Dr. Caroline Orchiston is the Deputy Director at the Centre for Sustainability at the University of Otago. She is the Science Lead for Project AF8, a collaboration between Civil Defence and the science community to improve our ability to respond to a future Alpine Fault earthquake. Her research interests lie in the area of natural hazards and societal resilience, with a particular interest in the tourism sector. She is based in Dunedin with her husband Tom and their three children.

Professor Mark Stirling is the inaugural Chair of Earthquake Science at the University of Otago, and is a seismologist with a multidisciplinary background in geology and seismology. He moved to his present position in 2016, and prior to that was a Principal Scientist at GNS Science. He has led the development of the last three versions of the national seismic hazard model for New Zealand (1998, 2002 and 2012), which is the hazard basis for the New Zealand Loadings Standard. In his present role his efforts include understanding the occurrence of large earthquakes and likely ground motions in low seismicity regions like Otago, and the development of seismic hazard models for critical facilities in New Zealand and abroad.

Dr. Robert Langridge is a Senior Scientist at GNS. He works as an Earthquake Geologist – someone who specifically studies the earthquake history and seismic hazard of faults. In New Zealand, Rob’s focus has been on the Alpine, Hope and Wellington faults. Lately Rob has been involved in the science response to the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.

Dr. Kelvin Berryman is currently General Manager Strategic Relationships for the Hazards Division of GNS Science. He is a geologist by training and now specialises in the geology of earthquakes and tsunami, in particular those associated with the Alpine Fault and Hikurangi subduction margin. He often works with engineers, planners, and policy makers on design of new structures, seismic safety assessment of infrastructure and disaster risk management. Kelvin was one of the principal spokespersons during the Canterbury earthquake sequence of 2010-11 and more recently in the aftermath of the 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake. In 2012 he received a Queens Service Order honour for services to science and Canterbury earthquake recovery.

Brendon is a Professor of Earthquake Engineering in the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand; and the Director of QuakeCoRE: The New Zealand Centre for Earthquake Resilience, which is a network of over 180 active researchers.  His areas of interest include engineering seismology, strong ground motion prediction, seismic response analysis of structural and geotechnical systems, and seismic performance and loss estimation methods.

Dr. Simon Cox is a Principal Scientist at GNS Science in Dunedin. His work involves: fault and earthquake research in the South Island; the mapping of rock avalanches, earthquake-induced landslides and alluvial fan flooding hazards; and building a digital geological map dataset of Antarctica. He has led immediate earthquake response, was part of the Alpine Fault Drilling Project, run experiments on Southern Alps hot springs, and an Earthquake Hydrology project that demonstrates liquefaction damage during the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes was exacerbated by leakage and release of groundwater from artesian aquifers.