Heads of Department

GEOHAZARDS MONITORING, Natural Hazards Division.
Ken Gledhill.
Ken manages of the GeoHazards Monitoring Department which consists of more than 30 staff. The main focus of the department is the operation of the GeoNet project, but staff are also involved in other GNS Science projects. The GeoNet project is funded by the Earthquake Commission.

Dr Gledhill, who has been with GNS Science for more than 20 years, has had a long involvement in the monitoring of geological hazards and the design and operating geophysical instruments, as well as the science of seismology. He is the co-designer of the EARSS digital seismograph which was used in the New Zealand National Seismograph Network until replaced by the new GeoNet instruments. He has worked in a consultancy role in the design of geophysical monitoring systems internationally.

He is also a major contributor to investigations of the nature and state of stress of the crust and mantle beneath New Zealand . With Dr Martha Savage of Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) and VUW students, he has published widely in this area of research.

GeoHazards Monitoring has a mainly operational focus, with expertise in the acquisition, digital transportation, processing and storage of large quantities of geophysical and geochemical data, as well as the sciences required to develop and maintain this capability.

GeoNet is a modern geological hazard monitoring and data collection system for New Zealand , and the project is being undertaken by GNS Science on a not-for-profit basis for all New Zealanders. GeoNet is a connected network of data recording instruments, automated software applications and skilled staff to detect, analyse and respond to earthquakes, volcanic activity, large landslides, tsunami, and the slow deformation of the New Zealand landscape.

TECTONOPHYSICS, Natural Hazards Division.
Hannah Brackley.
The Tectonophysics Department comprises around 25 staff with expertise in seismology, geophysics, geodesy, crustal geodynamics, earthquake and volcano deformation modelling, hazard and risk assessment, and tsunami modelling. Scientists in the department work closely with the GeoNet Project, and are funded from natural hazards and plate tectonics research programmes, from Earthquake Commission and Marsden research grants, and from extensive consulting work.

Hannah gained her PhD from Victoria University, and has research experience in the areas of sedimentology, biogeochemistry and erosion-related carbon transfers. In 2005 she joined GNS Science in a business development role for the Natural Hazards Division, and she became Head of Department of Tectonophysics in 2009.

RISK AND SOCIETY, Natural Hazards Division.
Andrew King.
Andrew manages the Risk and Society Department of 24 scientists whose specialty interests are in the fields of paleoseismology, engineering geology and geodesy. Andrew is a civil engineer with specialist knowledge in structural engineering, particularly the response of the built environment under earthquake attack. Andrew is chairman of the joint NZ/Australia earthquake loadings standard review committee and is active on several international standards development bodies. He was president of the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering between 1998 and 2000 and remains active within their management committee.

REGIONAL GEOLOGY, Natural Hazards Division.
Phil Glassey.
Phil Glassey is an engineering geologist with a MSc in Engineering Geology from Canterbury University. He worked for five years for an engineering consultant firm in Tauranga before joining GNS Science in 1991. He has been involved in wide range of engineering geological investigations mostly involving slope stability, foundation conditions and groundwater studies.
Phil was the reporting geologist for investigations into the proposed Lower Clutha Power Development. He assisted with studies on landslide stabilisation, monitoring and groundwater studies associated with Clyde Power project. More recently, Phil's specialist research interest has become landslide hazard mapping and zonation methodologies, GIS applications and database management.
Between 1993 and 1996, he was part of a team that developed a GIS-based Hazard Information System for part of Southwest Dunedin. During this time he also gained a postgraduate Diploma in Spatial Information Systems from the University of Otago. Since then he has led a project on the integration of scientific databases within GNS Science.

VOLCANOLOGY, Natural Hazards Division.
Gill Jolly.
The Volcanology Department comprises around 18 staff who specialize in volcano surveillance and research. We monitor New Zealand's active volcanoes through the GeoNet project, funded by the Earthquake Commission. We work closely with other government departments, academic institutions and commercial organisations on collaborative research projects. Our scientific staff include volcano seismologists, geochemists, geodesists and volcanic geologists.

Gill is a volcanologist and joined GNS Science in 2006. Her background is in magma physics and lava flow dynamics, but she has had a diverse career including mineral exploration, environmental geochemistry, and 3D geological modeling of ore deposits. She worked for several years at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (West Indies) where she was director. Her current research areas include the dynamics of eruptions of Ngauruhoe, and quantitative volcanic risk assessments. She also co-leads a multidisciplinary, multi-agency project on the Auckland Volcanic Field in collaboration with University of Auckland.

ACTIVE LANDSCAPES, Natural Hazards Division.
Pilar Villamor
The Active Landscape Department comprises around 20 staff who specialize in engineering geology, geotechnical engineering, geomorphology and earthquake geology. Scientists in the department are funded from natural hazards and plate tectonics research programmes, from the GeoNet Project, from Earthquake Commission and Marsden research grants, and from extensive consulting work. We are interested in active landscapes and have mainly developed expertise in landslides, active faults and landscape evolution.

