Dr. Charles Clifton | Professor, University of Auckland

He has specialised in the behaviour and design of structural steel and composite structures since 1983. From 1983 to 2007 this was as Senior Structural Engineer at Heavy Engineering Research Association, where he conducted research in structural steel, composite construction, fire engineering and durability. He also made consideration contributions to the introduction of new and revised standards, developed widely used design guides and was actively involved in professional development. Since 2008 he has continued research and education in that area at the University of Auckland.

Prof James Lim | Professor, University of Waikato

James is a Chartered Engineer and a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He obtained his PhD in the field of cold-formed steel portal frames, under the supervision of Professor D.A. Nethercot. Before joining the University of Waikato in 2022, James was a faculty member at the University of Auckland, where he is now an Honorary Academic and continues to co-supervise PhD and ME students. He has also held positions at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and Queen’s University, Belfast. Throughout his career, James has successfully supervised more than 35 PhD students on topics related to cold-formed steel. At the University of Waikato, he is currently involved in the supervision of around 30 PhD and ME students, all focusing on the field of cold-formed steel, working alongside Dr Kris Roy and Dr Arthur Fang. James holds the role of Principal Investigator in the Product Accelerator network, a position he has held for the past six years.

Dr. Krishanu Roy | Lecturer, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering – UoA

Kris is a Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering at the University of Waikato, holding a PhD from the University of Auckland and a master’s from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. Before joining University of Waikato, he was a Lecturer at the University of Auckland and worked for Geodata Spa, focusing on tunnel portal design, seismic design, and underground structures. Kris later became a Research and Development Manager at Kiwi Steel Holding LTD. His research spans thin-walled structures, modular construction, cold-formed steel connections, and more. Presently, his interests lie in fire performance of cold-formed steel, AI and Machine Learning for structural prediction, and sustainability in structural materials. Kris has an impressive publication record with numerous journal papers and citations.

Dr. Amir ShahMohammadi | Senior Structural Sustainability Engineer, HERA

Amir leads research initiatives in structural sustainability engineering at HERA. Over a 15-year career, he has developed skills in research, consulting, teaching, and structural optimisation software development. In the realm of design, Amir possesses expertise in tall buildings as well as long-span portal frame structures, having served as a design team lead for 4 years. His research has provided him with in-depth knowledge in seismic design of steel structures and low-carbon structural design. Furthermore, Amir is proud to serve as a member of the committee for the New Zealand Steel Structures Standard.

Pouya Pouladi | Structural Engineer – Mott Macdonald

Pouya Pouladi is a Senior Structural Engineer at Mott Macdonald with extensive design experience in both Iran and New Zealand. Currently completing his PhD at the University of Auckland, Pouya’s research focuses on cold-formed steel closed sections and CFS portal frames, blending experimental and finite element investigations. He contributed to the development of a specialized cold-formed steel design course at the University of Auckland alongside James Lim and Charles Clifton. Pouya’s past collaboration with Futura steel building systems involved studying their CFS closed sections and connections, resulting in producing Futura purlin tables, and optimising their portal frame connections.

Pouya Lotfi Rad | PHD Candidate – University of Auckland

Pouya is a PhD student in Structural Earthquake Engineering at the University of Auckland. He obtained his BSc in Civil Engineering & MSc in Earthquake Engineering from the top two universities of Iran. After MSc, he continued his cooperation with his supervisors as a Research Assistant for two years at the Centre of Physical Modelling Laboratory at the University of Tehran, where he had an opportunity to get involved in a wide variety of experimental studies. In parallel, as a part time structural engineer, he has dealt with real projects to combine his knowledge and practice. After being granted the highly competitive University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship, he’s started his PhD since 2019. He has also been Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) in some courses at the University of Auckland including the postgrad course of Light Gauge Steel Design.

Dr. Kaveh Andisheh | HERA GM Structural Systems

Kawa, who holds a PhD from the University of Canterbury, is a structural engineer with over 17 years’ consulting and research experience providing professional services to clients across New Zealand, Europe and Asia. His ongoing areas of focus at HERA include steel and steel-concrete composite structures in general, and low damage seismic solution, corroded structures, structural fire, sustainability, and structural health monitoring in particular. Kawa is a Committee Member (AS/NZS) of Standards Australia.