International student Govinda Neroula from Nepal is graduating with a PhD in Earthquake Science. The photo was taken in the South Island’s Southern Alps during a field trip to the Arthurs Pass region.
Govinda Niroula grew up in Nepal alongside the Himalayan Frontal Thrust, a major geological fault line spanning 2,500 kilometres. The fault marks the boundary of the Indo-Australian and Asian tectonic plates and separates the Himalayan foothills and the Great Indian Plains.
Seismic tremors in the region are common, but earthquake science had never surfaced as a field of interest for Govinda. Instead, he moved to Kathmandu for his undergraduate studies to study civil engineering.
In 2015 a powerful earthquake struck Nepal with an epicentre just 60 kilometres from Kathmandu. At the time Govinda was in his third-floor apartment, and he felt the real and imminent danger to his life.
The quake was responsible for taking the lives of nearly 9,000 people, including several of Govinda’s colleagues working in the hydropower industry who were in the field at the time.
The vivid experiences of the event altered perspectives and priorities, and for Govinda it initiated a shift in focus for his Master’s in Civil Engineering - to seismic hazard analysis.
When Govinda was growing up, his knowledge of New Zealand only extended to Sir Edmund Hillary’s conquest of Mount Everest. But by the time he’d completed his study and gained work experience in Nepal, Govinda was cognisant of New Zealand’s strong association and leadership with seismic-related research.
His master’s supervisor Associate Professor Deepak Chamlagain connected Govinda with Professor Mark Stirling, Otago’s Chair of Earthquake Science.
“This connection with Mark was great as New Zealand has a good reputation in Nepal for earthquake science and associated building codes,” Govinda says. “Completing a doctorate was also a chance to gain knowledge, as both countries have unique tectonic environments. Nepal has the longest collision zone fault in the world, and New Zealand has unique subduction and crustal fault systems that operate differently.”
Following Mark’s securing of scholarship funding from the Resilience to Nature’s Challenge programme, Govinda started his PhD research on developing numerical earthquake rupture simulations for New Zealand and Nepal.
While he commenced his research in 2020 however, the arrival of the pandemic meant it would be some time before he set foot in New Zealand.
A challenging start
Completing the first year of his research remotely from Nepal proved a challenging start to his doctorate. Getting used to a new university system and the research culture of New Zealand virtually were the main challenges.
However, finally arriving in Dunedin with his wife Monica a year later, and with the first chapter of his thesis completed, Govinda hit the ground running for the remainder of his PhD. He credits a significant part of his progress before and after arriving in New Zealand to Mark, his primary supervisor.
“Mark was a such a great teacher and supervisor, which helped me a lot to accomplish everything on time,” Govinda says. “His support also meant I achieved all the objectives we’d set for the research at the start.”
In addition to his computer-based modelling research, Govinda also found time to work on external consulting projects with Mark, assist with fieldwork projects, and present his research at two overseas conferences.
Mark says that Govinda’s three-paper thesis represents the cutting-edge of modern earthquake hazard research. One paper is focused on Nepal and two are focused on New Zealand, and all three are now finalised for publishing.
“The papers are focused on testing and evaluation of new methods of seismic hazard modelling and have involved a great deal of thinking and computer coding.”
New Zealand employment
With his new expertise in earthquake science and background in civil engineering design, Govinda has now secured employment at Damwatch Engineering, a company that specialises in dam safety in New Zealand and abroad.
His work extends to geotechnical design and seismic hazard analysis for critical infrastructure such as bridges and hydroelectric dams.
“I’m so happy to have this job in New Zealand as I really wanted to follow up my PhD with experience in this country due to its expertise in earthquake science.”
Govinda and Monica, who is also a civil engineer, are now settling into their new life in New Zealand, based in Wellington.
“We love the weather as it’s not too cold and not too hot, and the people here are really helpful and friendly.”
But it’s also their love of mountains and the forces that shape them that connect the couple to New Zealand and also remind them of Nepal. “We’ve already had a good look around but are looking forward to exploring more of New Zealand’s beautiful landscapes and amazing mountains.”
Department of Geology Research
The dynamic geology of New Zealand is regarded with fascination by earth scientists the world over. Teaching and research carried out by our staff and students emphasises process-related research tied to the fast tempo of active earth science in the South Island and beyond. Our research strengths range from the tectonics of Zealandia to the Southern Ocean carbon cycle to the evolution of our unique New Zealand biota to Antarctic climate history.
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