Dr. Pilar Villamor is an earthquake geologist with extensive experience in active faulting studies in various tectonic environments (intraplate to plate boundaries). In the last 13 years, she has focused on the tectonics and earthquake hazards of the Taupo Volcanic Zone. She also works on active faulting studies of other tectonic environments such as strike-slip and reverse faults worldwide (New Zealand, Spain, El Salvador, Mexico). She is currently Leader of the Subprogramme “Tectonics of the Taupo Volcanic Zone and Western North Island” of the FoRST (New Zealand Foundation for Science and Technology) Programme “Impacts of Global Plate tectonics in and around New Zealand” and Manager of the Active Landscapes Department within the Hazards Division at GNS Science. She has also led numerous consultancy projects on active faulting.

PETROLEUM GEOSCIENCE, Geological Resources Division.
Rosemary Quinn
Rosemary gained her BSc in Physics with Electronics from the University of Manchester in 1990 and her MSc in Exploration Geophysics from the University of Leeds the following year. She returned to Leeds in 1993 to work towards her PhD in geophysics, which she achieved in 1998.

The majority of Rosemary’s working life has been in the oil industry, starting with summer-student placements with Amoco and Enterprise Oil, moving to seismic data processing with Geoteam prior to starting her PhD. She worked for Total for 2 years prior to 13 years with Talisman Energy, working as an interpreter, seismic processing & acquisition geophysicist, and technical specialist in both Aberdeen and Kuala Lumpur, before moving to GNS in July 2011.

Rosemary currently heads the Petroleum Geoscience Department, which consists of around 26 staff who collectively have expertise in subjects as diverse as petroleum geochemistry, sequence stratigraphy, borehole image log interpretation, carbon dioxide sequestration, seismic attribute analysis, basin modelling to name but a few.

GEOTHERMAL SCIENCES, Geological Resources Division.
Brian Carey.
Brian heads the Geothermal Sciences Department with a staff of about 30. The geothermal team comprise geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, geomicrobiologists and includes the IANZ ISO 17025 accredited Gas Water Laboratory facility that services research and client analytical requirements. Geothermal expertise and research is in demand in an era where low carbon energy and renewable sources are receiving significant attention. Multidisciplinary team work is the key to research and increasing utilisation of the geothermal resources that we as a nation are so well endowed. There will continue to be an increasing contribution to energy generated in NZ from geothermal sources over the next decade. He expects to see about 20% of the nation’s electricity generated from geothermal by 2015 up from the 13% in 2010.

Brian joined GNS Science in 2007 after 26 years in the geothermal industry of which over 20 years were involved in management and engineering associated with the geothermal resources and underground operations at the Wairakei and Ohaaki geothermal power generation facilities.

PALEONTOLOGY, Geological Resources Division.
Lucia Roncaglia
Lucia Roncaglia received her MSc in Geology and PhD in Paleontology from Modena University, Italy in 1991 and 1995 respectively. She has about 20 years of experience achieved by working in New Zealand (GNS Science), Denmark (Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, and DONG Energy Ltd) and Italy (ENI). Her main expertise is in the study of stratigraphy and depositional environments of Late Cretaceous to Recent sediments through the analysis of marine palynology and she is the senior author of several scientific publications. Also, she is trained Operations geologist and coordinated well operations in the Danish sector of the North Sea from 2005.

Lucia joined GNS Science in 2006. Currently, she is leading a team of about 20 scientists and technical staff who specialise in stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental studies. The department includes the largest group of paleontologists in the Southern Hemisphere and houses the National Paleontology Collection. It provides services to the petroleum industry and has much sought-after capability in forensic palynology. Government funded research focuses on petroleum exploration, climate change and geohazards.

MARINE GEOSCIENCE, Geological Resources Division.
Vaughan Stagpoole.
The geologists, geophysicists and geochemists of the Marine Geoscience Department have led voyages to study the structure, evolution, and resources of the Southwest Pacific, Ross Sea and other oceans for over 20 years. Large parts of New Zealand’s ocean territory are relatively unknown, and exploration of these areas is an important component of the department's science, which also provides unique constraints for understanding the tectonic processes that control the distribution of onshore hazards and resources. Studies of active hydrothermal systems offshore give insights into the thermal and fluid flow history of the plate boundary as well as the processes of mineral deposit formation.

The Marine Geoscience Department staff help lead New Zealand’s UNCLOS Continental Shelf Project, and their research increases the knowledge of this marine territory so that government policy can guide the use of the ocean rather than react to it.

