Who we are?

GRI MEMBERS

Dr Rita Dionísio

Senior Lecturer, School of Earth and Environment

 

Spatial Planning

Rita’s research is focused on collaborative planning, urban regeneration, and community resilience. Her research experience has been developed through projects focused on the social and environmental sustainability of neighborhoods and cities, through engaged research. In Japan, she developed research supporting communities, affected by the 2011 Tsunami, in envisioning regeneration and recovery scenarios. This work explored community responsive urban design and environmentally appropriate planning at local and regional levels.

Dr Lukáš Marek

Postdoctoral Fellow, Geospatial Research Institute

 

Geospatial Analysis

Lukáš received his PhD in 2015 from the Department of Geoinformatics at Palacky University in the Czech Republic. In his thesis, he conducted a research study on spatial and spatiotemporal analysis of Campylobac-teriosis in the Czech Republic. His main research interest is currently focused on geovisualisation and spatial analyses of health data using spatial and spatiotemporal modelling, and spatial statistics.

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Dr Rajasweta Datta

Postdoctoral Fellow, Geospatial Research Institute

 

Geospatial Analysis

Rajasweta (Raj) completed her PhD in 2021 from the Department of Geography, School of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury. In her thesis, she studied foehn-induced temperature fluctuations across McMurdo Dry valleys of Antarctica using satellite remote sensing. She had previously worked for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) as a Junior Research Fellow and did her Master’s in Remote Sensing. Her research interests include remote sensing applications in study of micro-climates, hydrology, and Antarctic meteorology.

Dr Dean Walker

Postdoctoral Fellow, Geospatial Research Institute

 

Geospatial Analysis

Dean’s research interests include collaborations with Māori communities for the development of culturally-based frameworks and geospatial tools. His current research involves the development of map-based tools for community and Māori-led bicultural spatial planning, with iwi partners in Waimakariri and Rotorua. He has previously worked with iwi on projects in the Nelson region in the co-creation of tools for environmental monitoring.

Dr Rose Pearson

Postdoctoral Fellow, NIWA
Visiting researcher, GRI

 

Geospatial Analysis

Rose received her PhD in 2018 from the Department of Information engineering at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at NIWA and a visiting researcher at the Geospatial research institute. Her postdoctoral research focuses on combining geospatial data, primarily LiDAR point clouds, to produce hydrologically conditioned DEMs and roughness maps for use in river flood modelling. Her research interests centre on surface generation and attribute mapping from a wide array of spatial and geospatial datasets.

Dr Sharmila Savarimuthu

Computer/Information Science

 

Software Development

Sharmila holds a PhD in Information Science (Otago) and a master’s degree in Computer Science. In her career spanning several years in two countries (New Zealand and India), she has undertaken several roles – lab tutor, researcher and software developer. Previously she worked as a software engineer at QuakeCORE. She joined GRI as a software developer. She develops full stack web applications.

Luke Parkinson

Geospatial Software Developer

 

Software Development

Luke joined the GRI as a software developer after completing his BE(Hons) Software Engineering degree. Luke has a strong interest in web and application development with a growing specialisation in geospatial technologies, with previous work at Seequent introducing him to contributing to geospatial modelling applications in industry. Luke develops open-source web frameworks for geospatial applications for the GRI and provides software advice to researchers.

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Casey Li

Geospatial Developer/Researcher

 

Software Development

Casey joined the GRI as a Geospatial Developer/Researcher after completing her master’s degree in Applied Data Science at the University of Canterbury. Her primary focus is on the development of the flood resilience digital twin. She has previously worked as a Commerical Accountant and has gained her Chartered Accountancy qualification.

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Md Saiful Khan

Geospatial Developer/Researcher

 

Saif is a spatial ecologist and passionate about biodiversity conservation. Saif’s doctoral studies (Zoology Department, Otago University, NZ) focused on assessing the applicability of different remote sensing tools to assess braided river bird habitats. He developed a deep-learning model for automated detection and counting of braided river bird colonies on aerial images. He has a BSc and MSc in Forestry (Khulna University, Bangladesh; Copenhagen University, Denmark and Bangor University, UK) and Biology (Ecology; Lakehead University, Canada). He has worked with IUCN, UNDP and FAO in Bangladesh and has been a research fellow at UNEP-WCMC at Cambridge, UK and has also been a civil servant for the Bangladesh Government working for the Ministry of Science and ICT. At GRI, Saif is working as a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Eco-index programme (https://eco-index.nz/), focusing on developing detectors for various biodiversity indicators for tracking outcomes of conservation investments.

