"The impact of earthquake disasters can be reduced by effective implementation of simple and inexpensive measures at the time of construction, through to social interventions."
After completing his BE in Nepal, Jitendra spent his 19-year career going from structural engineering to social engineering and, more recently, to seismic engineering. He is an ardent believer in identifying strong linkages between social and seismic engineering to help implement seismic protection. In 2004, he completed a Masters degree in earthquake engineering at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch.
Jitendra has travelled to many earthquake-prone countries such as Bhutan, India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Iran, working on disaster management projects, disaster preparedness planning and developing the seismic construction capacity of local building stakeholders. He has led teams for reconstruction and capacity building after earthquakes in Bam, Iran and Kashmir and Pakistan; delivering training workshops for craftsmen and engineers.
Jitendra is on the Board of Editors for World Housing Encyclopaedia and chairs their international committee developing a tutorial on stone masonry construction. He was elected to the management committee of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering in 2009; and has been a keynote speaker and lecturer at international and national conferences, forums and universities on social and seismic engineering.
In recent years, Jitendra has become one of New Zealand's most experienced assessors of existing buildings in accordance with the NZSEE's Initial Evaluation Procedures.
Technical Papers: