The University of Canterbury (UC) has been awarded $31.5 million of government funding over seven years to continue hosting Te Hiranga Rū QuakeCoRE, a national centre of research excellence for earthquake resilience.
The research and outreach activities of Te Hiranga Rū QuakeCoRE will continue to ensure that Aotearoa New Zealand is at the global forefront of earthquake disaster resilience, according to UC Professor in Earthquake Engineering Brendon Bradley, the centre’s director.
“Building on achievements during its first five years since establishment, Te Hiranga Rū QuakeCoRE will further establish multi-institutional research programmes throughout Aotearoa New Zealand with links to international networks,” Professor Bradley says.
Inter-disciplinary research that leverages Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique situation and challenges to advance the vision of earthquake resilience is a key feature of Te Hiranga Rū QuakeCoRE, he says. It includes programmes to address the greatest challenges for New Zealand’s earthquake resilience, such as: repairable multi-storey buildings, thriving residential communities, a resilient transport system, and harnessing disruptive technologies for seismic resilience.
“The aim is to advance the science and implementation of earthquake resilience through deep collaborations coordinated across engineering, physical and social science disciplines and research institutions,” Professor Bradley says.
The research projects include advancing understanding and modelling of individual earthquake-induced geohazards (including ground motions, liquefaction, and slope instability); the behaviour of structures and infrastructure in the built environment; law, planning and economics; understanding critical cultural and social factors of New Zealand people, and the role of Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge).
UC Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research | Tumu Tuarua Rangahau Professor Ian Wright says he is pleased about QuakeCORE’s success with a second tranche of funding to advance critical and collaborative research.
“I am, as ever, impressed by the high calibre of our innovative UC researchers, and their national and international research collaborators, who work at the cutting edge of New Zealand and international research in earthquake resilience,” Professor Wright says.
“UC is a place where world-class research happens, and we’re proud to host QuakeCoRE as part of that vital work. This next phase will provide significant advancement and application of new smart technologies to earthquake engineering, and the social and economic mitigation of future earthquake impacts.”
About Te Hiranga Rū QuakeCoRE
QuakeCoRE leverages strengths across the country and internationally, working collaboratively on integrated multidisciplinary programmes of world-class research. Its aim is to support the development of an earthquake-resilient Aotearoa New Zealand where thriving communities have the capacity to recover rapidly after major earthquakes through mitigation and pre-disaster preparation.
QuakeCoRE is a national Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) of earthquake resilience researchers. The Centre is hosted at the University of Canterbury, and includes 12 formal partners, including the University of Auckland, BRANZ, GNS Science, Massey University, University of Waikato, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Otago, Lincoln University, Auckland University of Technology, Market Economics and Resilient Organisations.