David Garcia

PhD Student, GRI

 

Geospatial Analysis

David is a mapmaker. He is a PhD student focusing on crowdsourcing geographic information for community development and humanitarian action. He used to work as a geographer and urban planner for the United Nations and other organisations in places hit by disaster (Super Typhoon Haiyan) or conflict (Marawi siege) in the Philippines. Broadly, his academic, professional, civic work has been for and with cities and communities at the crossings of crises and conflict in his country. In the fields about cartography, spatial planning and geographic information, he tries to combine a computational, critical, and creative approach. His hobby is to make good maps, which he shares for free (www.mapmakerdavid.com). David is also a volunteer of OpenStreetMap (OSM), which is about sharing and making “free geographic data for the world” (www.wiki.openstreetmap.org).

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Martin Nguyen

PhD Student, GRI

 

Geospatial Analysis

Martin completed a Master’s degree in Applied Data Science at UC, during which he developed a specific interest in the versatility of Artificial Intelligence. He is pursuing a PhD in the area of data science methods for flood risk assessment. Specifically, his research will focus on advancing methods for uncertainty estimation in flood inundation modelling, using machine learning approaches.

Martin says that he feels so honoured to be working as part of the MBIE Endeavour research programme, “Reducing flood inundation hazard and risk across Aotearoa/New Zealand”, supervised by Prof. Matt Wilson and Dr. Emily Lane (NIWA). This programme not only offers him many opportunities to improve his data handling competencies and to explore practical geospatial data with advanced geospatial techniques, it also gives him a chance to employ what he studies to contribute to the safety of the public

Supervisors:

Prof. Matthew Wilson

Dr. Emily Lane

Sidney Wong

Sidney Wong

PhD Student, GRI

 

Linguistic Geospatial Analysis

Sidney is excited to be offered the opportunity through the Geospatial Research Institute Toi Hangarau PhD Scholarship to model the social and linguistic characteristics of local populations using geo-referenced language data. He was attracted by the transdisciplinary nature of this project and he looks forward to exploring the possibilities of geospatial linguistics under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Dunn and Dr. Ben Adams.

 

He has long been involved with the Linguistics community at UC. He completed a BSc in Linguistics and a Master of Linguistics at UC. He is currently on track to complete a Master of Applied Data Science which he has been studying alongside his role as an Iwi Data Analyst at Stats NZ. In his role, Sidney works with hapū, iwi, and iwi-related groups across Aotearoa to gauge their data needs – this includes consulting, sourcing, extracting, and producing statistics to meet their data requirements.

 

Sidney is an active member of the community in Ōtautahi. He is the co-chair of Qtopia, and is on the board of the Christchurch Heroes Sports Trust and Population Health Advisory Board at Pegasus Health. He also maintains a social media presence for the New Zealand Linguistics Society as their social media officer.

 

Supervisors:

Dr. Jonathan Dunn

Dr. Ben Adams

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Andrea Pozo Estívariz

PhD Student, GRI

 

Geospatial Analysis

I am a civil engineer from Spain. Since my Master’s I have been working in the GeoOcean research group (University of Cantabria), having the opportunity to deep into different research topics such as the development and prediction models for tropical cyclone activity, wave modelling, rain fields parameterization or flood modelling and mapping. I have just started my PhD in the area of water resource management, focused on the development of advancing methods of rapid flood risk scenario assessment using hybrid approaches of hydraulic modelling and machine learning.

 

My PhD is supervised by Prof. Matt Wilson (UC), Dr. Emily Lane (NIWA) and Prof. Fernando Méndez (University of Cantabria, Spain) and it is part of the MBIE Endeavour research programme, “Reducing flood inundation hazard and risk across Aotearoa/New Zealand”. I am very motivated because this programme not only offers me the chance to work with cutting-edge techniques and learn more about such interesting topics for me like climate change; but also I feel I can contribute with my work to improve the quality of life of all the people who suffer from floods.

