Committee members

Mr Andreas H Nielsen

Chair

Andreas H Nielsen is a Chartered Civil Engineer working for Atkins in Glasgow. His experience includes analysis and design of steel, reinforced concrete and composite steel and concrete structures. He has developed advanced methods for seismic analysis and authored several papers and presentations on various topics in earthquake engineering. He has provided consultancy services to the nuclear industry and other industries requiring expert advice concerning earthquake and blast protection. He is an annual guest lecturer in the Earthquake Engineering module at Heriot-Watt University.

Dr Stavroula Kontoe

Immediate Past Chair

Stavroula Kontoe is Associate Professor at the University of Patras and Visiting Reader at Imperial College London. Her publication record includes more than 100 papers in topics related to geotechnical earthquake engineering, computational geomechanics and offshore geotechnics. Her work has attracted multiple awards, namely the BGA medal 2008, the 2012 Computers & Geotechnics outstanding reviewer award, the 2017 Shamsher Prakash Foundation Excellence in Geotechnical Teaching prize and twice the David Hislop award (2019 & 2021). She has also been active as specialist consultant and as member of several International and National Committees (TC203 of ISSMGE, EEAE, IAEE), while served as Chair of SECED for the period 2020-2022. She is Editor of Computers and Geotechnics and serves at editorial boards of other journals (SDEE, JEE).

Dr Damian Grant

Vice Chair

Damian Grant is an Associate Director in Arup and Seismic Skills Leader for the UK, India, Middle East and Africa region. He is a structural earthquake engineer with experience in the design and analysis of tall buildings, bridges, offshore platforms and other structures under seismic action. He is interested in all aspects of earthquake engineering, seismic design, analysis, risk assessment and code development. Dr Grant has edited the SECED Newsletter since 2012, and in 2020 he co-authored the 4th edition of Earthquake Design Practice for Buildings with ICE Publishing.

Dr Guillermo Aldama-Bustos

Guillermo Aldama-Bustos has worked as a geotechnical earthquake engineer/engineering seismologist at Jacobs (previously CH2M and Halcrow) since completing his PhD in 2009 at Imperial College. During his PhD he focused on the area of seismic hazard analysis, with particular interest on regions with low to very low seismicity. At Jacobs, Guillermo has been involved as seismic hazard analyst and geotechnical earthquake engineer in several major projects around the world involving the design of ports, bridges, off-shore oil developments and dams amongst others. He actively promotes developments in his specialist field both through his job and through his continued research interests, especially in the area of seismic hazard analysis. Guillermo’s main areas of interest are: probabilistic seismic hazard analysis, site-response analysis, liquefaction assessment and the seismic design of geotechnical structures.

Dr Fabio Freddi

Elected Member

Fabio Freddi is a Lecturer in Structural Design and the Programme Director of the MSc Earthquake Engineering with Disaster Management at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (CEGE) of University College London (UCL). Prior to joining UCL, he worked as Marie-Curie Fellowship at the University of Warwick (UK), as a Post-Doctoral researcher at the University of Trento (Italy), as a research fellow at the University of Camerino (Italy), and as visiting scholar at Rice University (Houston, TX, USA). He earned his PhD in Structural and Infrastructural Engineering at the University of Ancona (Italy). His research focuses on leading-edge structural engineering and the response of structures to extreme loads, including Earthquake Engineering and Structural Robustness. His research integrates structural modelling, computational techniques, large-scale experimental testing and probabilistic concepts into a coherent framework for the performance evaluation and design of innovative structures chasing the urgent needs of modern societies for resilience and sustainability. His research is supported by national and international funding bodies, and he has led collaborations with several universities, industries, and organisations globally, including in China, India, Chile, Italy, and the US.

Dr Barnali Ghosh

Elected Member

Barnali Ghosh is a Technical Director at Mott MacDonald (London) and a Fellow at Institute of Civil Engineer (FICE). She is a chartered civil engineer with specialization in Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering. She was recently selected among the top 50 women in engineering in UK in 2020. She is the International Winner of 2017 Shamsher Prakash Award for Excellence in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Practice. During her long career, she has acted as a seismic designer and reviewer for high-profile projects around the world. She has been propagating sustainable solutions for developing countries which have wide social outcomes. She remains connected to the academic world as a Royal Academy Visiting Professor at Cambridge University where she teaches Geo Seismic Engineering. She is currently the treasurer for SECED.

Dr Andrew Mair

Elected Member

Andrew Mair is a Director of Operations in Jacobs. He has particular interests in seismic engineering, design for blast and impact loads, and soil-structure interaction, and has been involved in the design of a range of structures including military facilities, nuclear plants, dams, bridges, airports and buildings. Andrew is a member of the BSI committee on Eurocode 8: Design of structures for earthquake resistance, and is a Fellow of both the ICE and IStructE.

