Global safety, sustainability and resilience conference

Brian is IStructE President 2026 and Scientia Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of New South Wales. With a BE (Hons 1) and PhD from UNSW, he has held senior academic roles and worked with leading engineering firms on building and offshore structures. He chairs Australian/New Zealand steel and composite standards and serves as Vice President of IABSE. 

Dr Colin Caprani CEng, FIStructE, is Head of Structural Engineering at Monash University, Australia. He has considerable industrial and academic experience, having worked as a design structural engineer on a wide range of projects, while his research specialisations involve highway bridge traffic loading; vibration serviceability of footbridges; structural reliability and statistics of extremes. He completed his PhD in bridge engineering in 2005.

Nick is a chartered Structural & Sustainability Engineer (NZL) with twenty years of experience designing, managing, and delivering a wide range of projects, including one-off special structures in New Zealand, Australia, Asia, Dubai and in the UK.  Nick advocates for low-carbon design opportunities within projects across the Infrastructure spectrum at Mott MacDonald and through his roles on several industry body advisory groups.

Steph is a Structural Engineer and Project Director at Holmes with experience delivering projects across New Zealand and the UK. She has worked across many sectors, including commercial, healthcare, residential, sports facilities, and retail. It was during a four-year period consulting in the UK that Steph was able to take her passion for sustainable design and apply that into the delivery of everyday projects. She is committed to the role that structural engineers play in a sustainable, low emissions industry and champions the "own your own carbon" catch-cry. 

Muiris is the Sustainability Technical Leader at Laing O’Rourke Australia, working to decarbonise construction projects in collaboration with designers, clients and supply-chain partners. He has over 15 years’ experience spanning design, research (both academic and applied), and construction delivery, gained in Europe and Australia. A chartered structural engineer and environmentalist, he is Chair of the Institution's Sustainability Panel, advocating for efficient, low-carbon design in the built environment.

Juliane is a Technical Director and Beca’s Existing Buildings Lead. She has 24 years’ experience as a Structural engineer in the construction industry, delivering projects across the education, commercial, and retail sectors in Aotearoa New Zealand and overseas. She was actively involved in the recovery programme following the Canterbury and the Kaikōura earthquake, undertaking damage evaluations and seismic retrofit work in Christchurch and Wellington.

Dhanya Paulson is a Team Lead at Transgrid, Sydney and a member of IStructE since 2015. She has served on regional committees in both the UAE and Australia since 2019, gaining valuable insight into the diverse needs of IStructE's international membership. Dhanya is passionate about supporting early-career engineers through technical talks and mentorship. She is committed to building a collaborative and supportive structural engineering community that empowers members and contributes to shaping a better built environment. 

Nia Bell is Senior Manager at Climate Group responsible for the strategy and delivery of the ConcreteZero initiative. Her work focuses on engaging leading concrete users and specifiers globally to grow the market for lower carbon and net zero concrete. Nia has a Masters in Theoretical Physics from Durham University and a PhD in Materials Science from Imperial College London. She also has circular economy consulting experience and previously was part of the Secretariat for a membership organisation for financial institutions (PCAF).

Prof. Ir. Goman Ho, an Arup Fellow, has over 34 years of experience leading multidisciplinary mega‑projects across Asia Pacific. A global expert in tall buildings, seismic engineering, DfMA/MiC, and advanced numerical analysis, he has contributed to more than 15 km of tall building projects, including 461m Landmark 81, Beijing CITIC Tower, and Tianjin TJ117. He has published 3 books, 40+ papers, received 14+ project awards, and serves as Adjunct Professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Ashok is a Technical Director at Mott MacDonald with over seventeen years’ experience in concept development, structural analysis, and design across infrastructure, healthcare, and mixed‑use projects. Based in Singapore since 2007, he is well‑versed in local design practices and challenges. His expertise spans underground stations, high‑rise buildings, and multidisciplinary corridor projects. Proficient in advanced 3D analysis tools, he delivers efficient, robust, buildable solutions for complex developments. He is recognised for strong technical leadership.

Takuma is a Senior Researcher at the National Institute for Environmental Studies (Japan) and an Adjunct Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney (Australia). Previously, he worked at the University of Cambridge (UK) and Leiden University (Netherlands). His research focuses on sustainable materials and energy systems, with particular emphasis on industrial decarbonisation and the responsible supply of critical materials.

