Join CIB and our Guest Speakers to discuss Research Grant Funding for CIB ECR Network!
“My most success (and fun) in research has come from being able to work in collaborative teams with a diverse range of people who have complementary skills.”
Professor Suzanne Wilkinson
Background Information:
Suzanne Wilkinson is a Professor of Construction Management in the New School for Built Environment, Massey University, Director of Postgraduate Studies, School for Built Environment and Associate Dean (Research), College of Sciences, Massey University. She has a PhD in Construction Management, and a BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering, both from Oxford Brookes University, and a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies (Dispute Resolution) from Massey University. Prior to working at Massey University, Suzanne was at the University of Auckland, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, from lecturer to Professor and Deputy Head of Department.
Suzanne’s research focuses on resilience, disaster management, construction innovation and smart cities. She is interested in how cities, communities and organisations plan for disasters and manage hazard events and has a particular interest in how cities, communities and organisations rebuild and recover. Suzanne has been advisor to organisations on resilience building and disaster recovery, most recently including Auckland Council, Government Agencies in New Zealand and Hunter Water in Australia. Suzanne has been Principal Investigator and Research Leader on many projects, including a recent 5 year, $10 million NZD project, where she is programme lead, on building capacity and capability for the construction sector and a recently completed 4million NZD Principal Investigator for the Urban theme in the National Science Challenge: Resilience to Nature’s Challenges. She has published over 300 research papers and co-written 3 books, the most recent being Resilient Post Disaster Recovery Through Building Back Better (Routledge in 2019), with her colleagues Sandeeka Mannakkara and Regan Potangaroa. Suzanne is a keen PhD supervisor and has now supervised to completion over 30 PhD students.
“Research funding I’ve obtained over the years have helped me to : Generate excellent and novel research; Translate research into measurable development impacts; Deliver a broad range of scalable impacts; and to Create a sustainable programme with a legacy beyond the initial investment with equitable partnerships, build mutual trust, transparency and accountability .”
Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga
Background Information:
Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga holds the chair in Disaster Risk Management at the University of Huddersfield, UK, where she leads it Global Disaster Resilience Centre, responsible for supporting research on disaster management portfolios. She is a leading international expert in disaster resilience with an extensive academic career that has a strong commitment to encouraging colleagues and students to fulfil their full potential. Dilanthi’s vision has always been to be an international leader in disaster risk reduction and management with specific emphasis on the built environment, and to champion the under representation of women in this key research area.
She has project managed to successful completion a large number of international research projects (over £ 20 million) generating significant research outputs and outcomes. She provides expert advice on disaster resilience to national and local governments and international agencies including the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. She is engaged in many significant research collaborations around the world, in partnership with key academic and other organisational stakeholders. To date, she has produced over 400 publications, refereed papers, and reports, and has made over 100 keynote speeches in around 30 countries. Among many leadership roles, she is the joint chief editor of the International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment and the Chair of the International Conference on Building Resilience (ICBR) series, which she co-created. In 2019, she won the prestigious Newton Prize which recognises the best research and innovation projects which create an impact socially and economically, between Indonesia and the United Kingdom from 2016 to 2019. Newton Prize is supported by the UK’s Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). She is a member of the European Commission and UNDRR’s European Science & Technology Advisory Group representing the UK, a Steering Committee member of the Frontiers of Development programme, a Collaborative Programme of The Royal Academy of Engineering, The Academy of Medical Sciences, The British Academy and The Royal Society, and a Steering Committee member of the UK Alliance for Disaster Research, motivation of which is to bring together the UK’s rich and diverse disaster research community to facilitate collaboration and partnership in order to aid representation of the research community at government level in the UK and to facilitate the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. She is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society, and a Fellow and a Chartered Manager of the Chartered Management Institute, UK.