Dr Christian Màlaga-Chuquitaype

Elected Member

Christian Màlaga-Chuquitaype is a researcher, engineer, and educator currently working as Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London where he leads the Emerging Structural Technologies Research Group and is Director of Undergraduate Admissions. His research is centred on improving the response of structures and infrastructure systems to short-term and long-term stressors through emerging structural technologies. Of particular interest are engineering problems arising in extreme or hostile environments such as earthquakes and extra-terrestrial settings; including the development, design, optimization and implementation of passive, semi-active and other protective strategies. His research has received several prizes including the Structures Best Research Paper Prize from the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Tso Kung Hsieh Research Award from the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Unwin Prize from Imperial College London.

 Dr Way Way Moinet

 Elected Member

Way Way is a Chartered Geotechnical Engineer and UK Registered Ground Engineering Adviser with 15 years of experience in research and industry. She has always had a keen interest in historical seismicity and seismic design and completed her MSc in Soil Mechanics and Engineering Seismology from Imperial College in 2006 with a dissertation on historical seismicity of Mozambique. She then went on to study at the University of Tokyo for her PhD examining the response of buried pipelines crossing active faults through 1G model shaking table tests. Way Way’s main area of expertise is advanced geotechnical laboratory testing, including apparatus design, scheduling and interpretation and have extensive experience in advising on appropriate laboratory testing schemes and interpretation of geotechnical testing from soft soils to rock for infrastructure projects ranging from nuclear facilities to transportation. Way Way is currently the Deputy Chair of the Editorial Panel for Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Geotechnical Engineering.

Mr Francesco Morfuni

Elected Member

Francesco is currently working as a Senior Chartered Engineer at Atkins. He gained his MEng in Civil & Structural Engineering from Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, and later his MSc in Earthquake Engineering with Disaster Management from the University College of London. Over the years at Atkins, Francesco has developed his expertise in the seismic design and assessment of nuclear-critical facilities, with a special interest in advanced non-linear modelling techniques and design of seismic protection devices, including isolators and buckling-restrained braces. Francesco is also accredited as Structural Engineer in Italy (CNI) and has previously served as Chair of the ICE Bristol & Bath Young Committee.

Mr Mark Scorer

Elected Member

Mark Scorer is a Chief Engineer working for Atkins in the Ground Engineering Team as the Discipline Lead for Seismic Geotechnics and Market Sector Lead in Nuclear and Defence. He has fourteen years’ experience working on and managing a range of sensitive projects in the oil & gas, nuclear, defence, dams and building development sectors both in the UK and internationally. Mark leads a team of more than 20+ specialists with a special interest in earthquake engineering and international development. He is also a qualified Urban Search and Rescue Engineer with the UK charity SARAID and their Engineering Training and International Development Officer.

Dr Ming Tan

Elected Member

Ming is the Technical Excellence Lead for Nuclear at Mott MacDonald, responsible for driving the professional excellence and innovation strategies in the Nuclear sector. He has extensive experience in the field of seismic analysis and design, blast protective design and aircraft / vehicular impact assessments. Ming is also leading the Advanced Analysis team within Mott MacDonald nuclear division specialising in dynamic analysis of civil engineering structures against extreme natural and man-made hazards, complex finite element and explicit analyses, as well as seismic risk/fragility studies. 

 Mr Brian Young

 Elected Member

Brian Young is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and is the Lead Technical Authority for Civil, Structural & Architecture at AWE. He has 25 years of experience in the design, assessment, construction and testing of structures to resist explosion effects for a range of applications. Since joining AWE in 2009, he has developed a keen interest in earthquake engineering, which resulted in completion of an MSc in this subject at Imperial College London in 2021.

Mr Piroozan Aminossehe

IStructE Representative

Piroozan Aminossehe is an independent consultant. He has extensive experience of analysis and design of heavy complex structures subjected to dynamic loads and had a key role in the design of Sizewell ‘B’ nuclear power station as head of the analytical group. He is a fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers and has served as an elected member of council of the Institution.

Dr Marco Baiguera

Young Members Representative

Marco Baiguera is a Lecturer in Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil, Maritime & Environmental Engineering at the University of Southampton. Prior to joining Southampton, he was a Research Fellow at University College London. He obtained his PhD in Civil Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh (2017). His primary area of expertise is the impact of natural hazards on the built environment, with particular emphasis on tsunami and cascading earthquake-tsunami vulnerability. He has worked on a number of research and consultancy projects in countries highly prone to earthquake and tsunami, including Canada, Chile, Indonesia, and United States of America. He is 2022-23 Chair of the SECED Young Members subcommittee (YMSC). 