 

Supervisors:
Prof. Matt Wilson (UC)

Dr. Emily Lane (NIWA)

Prof. Fernando Méndez (University of Cantabria)

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David Pedley

PhD Student, GRI

 

Geospatial Analysis

David has a professional background as an environmental lawyer and has recently completed a Master’s degree in landscape architecture at Lincoln University. Through this experience, David has established a strong interest in the potential of geospatial analysis to help develop effective solutions to complex environmental problems. David’s PhD is in urban forestry and will focus on the conflict between housing intensification and the loss of urban trees on private residential land in New Zealand cities. This research will incorporate deep learning techniques to detect changes in canopy cover over time and explore potential solutions to increase the retention of urban trees in the face of ongoing intensification pressure. David is very grateful for the opportunity to pursue this research through the Geospatial Research Institute Toi Hangarau PhD Scholarship, working alongside supervisors Dr Justin Morgenroth and Dr Grant Pearse.

 

Supervisors:

Dr Justin Morgenroth (UC), Dr Grant Pearse (Scion)

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Prof. Elena Motchanova

Head of the Statistics Consulting Unit, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Canterbury

Dr Jesse Wiki

Postdoctoral Fellow, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Auckland; Former Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Manager, GeoHealth Laboratory, University of Canterbury
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Greg Preston

Manager – Industry Development, Buiding Innovation Partnership; Research Manager, Quake Centre, University of Canterbury
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Dr Emily Lane

Hydrodynamics Scientist, NIWA
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Dr Christoph Bartneck

Associate Professor and Director of Postgraduate Studies at HIT Lab NZ, University of Canterbury
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Dr Mehdi Keyvan-Ekbatani

Senior Lecturer, Civil & Natural Resources Engineering, University of Canterbury
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Dr Simon Hoermann

Senior Lecturer, School of Product Design, University of Canterbury

 

User Experience researcher and academic in the School of Product Design, working in the area of human interface technology for health, training, and simulation applications.

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Dr Marwan Katurji

Rutherford Discovery Fellow, Senior Lecturer in Atmospheric Dynamics,  School of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury

Dr Marwan Katurji specialises in surface-atmosphere interactions. His research interest is in modelling, simulating, measuring and analysing atmospheric phenomena, using advanced in-situ, aerial and remote sensing measurements and numerical modelling techniques. He is developing new approaches to tackle fundamental research questions in the field of atmospheric boundary-layer turbulence that leverages on a multidisciplinary approach of engineering and science. Marwan is particularly interested in coherent turbulent structures within the first 1km of our atmosphere above ground level (also called the atmospheric boundary-layer). These structures form the unique fabric of turbulence that controls the spatial variability of temperature and moisture across our landscape.

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Dr John Reid

Senior Research Fellow, University of Canterbury

John is a specialist in sustainability transitions.  He is a Senior Research Fellow the Ngāi Tahu Centre, at the University of Canterbury.  John works with iwi to plan sustainable development pathways in agriculture, forestry, and fishing.  His current research focus is on nature-based solutions to climate change, declining biodiversity, and excess nutrient emissions.  John is an Associate Editor of the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand and has several corporate and public governance roles.

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Dr Delwyn Moller

Adjunct Professor, Department of Electrical, Computer and Software Engineering, University of Auckland

Professor Matthew Wilson

Kaihautū | Director, Geospatial Research Institute Toi Hangarau
Ahorangi | Professor, School of Earth and Environment – Te Kura Aronukurangi

 

Addressing key research questions around Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI), as well as associated management and governance topics related to spatial data management, spatial data integration and sharing, interoperability and standards, data models, governance, and legal issues associated with open data and data privacy

Professor Simon Kingham

Deputy Director, Geospatial Research Institute and Director, Geohealth Laboratory
Chief Science Adviser for Ministry of Transport

 

Research interests include three areas, broadly linked by relationships between transport and health. These are:
1. Air pollution exposure – This addresses the question of how we quantify the amount of pollution humans actually breathe in. This is important to know if we want to relate pollution to human health.
2. Transport – This research area is interested in how we can make transport more sustainable and looks at people’s perceptions and attitudes to transport, focusing specifically on school and work travel.
3. Health geography – This focuses on links between spatial patterns of illness and air pollution.

Professor Jennifer Brown

Deputy Director, Geospatial Research Institute

 

Head of School for School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, Jennifer is an Associate Director of the Biomathematics Research Centre and researcher in the NZ Health Ageing Research Group. She has an undergraduate degree in Forestry from Canterbury University.

