Management Committee

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

Lead Engineer, Sustainability
Aurecon
Elected to Management Committee 2024

I would like to join the NZSEE Management Committee as I am motivated to create a more diverse industry where we prioritise sustainability alongside resilience on all our projects. I am organised, reliable and will work hard to coordinate industry groups to continue to develop best practice guidance, upskill the industry, respond to government policy and lead advocacy for earthquake science and engineering across the motu. Brs. Upon returning to Auckland, I began working for Jensen McArley & Associates. I am now based at Aurecon as the Auckland Leader for Sustainable Buildings.
I have been involved in many different projects, ranging from the design of private dwellings, to DSAs and significant seismic strengthening projects, to being one of the lead design and construction engineers for the retail component of Commercial Bay.
My involvement with NZSEE began in 2018 when I joined the conference organising committee. I have in subsequent years continued to be on the organising committee and was the conference convenor in 2022. These experiences have allowed me to contribute ideas and time to the conference and NZSEE, whilst learning about how the society runs.

Contact
annie.scott@aurecongroup.com

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
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(a)holmesgroup.com

Professor
University of Canterbury
Elected to Management Committee 2022

Gregory MacRae completed his engineering degrees in NZ and has been teaching structural and earthquake design at the University of Canterbury for the past 16 years. Before that he worked in NZ, Japan and the USA. MacRae has been the head of the UC structural/ geotechnical cluster, and has actively participated in NZS3404 and NZS1170.5 standard development. He served as a member of the SESOC Management Committee and as a QuakeCentre board member. MacRae represented NZ at the International Association of Earthquake Engineering, and has served as chair of the ASCE seismic effects committee. He has been active in bringing earthquake engineering knowledge to developing countries through the World Seismic Safety Initiative, where he was a Board member and instructor. MacRae has been, and continues to be, involved in leading international research collaborations. He is active in editorial roles with both the NZSEE bulletin and the Journal of Earthquake Engineering. MacRae is interested in all aspects of earthquake engineering and furthering Aotearoa New Zealand’s earthquake preparedness. He wants NZ to be the world leader in earthquake engineering, including implementation. Based on his discussions with industry/practitioners MacRae has, and continues to, advocate for: (i) more resilient and economical infrastructure by implementing using simple, robust and verified approaches; (ii) simplicity and clarity of standards and their commentaries; (iii) standards committees listing priority needs as they complete amendments/revisions; (iv) collaboration with NZ professional organizations to develop a suite of high-quality design guidelines and worked examples for all aspects of earthquake engineering; (v) supportive collaboration with MBIE to: (a) move robust alternative solutions into standards; (b) develop timely response mechanisms dealing with important earthquake engineering issues, (c) develop robust and nationally consistent peer review systems for “alternative solutions”; (vi) improved information sharing including free web-based tools providing seismological information direct to users; (vii) learning from earthquakes, (viii) training of the next generation, and (ix) the improvement of earthquake prone building assessment methods..

Contact:
gregory.macrae@canterbury.ac.nz

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

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 Advisor
Wellington City Council
Structural Engineer

Universal Seismic Ltd
Elected to Management Committee 2024

Umair is a Chartered Professional Engineer in New Zealand and Australia with over 15 years of experience in structural engineering. Currently in Perth Australia as structural engineer with Stantec, Umair has served in multi-facted roles previously, inlcuding as a Technical Advisor for Wellington City Council, and as a sole-practitioner providing structural engineering services focussing strengthening of Earthquake Prone Buildings. Umair's career practice involves performance-centric designs for commercial buildings, airports, base isolated hospitals, industrial and onshore structures in New Zealand, Australia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
Umair strongly advocate for industry-academia-agency partnerships, and supports alternative thinking to resolve long-standing issues backed by his international engineering career.

Contact
umair.siddiqui2@stantec.com