Dr. Rolando P. Orense, or Rolly to his friends, is an Associate Professor (equivalent to full professor in most Asian countries and in North American universities) of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is currently the department’s Geomechanics Programme Leader and the Geomechanics Laboratory Manager. He also served as Associate Dean (Postgraduate) of the Faculty of Engineering in 2014-2017.
He received his BS (cum laude) and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of the Philippines in 1984 and 1989, respectively. While doing his masters degree, he served as Instructor in the Department of Civil Engineering, UP (Diliman) and as Soils Engineer (Consultant) with TCGI Engineers. In 1989, he received a Monbusho (Japanese Government) scholarship and went to Japan to pursue further postgraduate studies. After completing his Doctor of Engineering (Geotechnical Engineering) degree at the University of Tokyo in 1992, he worked with Kiso-jiban Consultants and Chuo Kaihatsu Corporation, both topnotch geotechnical consulting firms based in Tokyo, where he tackled a variety of soil engineering projects in Japan, Singapore and the Philippines. Before moving to New Zealand in late 2007, he also served as Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo and at Yamaguchi University (Japan).
His research and professional practice are primarily related to earthquake geotechnical engineering and liquefaction-associated problems, slope movements and landslide risk mitigation and site/soil characterisation. Over the past 25 years, he has produced more than 400 scholarly papers (in book chapters, technical journals, international/local conference proceedings and technical/research reports). He has authored two geotechnical engineering books, Geotechnical Hazards, published by UP Press in 2003 and Seismic Design of Foundations, to be published by ICE Publishing in late 2018. He has delivered many lectures at various international conferences and he is scheduled to present a Theme Lecture during the 7th International Conference on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering (7ICEGE) in Rome, Italy in mid-June 2019.
He has sat on the Editorial Board of Soils and Foundations and of ICE Geotechnical Research Journal. He was the recipient of the 1997 Best Research Paper Award, 2005 Business Plan Award, and 2015 Technical Development Award, all from the Japanese Geotechnical Society. He also received the 2007 Best Teacher Award from Yamaguchi University and the 2011 Special Award from the University of Auckland (for his contributions on understanding the geotechnical impacts of the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence).
He is an active member of TC-105 (Geomechanics from micro to macro), TC-203 (Earthquake geotechnical engineering and associated problems), and AsRTC-3 (Geotechnology for natural hazards) of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE). He is a Chartered Member of Engineering New Zealand (EngNZ) and a registered Professional Engineer in Oregon (United States). He currently sits on the Management Committee of the New Zealand Geomechanics Society (NzGS). He is also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE), Japanese Geotechnical Society (JGS), and Nz Society for Earthquake Engineering (NzSEE). He helped in the establishment of the Philippine Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (PSSMGE). Aside from teaching and research, he continues to perform geotechnical consulting works through Auckland Uniservices.