Science Speakers

Dr. Caroline Orchiston
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.

Dr. Robert Langridge
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.

Associate Prof. Liam Wotherspoon
Liam Wotherspoon is an Associate Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Auckland. He is involved in engineering research across a range of natural hazards, with a particular focus on New Zealand’s infrastructure networks. He is a Fellow of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering, and is on the leadership teams of a number of national research programmes with a focus on improving New Zealand’s resilience to natural hazard events.