ProfessorRajesh Dhakal

Contract

I was promoted to a fellow of the NZSEE, which is a top honour given to no more than 5% of the members of the society in recognition of outstanding contribution made to the Society and the discipline (i.e Earthquake Engineering). Application for fellowship of NZSEE can only be made by nomination and support from at least 3 members (self nomination is not permitted).

I led the organization of the third International workshop on SPONSE (Seismic Performance of Non-Structural Elements) in Christchurch on 31 March 2016. The workshop involved leading research and practicing engineers working in the areas related to SPONSE and other stakeholders with keen interest on the topic. It was whole day workshop which included 15 invited speakers (5 were from outside New Zealand) and a panel discussion. About 100 people attended the workshop.

I was part of the team of 4 people who organized the 2016 Annual Conference of the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering in Christchurch. The conference was held from 1 to 3 April 2016, and was attended by close to 400 participants.

I was promoted to a fellow by the Institution of Professional Members in New Zealand (IPENZ); a highly regarded recognition given only to senior and leading engineers in New Zealand. This entitles the recipients to write the designation FIPENZ after their name.

This is the highest level of professional engineering recognition in New Zealand. It is given only to senior professionals who pass a rigorous 12 points competence assessment process.

I was invited as a Senior Visiting Fellow (fully funded) by University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA), Canberra (2010).

I have been invited to review promotion application (to Associate Professor) from University of New South Wales, Australia and National University of Malaysia. Such invitations are extended only to senior and internationally-known academics in the subject area. (2009-2011)

I am regularly invited by conference organisers to join different committees. Here are the list of the conferences International Advisory Committee: International Conference on Civil Engineering in the New Millenium (CENeM) Kolkata, India, 2007. International Scientific Committee: Australasian Conference in Mechanics of Structures and Materials (ACMSM19-21), 2006, 2008, 2010. International Scientific Committee: International Conference on Structures in Fire (SiF6), Aveiro, Portugal, 2006. Session Chair: In more than 20 conferences. In almost all conference I attend these days.

I was Co-chair of the Organising Committee of the 19th Australasian Conference on Mechanics of Structures and Materials (ACMSM19) organised in Christchurch in November 2006. It was attended by about 200 delegates from 20+ different countries and the 1000+ pages proceedings was edited by me and my co-chair Peter Moss.

I have chaired sessions in more than 10 conferences. I get invited to chair a session in almost all conferences I attend these years. Some of these conferences are the Australasian Conference in Mechanics of Structures and Materials (ACMSM), 19th (in Christchurch, 2006), 20th (in Toowoomba, 2008), 21st (in Melbourne, 2010), Tenth East Asia and Pacific Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction (EASEC10) in Bangkok 2008, CENeM07 (in Kolkata, 2007), ACCE (in Bangkok, 2009), SEE6 (in Tehran, 2011), PCEE8 (in Auckland, 2011) etc.

My project team was INVITED to submit and present a theme paper titled "Characteristics of Structural Repsonse to Ground Shocks" for International Symposium on Defence Construction, 17-19 April 2002, Singapore.

I was INVITED to submit and present a report for International Seminar on Comparative Performances of Seismic Design Codes for Concrete Structures, 20-21 April 1999, Tokyo.

I was invited (and partially funded) to submit and present an Invited paper in the International Conference on Structural and Road Transportation Engineering, (START2005), at IIT Kharagpur, India

I was invited to give a keynote speech on "seismic behavior of precast concrete flooring systems" in the "Concrete in the Tropics" Workshop organised by Concrete Institute of Australia in Townsville on 25 April 2010. This was an important workshop attended by more than 100 engineers, and my expenses were fully funded by the organisers; i.e. Concrete Institute of Australia.

I was invited to submit and present a Keynote and an Invited paper along with my ex-colleague John Mander in the 4th International Conference on Urban Earthquake Engineering (ICUEE), Tokyo, Japan (2007). Our travel to the conference was fully funded by the organiser.

Keynote Speaker; Sixth International Conference in Seismology and Earthquake Engineering, May 2011: I was invited as a keynote speaker to present in this international conference in Tehran (Iran) attended by close to 1000 participants. All costs related to my travel to attend this conference were paid by the organizers.