Dr Vaughan Stagpoole is the Marine Geoscience Department manager at GNS Science in Lower Hutt. He is a geophysicist specialling in basin modelling and research on the formation and development of sedimentary basins. Recently he has been involved in the assessment of the petroleum prospectivity of New Zealand's frontier sedimentary basins and has been part of the technical team providing advice to New Zealand’s Continental Shelf Project. Vaughan has been at GNS Science since 1992. He received his PhD from Victoria University of Wellington in 1998 and since then has worked in the Geological Resources Division at GNS Science.

ISOTOPE BIOGEOSCIENCES, National Isotope Centre.
Troy Baisden.
Troy Baisden leads three projects on terrestrial isotope biogeochemistry at the National Isotope Centre (below).
Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics (an objective in the Global Change Through Time Programme).
Was Collapse Inevitatible on Easter Island (Rapa Nui)? Reconstructing a Civilisation's Failure.
The Isotopic Indicators of Land-to-Water Nitrogen Transfers.

He is also Head of Department for Isotope Biogeoscience, which includes the GNS Science Stable Isotope Lab, Rafter Radiocarbon Lab, Cosmogenic Isotope and Radiochemistry Laboratory, Thin Section Laboratory, and the National Ice Core Research Laboratory. Key equipment in the department includes 5 stable isotope instruments and the world's first compact accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) for routine radiocarbon measurement with extended capability for Be-10 and Al-26.

Troy Baisden holds a BA in Earth Sciences (High Honours) from Dartmouth College and a PhD in Soil Science from Department of Environemental Science, Policy and Management at the University of California Berkeley. He has 10 years of environmental science research experience in New Zealand.

ION BEAM TECHNOLOGIES, National Isotope Centre.
Andreas Markwitz.
The Ion Beam Technologies Department comprises about 20 staff working in research, development and products with expertise in ion beam analysis, air pollution, nanotechnology, X-ray scanning and manufacturing of products in the electronic and mechanical workshops of the department. The workshops support NIC and GNS Science equipment maintenance and repair. Scientists in the department lead research programmes in air pollution and materials research funded by FRST, the Royal Society, the MacDiarmid Institute, and the Materials Accelerator. Key equipment is the 3-million volt particle accelerator with its four ion beam analysis beam lines complemented by ion implanters and electron beam annealers.

Andreas gained his PhD from the University of Frankfurt Main, Germany in 1994. He has expertise in ion beam analysis, materials science, nanotechnology and air pollution. He has completed three post-doc positions in Germany and Belgium before joining GNS Science in 1998 as senior scientist in ion beam analysis. He is principal investigator in the MacDiarmid Institute and the Material Accelerator at The University of Auckland. His current research interests are in nanostructuring and materials modification with ion and electron beams, air pollution and sensor development for the manufacturing industry. He has published 250 publications in international journals and at leading conferences. He leads an international programme in air particulate matter pollution in Asia funded by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria.

HYDROGEOLOGY, National Isotope Centre.
Chris Daughney.
The Hydrogeology Department includes scientists with expertise in physical and chemical hydrogeology, isotopic sciences, geophysics, computer modelling and data management. Our research and consultancy projects include mapping the recharge zones of major groundwater resources, determination of groundwater age and security of supply, measurement and computer modelling of the direction and rate of groundwater flow and relationships with surface waters, characterisation of water quality, and development and modelling of novel systems for water and wastewater treatment.

Chris is an aqueous environmental geochemist with research interests in experimental and modelling approaches for characterising chemical equilibria in water-rock systems. His special areas of interest include 1) chemical evolution of groundwater at the catchment scale and the use of tracer methods for evaluating in-situ rates of water-rock interaction, and 2) surface complexation modelling of adsorption of metals and organics by mineral surfaces and bacterial cells.

APPLICATIONS, Information Services Division.
Lynley Smith.
The applications team provides systems and databases for GNS Science. It does this by providing database and application development and support including data capture, management systems, web site development, and systems support. A key focus of the team is to ensure the systems implemented will facilitate and improve GNS Science processes.

Lynley has over 20 years experience in the IT industry, in both the private and public sectors, developing and managing applications for a range of organisations and based on a number of different development platforms. At GNS Science, Lynley’s role is to ensure delivery of effective databases and applications which provide organisation wide solutions that will enhance the output of GNS Science.

IT MANAGER, Information Services Division.
Graham Alderwick.
The GNS Science IT Department implements and maintains the GNS Science ICT (Information Communications Technology) architecture, infrastructure and systems, and provides user support for GNS Science. The institute has a very complex ICT environment utilising a wide and diverse range of hardware, software and communications technology, supporting its many users and activities throughout New Zealand and internationally.

Graham has over 35 years’ experience in the IT and communications industry with roles in the banking industry, military and a successful private consultancy supporting a number of corporate and government organisations in Wellington. At GNS he plays a key role in leading and managing the IT department, IT activities at all sites, and in further development of the IT service for GNS Science.