UC Research Profile - University of Canterbury

Dr Robin Lai-Yun Lee

Contact

Department: Civil and Natural Resources Engineering

Email: robin.lee@canterbury.ac.nz

Direct Dial: +64 3 3692765

Office:

Language: English

About

Research / Creative works

Networks

Fields of Research

Earthquake engineering
Earthquake ground motions
Numerical simulations

Researcher Summary

Currently, the primary focus of my research is on several aspects of engineering seismology including earthquake ground motions and how they influence our engineering systems and structures. This includes earthquake source modelling, crustal and shallow velocity modelling, analysis of observed ground motions, ground motion prediction through empirical and physics-based methods, seismic hazard analysis, and response of structural and geotechnical systems to earthquake ground motion excitation.

This work heavily involves the extensive use of programming, data analysis, machine learning and high performance computing (supercomputers).

For more, including postgraduate research opportunities, see my personal website:
https://lee-robin.github.io/

Subject Area: Disciplines

Engineering and Technology: Earthquake Engineering ; Geotechnical Engineering

Prizes and Awards

Fellowship

Rutherford Foundation postdoctoral Fellowship ( 2017 - 2019)

Research/Scholarly/Creative Works

McGann CR., Bradley BA., Wotherspoon LM. and Lee RL. (2021) Basin effects and limitations of 1D site response analysis from 2D numerical models of the thorndon basin. Bulletin of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering 54(1): 21-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.5459/bnzsee.54.1.21-30. (Journal Articles)

de la Torre CA., Bradley BA. and Lee RL. (2020) Modeling nonlinear site effects in physics-based ground motion simulations of the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence. Earthquake Spectra 36(2): 856-879. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/8755293019891729. (Journal Articles)

Lee RL., Bradley BA., Stafford PJ., Graves RW. and Rodriguez-Marek A. (2020) Hybrid broadband ground motion simulation validation of small magnitude earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand. Earthquake Spectra 36(2): 673-699. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/8755293019891718. (Journal Articles)

Thomson EM., Bradley BA. and Lee RL. (2020) Methodology and computational implementation of a New Zealand Velocity Model (NZVM2.0) for broadband ground motion simulation. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 63(1): 110-127. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00288306.2019.1636830. (Journal Articles)

Thomson EM., Bradley BA., Lee RL., Wotherspoon LM., Wood CM. and Cox BR. (2020) Generalised parametric functions and spatial correlations for seismic velocities in the Canterbury, New Zealand region from surface-wave-based site characterisation. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 128 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2019.105834. (Journal Articles)

Bellagamba X., Lee R. and Bradley BA. (2019) A neural network for automated quality screening of ground motion records from small magnitude earthquakes. Earthquake Spectra 35(4): 1637-1661. http://dx.doi.org/10.1193/122118EQS292M. (Journal Articles)

Tarbali K., Bradley B., Huang J., Lee R., Lagrava D., Bae S., Polak V., Motha J. and Zhu M. (2019) Cybershake NZ v18.5: New Zealand simulation-based probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. In. (Conference Contributions - Published)

Thomson EM., Lee RL. and Bradley BA. (2019) Ground motion simulations of Hope Fault earthquakes. Bulletin of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering 52(4): 152-171. http://dx.doi.org/10.5459/BNZSEE.52.4.152-171. (Journal Articles)

Bradley BA., Bae SE., Polak V., Lee RL., Thomson EM. and Tarbali K. (2017) Ground motion simulations of great earthquakes on the Alpine Fault: effect of hypocentre location and comparison with empirical modelling. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 60(3): 188-198. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00288306.2017.1297313. (Journal Articles)

Lee R., Bradley BA. and McGann CR. (2017) 3D models for the interbedded Quaternary stratigraphy in the Canterbury, New Zealand region. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics : 320-340. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00288306.2017.1334671. (Journal Articles)

Lee RL. (2017) Development of a 3D Canterbury Seismic Velocity Model and Investigation of Systematic Effects Through Hybrid Broadband Ground Motion Simulation of Small-to-Moderate Magnitude Earthquakes. Christchurch. University of Canterbury. (Theses / Dissertations)

Lee RL., Bradley BA., Ghisetti FC. and Thomson EM. (2017) Development of a 3D velocity model of the Canterbury, New Zealand, region for broadband ground-motion simulation. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 107(5): 2131-2150. http://dx.doi.org/10.1785/0120160326. (Journal Articles)

Stringer ME., Bastin S., McGann C., Cappellaro C., El Kortbawi M., McMahon R., Wotherspoon L., Green R., Aricheta J. and Davis R. (2017) Geotechnical aspects of the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake on the South Island of New Zealand. Bulletin of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering 50(2): 117-141. (Journal Articles)

Lee RL., Franklin MJ. and Bradley BA. (2013) Characteristics of vertical ground motions in the Canterbury earthquakes. In Proceedings NZSEE 2013: 8. (Conference Contributions - Published)

Review and Refereeing

Bulletin of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering ( 2020 - 2022)

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America ( 2020 - 2022)

Earthquake Spectra ( 2019 - 2022)