ProfessorRajesh Dhakal
Head of Department
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Orcid identifier0000-0001-5524-5919 (opens in a new tab)
- Head of DepartmentCivil and Environmental Engineering
- ProfessorCivil and Environmental Engineering
- +6433695948 (Work)
- Civil & Natural Resources Engineering E420
BIO
Dr Rajesh Dhakal is the Head of the Civil Engineering Department at University of Canterbury (UC) in NZ. He received a Bachelor of CIvil Engineering Degree in 1993 (winning a gold medal as the top student) from Tribhuvan University (Nepal), Master of Structural Engineering in 1997 (with a gold medal as the top student) from the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) and a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Tokyo in 2000. After a post-doctoral tenure at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, Dr Dhakal joined UC in 2003.
Prof Dhakal is a globally known Structural and Earthquake Engineering leader with an impressive research profile including close to 500 technical publications (about 200 of them journal articles attracting an H-index of 46), research grants worth more than $7M, and more than a dozen prestigious research awards for research excellence. Prof Dhakal has served in multiple national/international panels, served as an editorial board member for five international journals and delivered invited/keynote lectures in more than a dozen conferences. Prof Dhakal has been serving as the Chief Editor of the journal Bulletin of the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering since 2014. In recognition of his contribution and leadership in earthquake engineering, Prof Dhakal was made a Fellow of Engineering NZ (since 2015) and the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering (since 2017). In 2021, Prof Dhakal was elected the President of the International Association of SPONSE (Seismic Performance of Non-Structural Elements).
Prof Dhakal has proven his teaching credentials by developing and delivering multiple courses at UC and overseas universities, and is a recipient of the 2013 UC Teaching Award. In addition, Prof Dhakal’s mentoring effectiveness is evident from the fact that he has supervised 65 PG research students and was conferred the UCSA Supervisor of the Year Award in 2014. Prof Dhakal is also a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) and a fellow of Engineering New Zealand and New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE).
Prof Dhakal is a globally known Structural and Earthquake Engineering leader with an impressive research profile including close to 500 technical publications (about 200 of them journal articles attracting an H-index of 46), research grants worth more than $7M, and more than a dozen prestigious research awards for research excellence. Prof Dhakal has served in multiple national/international panels, served as an editorial board member for five international journals and delivered invited/keynote lectures in more than a dozen conferences. Prof Dhakal has been serving as the Chief Editor of the journal Bulletin of the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering since 2014. In recognition of his contribution and leadership in earthquake engineering, Prof Dhakal was made a Fellow of Engineering NZ (since 2015) and the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering (since 2017). In 2021, Prof Dhakal was elected the President of the International Association of SPONSE (Seismic Performance of Non-Structural Elements).
Prof Dhakal has proven his teaching credentials by developing and delivering multiple courses at UC and overseas universities, and is a recipient of the 2013 UC Teaching Award. In addition, Prof Dhakal’s mentoring effectiveness is evident from the fact that he has supervised 65 PG research students and was conferred the UCSA Supervisor of the Year Award in 2014. Prof Dhakal is also a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) and a fellow of Engineering New Zealand and New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE).
TE WHARE WĀNANGA O WAITAHA - UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY APPOINTMENTS
- Head of DepartmentUniversity of Canterbury, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering18 Dec 2023 - present
- ProfessorUniversity of Canterbury, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering21 May 2003 - present
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
- Visiting Senior FellowUniversity of New South Wales, Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Australia
- Visiitng ProfessorNational University of Malaysia, Department of Civil Engineering, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Research FellowNanyang Technological University, Department of Civil Engineering, Singapore, Singapore
- Research AssociateAsian Institute of Technology, School of Civil Engineering, Pathum Thani, Thailand
- LecturerTribhuvan University, Institute of Engineering, Kathmandu, Nepal
NON-ACADEMIC POSITIONS
- Civil EngineerNepal Telecommunication Corporation, Kathmandu, Nepal1 Jan 1994 - 31 Mar 1995
- EngineerGovernment of, Nepal, Department of Irrigation, Kathmandu, Nepal31 Mar 1995 - 1 Oct 1995
DEGREES
- PhDThe University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan1 Oct 1997 - 31 Jul 2000
- ME (Gold Medal)Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand1 Sep 1995 - 30 Apr 1997
- BE (Gold Medal)Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Kathmandu, Nepal1 Oct 1988 - 31 Mar 1993
LANGUAGES
- NepaliCan peer review
- HindiCan read, write, speak and understand
- JapaneseCan speak
FACULTY
- Faculty of Engineering
GRADUATE RESEARCH SUPERVISION
- Registered to supervise Master's/Doctoral students
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
- 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities