Associate Professor
School of Architecture, Unitec Auckland NZ.

BE, ME, M.Arch, MBA, PhD

 Regan has a full life. Academically, he has 5 degrees and is currently an Associate Professor at UNITEC Polytechnic in Auckland. However, his background is as a consulting structural engineer with over 25 years of experience, living or working in 13 different countries. He is active in humanitarian engineering and has completed several humanitarian assignments principally through RedR (Register of Engineers for Disaster Relief) www.redr.org

Regan’s personal life is also diverse having lived on his own yacht for 2 years while working in Brunei, in a large loft in the artists quarter in Auckland for 1 year, in a camper van for 3 years while doing his PhD in Australia and in an old historically classified house for 9 years in Wellington. He and his wife Florence are presently renovating an old warehouse in Auckland.

 He is a keen snow skier, sailor and volleyball player, referee, and coach. Consequently he combines both individual determination and team spirit qualities, both of which are necessary in humanitarian aid work.

 Regan’s cultural background is as a New Zealand Maori, with a working class background from an “unknown” college.  His friends and his wife describe him as an adaptive, analytical person whose nature is to ask questions and whose training helps him to seek answers to those same questions.

What do you do?

Research and teaching. Much of my research is motivated by my involvement in humanitarian aid work. And I am involved with Objective 3 of the Resilient Organisations Research Group based at Auckland University and lead by Associate Prof Suzanne Wilkinson. But there are other areas such as natural ventilation, wind tunnel/wind research, systems engineering and 3D scanning.

Career to date? The funny thing about a career is that you only find it when you give it away. But that is a longer story.

Projects of interest involved in.

Presently working on the integration of seismic design into the curricula for the national diploma course in Pakistan with UNESCO Pakistan and the Pakistan Govt (includes writing the text book and all course materials) and have just finished reconstruction work/research over the last 4 years based principally in Aceh, Indonesia with the INGO CARE (refer to www.care.org). Both have been profound assignments of engineering and social interaction/responsibility. At home I have also just gotten back from an intriguing field study on leadership in the Victorian bush fire disaster with students from the Auckland School of Engineering at Auckland University. And I work with my good friend Rewi Thompson in developing his approach to architecture and people. Engineering will always be an art that is ultimately about its impact on people.

 Dr Regan is involved and has been involved in several Maori projects and organisations in NZ that have had a significant community participation factor. These include the following:

• The development of Papakainga Housing (housing based around the concept of the Maori Marae) consisting of 500 houses for the Ngati Whatua people of Auckland. This has been on going for 2 years and has involved activating community involvement for the strategy and design of potential housing.
• Seismic strengthening of the Ratana Temple using their own resources. This saved the Morehu nearly $NZ1,000,000
• Rebuilding of school marae using labour work schemes.
• 9 years serving on the Owahanga farm incorporation for Ngati Kahungunu. The farm is approximately 8,500 hectares and includes 12 kilometres of coast line.
• Development of several schemes for Morehu Social Services.

 What do you enjoy best about your job?

Engineering wise?  the liberation and certainty of numbers.

And the ability to produce and do things that will last long after I have died.

Why did you choose engineering?

My friends were going off to do engineering school and as I was OK at maths I thought I would go along.

Why are you involved with SPPEEx?

Cultural I guess, though I admit I am out of NZ a lot of the time. Maori and Pacific Islanders are largely unaware of the impact of Engineering on how they do things. And the dominant NZ culture is also unaware of the impact their decisions are having for Maori and Pacific Islanders. There exists a gap which needs to be closed and hence the role of SPPEEx. The unfortunate observation is that most engineers that graduate come out in the dominant cultural mould and it takes along time to “get home again” if at all.

There is a Navajo saying that the longest trip is from your heart to your head which is the journey that Maori and Pacific Island students make at University. And perhaps it is also true for other students as well? However, the Navajo saying goes on that to be a leader one needs to make the return journey from your head to your heart. And it is that return ticket that SPPEEx seeks to produce.