs. She continues to be an active member of the committee this year as well.

Contact
Nikoo.Hazaveh@mottmac.com

Professor
University of Canterbury, Christchurch
Elected to Management Committee 2010

Professor Rajesh Dhakal is the Head of the Civil Engineering Department at University of Canterbury. Rajesh is also a Chartered Professional Engineer in NZ, and a fellow of NZSEE and Engineering NZ. Rajesh has been a member of the NZSEE management committee since 2010 and has been serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Society’s quarterly Bulletin since 2015.

Contact:
editor@nzsee.org.nz
rajesh.dhakal@canterbury.ac.nz

Senior Scientist
GNS
Elected to Management Committee 2025

Sanjay Bora, a senior scientist at GNS, is an engineering seismologist. He earned his PhD in Geophysics from the University of Potsdam in Germany and conducted postdoctoral research at the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam and at Swiss Seismological Service (ETH) Zurich. Before joining GNS, Sanjay was an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar. He played a key role in the revision of the New Zealand national seismic hazard model (NZ NSHM 2022). Sanjay serves the editorial board of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA) as associate editor since April 2021. His primary research interests lie in ground-motion modeling and seismic hazard analysis, focusing on uncertainty quantification and propagation. Sanjay is a strong advocator of multidisciplinary and cross-agency interaction/engagement for better understanding of earthquake hazard and its consequences in New Zealand and globally.

Contact
s.bora@gns.cri.nz

Technical Director
Aurecon
Elected 2026

Tony is a Technical Director with Aurecon in Wellington, with more than 20 years of experience in structural engineering design and analysis. His experience spans commercial, institutional and industrial projects across New Zealand, the USA, and France. He has particular expertise in low damage design, including base isolation, PRESSS and viscously damped systems. He has presented at various NZSEE and SESOC conferences and events and is active in other professional body’s including as a member of various SESOC and Engineering NZ working groups.
Tony is passionate about advancing the research and practice of creating truly seismically resilient communities, and about promoting active collaboration between professions, practitioners and researchers.

Contact
Tony.holden@aurecongroup.com