Dr. Gabriele Chiaro is an Associate Professor at the Faculty
of Engineering, Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, University of
Canterbury. He holds a B.Sc. degree and an M.Sc. degree in Civil Engineering
from the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Italy, and gained a Ph.D. degree in
Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering from the University of Tokyo, Japan, in
2010. His career involves 17 years of work in the academy, including 5 years in
Japan, 3 years in Australia, and 9 years in New Zealand. His accolades include
the JGS Best Paper Award (2022), the IABSE Outstanding Scientific Paper Award
(2021), the NZSEE Otto Glogau Award (2020), and the JSPS Research Fellowship
(2014). He was the Team Leader of the 2016 NZSEE “Learning from Earthquake”
Mission in Kumamoto, Japan, and Team Co-Leader of the 2015 JGS/JSCE “Learning
from Earthquake” Mission in Nepal. He has authored or co-authored over 130
technical publications and serves as an Associate Editor for the International
Journal of Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering. He is also a member of the
ISSMGE TC101 “Laboratory Testing” and of the ISSMGE AsRTC1 “Geotechnical
Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change-induced Geo-disasters in Asia-Pacific
Regions”. His research interests mainly include, but are not limited to,
Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering and related problems, constitutive modeling
for geomaterials, and the development of advanced laboratory testing devices.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Wilson is a Professor at the Faculty of
Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury. He received
his Ph.D. degree from the University of Canterbury in 2009. He is the Chief
Science Advisor for the New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency, Te
Rākau Whakamarumaru (NEMA). In recent years, he has contributed underpinning
impact and risk science to the major New Zealand Riskscape initiative,
investigated GIS tools for evacuation planning and disaster management, and
worked extensively on collaborative disaster resilience programs—including AF8,
DEVORA, and Taranaki Volcanic Futures. His research has spanned diverse
settings from Indonesia to South America. He has led, and been a senior
researcher in, various large interdisciplinary applied research programs
studying the physical, social, and economic impacts of natural hazards (with a
focus on volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis) and developing strategies that
can increase disaster resilience in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Pacific, and
internationally.