Dr David Hawthorn

BGS Representative

David Hawthorn is a seismologist with the British Geological Survey. He has more than a decade of experience in onshore passive seismic data acquisition around the world for a variety of governmental, private and academic groups and including site specific monitoring of critical infrastructure. His current role is the management of the BGS’s seismic network of approximately 100 stations across in the UK.

Dr Anna Hicks

Geological Society Representative

Anna Hicks is a volcanologist at the British Geological Survey (Edinburgh), specialising in Disaster Risk Reduction and Development. Her research explores the relationships between humans, landscapes, and natural hazards, with a risk reduction focus. She mainly works at the local community level and integrate methodologies from the social and physical sciences, arts and humanities to co-develop innovative ways of empowering communities to respond to and cope with the threat and impacts of disasters. She became the leader of the Geological Society's new "Geohazards, Geoengineering and Georesilience" theme in March 2021. This is one of five new strategic themes which present an opportunity for the Society to engage with major global challenges and advance the contribution of the geosciences towards solutions.

Dr Valentina Putrino

EEFIT Representative

Dr Valentina Putrino is currently a Catastrophe Risk Analyst at Ariel Re. She gained her PhD from University College London (UCL) in 2021, focusing on developing a framework for multi-hazard vulnerability assessment of historic masonry structures. She currently holds the position of Chair of the EEFIT Committee, she is the SECED Representative for the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) - Committee on Disaster Risk Management (CDRM) – since 2020, and is also the designated liaison member between both SECED and EEFIT committees.

 Mr Ian Smith

 ICE Representative

Ian G Smith is a Chief Engineer in the Civil Infrastructure Division of Atkins Design and Engineering. He is a Civil/Structural Engineer experienced in design, analysis and construction across a broad range of projects in the nuclear, highways, water and maritime sectors with particular reference to dynamics, soil-structure interaction and seismic design.

Ms Manuela Daví

Co-opted Member

Manuela is Associate Director of Geo-Seismic at Jacobs, specialised over her 14 years working experience in seismic hazard for industrial and safety critical infrastructures and seismic design for a range of structures around the world. In addition to her main area of specialisation, her skills cover geotechnical earthquake assessments such as liquefaction assessment, numerical analyses and vibration impact assessments. Manuela is a Chartered Engineer at the Institution of Civil Engineering and was co-editor of the SECED Newsletter from 2019 to 2021 while being a member of the YMSC. 

Prof Ahmed Elghazouli

Co-opted Member

Ahmed Elghazouli is Professor of Structural Engineering and Head of the Structures Section at Imperial College London. He is also Director of the MSc programme in Earthquake Engineering. He is a Chartered Engineer (CEng), and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE) and the Institution of Structural Engineers (FIStructE). In 2016, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) in recognition of his outstanding and continuing contributions to engineering. His main research interests are related to the response of structures to extreme loads, focusing on the areas of structural earthquake engineering, structural fire engineering and structural robustness. He has led many research projects and authored more than 300 publications in these areas, and has worked as a specialist consultant on numerous engineering projects worldwide. He has also participated in various activities related to international code development and to committees formed by industry and other professional institutions/learned societies. He is past Chairman of SECED and UK National Delegate to the International and European Associations for Earthquake Engineering (IAEE and EAEE). He also chairs the British Standards Institution (BSI) Committee B/525/8 on seismic design.

Mr Richard Fowler

Co-opted Member

Richard Fowler is an Earthquake Engineer working for the Office for Nuclear Regulation as a Principal Inspector - Nuclear Safety within the Civil Engineering and External Hazards specialism. He has been with ONR since 2013 and has been working within the nuclear industry since 2006. He continues to lead the ONR assessment of seismic hazard work for new build projects, and is also involved with Generic Design Assessment.

Mr Zygmunt Lubkowski

Co-opted Member

Ziggy Lubkowski is an Associate Director at Arup, and is their geo-seismic skills leader for UK, India and the Middle East. He has carried out geotechnical and seismic design, analysis and assessment for a range of structures in the energy, infrastructure, manufacturing and humanitarian sectors. He has acted as the seismic specialist for major projects such as nuclear plants, major bridges, tunnels, dams, and numerous seismic hazard studies around the world. Ziggy has been Chair of both SECED and EEFIT. In 2009 he won the Shamsher Prakash prize for excellence in practice of geotechnical earthquake engineering. In 2018 he was made a Royal Academy of Engineers Visiting Professor at UCL. Ziggy is responsible for press and social media communications for SECED.