Dr. Maria Cecilia Vega-Corredor

Menetia | Manager, Geospatial Research Institute Toi Hangarau

 

Maria is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with an MSc in Tropical Ecology. Over the last several years, she has been working in research in the spatial epidemiology of zoonotic diseases, with a particular focus on their geographical variations and associated risk factors including ecological, environmental and climatic.

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David Humm

Business Development Manager, Research & Innovation.

 

David is responsible for engaging with external customers for research, consulting and commercialisation activity with a specialisation in the ICT sector.

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Matthew Hobbs

Co-Director of Geohealth Laboratory

 

Matt is a postdoctoral researcher in the GeoHealth Laboratory interested in how we can modify the food and physical activity environment to promote health. As an early career researcher, he recently completed his PhD for which he received a scholarship. His thesis explored the association between the physical food and physical activity environment and obesity. Most recently, he has been invited as part of the international advisory panel for Perspectives in Public Health a flagship journal of the Royal Society for Public Health (MRSPH). Matthew became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA & PGCHE), has studied and worked in Australia, at Loughborough University within the UK, and has also worked as a health, physical activity and obesity consultant.

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Dr Malcolm Campbell

Deputy Director of the GeoHealth Laboratory; Senior Lecturer (Above the Bar), School of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury
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Mary Botting

Administration, Geospatial Research Institute

 

Mary provides administrative support to the GRI, she is also a part-time administrator for Gateway Antarctica in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Canterbury. Mary grew up in Christchurch.

Jan Pierce (chairperson)

Kaihautū Deputy Secretary Customer Delivery at Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand

Mark Nichols

General Manager, Trimble Navigation New Zealand
Kat Salm

Dr Kat Salm

Business Development Manager, FrontierSI
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Prof. Ian Wright

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research, University of Canterbury

Former board members

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Colin MacDonald (former chair person)

Chair, Network for Learning (N4L), formerly the Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs

Dr Richard Gordon

Chief Executive Officer, Landcare Research.

Prof. Wendy Lawson

Pro Vice Chancellor Science, University of Canterbury
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Professor Richard Green

Sourcing and Delivery Theme Leader at the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Theme Leader of Geospatial Research Institute

 

Incorporating a range of topics related to spatial data sourcing and delivery, including research work in UAVs, sensors, WiFi networks, environmental telemetry, positioning, mobile technology, communications, crowdsourcing, and representation of indigenous knowledge.

Professor Rob Lindeman

Research Leader of the HIT Lab NZ

 

Incorporating big spatial data analytics and rapid spatial data analytics, complex system modelling, geo-visualisation and interpretation, and GIS interfaces with other systems such as BIM. It also includes human aspects of data representation.

Professor Simon Kingham

Deputy Director, Geospatial Research Institute and Director, Geohealth Laboratory
Chief Science Adviser for Ministry of Transport

 

Research interests include three areas, broadly linked by relationships between transport and health. These are:
1. Air pollution exposure – This addresses the question of how we quantify the amount of pollution humans actually breathe in. This is important to know if we want to relate pollution to human health.
2. Transport – This research area is interested in how we can make transport more sustainable and looks at people’s perceptions and attitudes to transport, focusing specifically on school and work travel.
3. Health geography – This focuses on links between spatial patterns of illness and air pollution.

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Dr Graeme Woodward

Wireless Research Centre

 

The applied use of geospatial for smart cities and infrastructure development and management, including smart cities, intelligent transport systems, business intelligence, situational awareness, built environment planning, monitoring and management, emergency services, post-quake city geoscience, and smarter as-set/utilities/infrastructure management.

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Dr John Reid

Ngāi Tahu Research Centre

 

John is a specialist in indigenous economic development with a particular focus on land, freshwater, ocean, and housing sustainability. He has spent years as both a consultant and researcher developing hapū and iwi scale businesses and economies. He also has a strong interest in indigenous identities and relationships to place that underpin novel approaches to social and economic development.

Jennifer Brown, Maths and Statistics, portraits for Research Report taken near the community garden.

Professor Jennifer Brown

 

Jennifer’s primary research interests are in environmental statistics and she has expertise in survey design and environmental monitoring. Her research areas are broad and she works in other application areas, most recently, human health and wellbeing.