Academic Retires After Building Solid Foundation In Quake Research

Key points

• Renowned UC Engineering Professor Misko Cubrinovski is retiring after 20 years at UC and a 40-year career
• Professor Cubrinovski, who survived a major earthquake as a child in Macedonia, played a key role in the rebuild and recovery following the Canterbury earthquakes in 2010 and 2011
• He has been celebrated with a symposium of leading earthquake researchers held in his honour

An international expert in quake-related land damage, who played a key role in the recovery following the Canterbury earthquakes, is being celebrated after a 40-year career. 

Professor Misko Cubrinovski worked in Europe and Japan before taking up a role at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) in Christchurch in 2005, five years before the Canterbury earthquake sequence began. 

He is retiring from UC’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering this month after decades of world-leading research in earthquake geotechnical engineering.  

Professor Cubrinovski was five years old when a massive tremor hit his home city Skopje, in Macedonia, in 1963, causing over 1000 fatalities. 

After witnessing the city’s rebuild as he grew up, he decided to study at the Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology in Skopje.  

He used his expertise in soil behaviour and liquefaction, and his understanding of how they affect buildings and infrastructure, to inform rebuild decisions after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes in Canterbury. 

Professor Cubrinovski says observations and first-hand experience of earthquakes during his career in Aotearoa and Japan, have provided both research challenges and learning opportunities. 

“Throughout my career, I have inspected many areas affected by major earthquakes and liquefaction, but what we had in Christchurch was unprecedented in terms of how extensive and severe the liquefaction damage was. 

“I’m really glad that I was here in Christchurch and able to help the community and New Zealand geotechnical profession, as my principal expertise is in liquefaction. All that previous preparation, knowledge and experience suddenly came to fruition. 

“We used the wealth of information and observations from the earthquakes to make some key findings and leading research contributions that have attracted worldwide attention and recognition.” 

The Cubrinovski Symposium, an international geotechnical earthquake engineering conference that attracted leading researchers from around the world, was hosted by UC last week in his honour.  

A UC colleague, Engineering Professor Brendon Bradley, says Professor Cubrinovski has made a profound contribution to geotechnical engineering both here and internationally.  

“Key analyses and interpretations produced by Misko and collaborators following the Canterbury earthquakes and during his 20 years at UC have had a huge impact on liquefaction research. He has been very influential in the geotechnical engineering industry internationally.  

“The exceptional calibre of people who joined the symposium last week was testimony to his prominence here and around the world.” 

Professor Cubrinovski was a Principal Investigator at QuakeCoRE | Te Hiranga Rū: The New Zealand Centre of Earthquake Resilience, based at UC, and provided expert analysis for the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission, government, regional and professional agencies following the earthquakes. 

He was presented with the American Society of Civil Engineers Ralph B. Peck Award in 2019 for outstanding contributions to the geotechnical engineering profession, becoming just the second person from outside North America to receive the award.  

He also won a UC Research Medal in 2022 recognising his outstanding contribution to his field. 

Although officially retiring this month, Professor Cubrinovski will continue to conduct research and mentor UC colleagues and students. He also plans to write a book (or two) summarising his work in soil liquefaction and geotechnical engineering.  

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