Xiaoming focuses on wind power structures, blade composite structures and infrastructure resilience. He has published 30+ papers in Top SCI journals (h-index 15), led 8 research projects with a total funding of approximately 8 million RMB, and collaborates with Cambridge University and Goldwind Science & Technology.

Yasmin joined the Institution of Structural Engineers in 2023 having successfully led the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK since 2017 where she established its strategy and directed domestic and global operations. With an extensive career spanning the private, public and charity sectors, Yasmin possesses a wealth of experience in developing strategies, growing international partnerships, and delivering complex transformations across multiple organisations. 

John is a Senior Resident Engineer at P&T Architects and Engineers Dubai (UAE). A Chartered Structural Engineer (Fellow), excelling in standardizing performance in the built environment, structural design, and associated trades.

Expertise spans retail, industrial, and commercial design, a strong emphasis on health and safety, and mentoring. A dedicated and specialist in site supervision, focusing on “getting things done” and inspiring teams towards continuous development and improvement. Committed to assisting emerging engineers from students to seasoned professionals, empowering them to achieve their goals.

Fiona has worked in the engineering and construction industry for over 10 years. She graduated from the University of Cape Town with a BSc in Civil Engineering and obtained a Commonwealth Scholarship to do her Masters at Imperial College London in Advanced Structural Engineering.
In Cape Town, Fiona started her career at PRDW as a port and coastal engineer, after which she joined Arup to focus on structural engineering within the Built Environment. In 2022, Fiona moved to London to join AtkinsRealis as a senior structural engineer and project manager. She is a chartered member of both the Institution of Structural Engineers and well as the Engineering Council of South Africa.
She won the Kenneth Severn Award in 2019, served as a graduate member on the IStructE Global Council from 2020 to 2023 and has since continued to serve on the IStructE’s South African Regional Committee - focusing on the young members group and arranging CPD technical talks. Fiona recently joined 36Zero - a digital technology company focused on improving worker welfare, safety and labour optimisation on construction sites - to help drive a positive change in the industry.

Dr Chaudhuri’s research focuses on smart sustainable steel green buildings, high-rise buildings, pre-engineered warehouse type buildings (PEB), seismic resistant design, strengthening of multi-storey RCC buildings and high volume fly ash green concrete mixed with glass fibre.

Steven is an Associate Director in the IT and AV team at Cundall. He speaks regularly at global conferences and events on smart cities and buildings, and the challenges when balancing technology, sustainability and social impact. Steven draws on his experience working across the UK, US, Middle East and Asia, delivering award winning smart cities and neighbourhoods. His smart city highlights include Greater Muscat and Salalah Structural Plans, New City Salalah, Diriyah Gate and Gateshead Digital Climate Action Plan.  

A Principal at Cundall and chartered member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Athanasios’ interests in geography, physics and understanding man-made environments, steered him towards this field, which he calls his ‘destiny’. Following studies at the University of Patras in Greece, and a MSc in Flood Risk Management at Newcastle University, he’s delivered hydrologic and hydraulic studies, developed hydrodynamic models, assessed and managed flood risks through the design of green and grey infrastructure, and developed flood risk management policies for urban planning. Key highlights of his experience include Data Centres in Denmark and Ireland, Greater Muscat, Greater Salalah and Ibri Structure Plans, and New City Salalah.   

Elisabeth is a recent Vice President of IStructE (2022-2025), with an international practice of urban systems thinking.  She advocates cross sector collaboration to generate practice action for sustainability and resilience. Her doctoral research into the measurement, interpretation and decision-making of sustainability and resilience in the urban built environment, was consolidated in the paper "Interpreting sustainability and resilience in the built environment" which received an Elsevier award in 2024. Recent industry leadership includes contribution to the UKGBC Resilience Roadmap and participating with Royal Academy of Engineers community of interest on policy for sustainability and climate. She is an Associate at Cundall and is currently developing an approach towards adaptation for risk and resilience for urban futures.  

Calum Perey, Principal Engineer at Cundall, is the UAE Chair of the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) Regional Group for 2026. Calum has been an active member of the IStructE UAE community for more than 8 years. During this time, he has contributed to a wide range of initiatives, including delivering CPD talks, supporting students and young engineers, and championing sustainability across the region. He also served on the IStructE Global Council in 2020 and 2021 as a graduate member, helping shape the institution’s international direction. In 2022, Calum co‑founded the UAE Carbon Assessment initiative, which aims to record and calculate embodied carbon in existing assets across the country – a critical step toward improving transparency and reducing environmental impact within the built environment.