National Committee

Richard Buckingham
Richard BuckinghamPresident / WSP / Technical Executive – Tunnels & Tunnel Systems
Richard has 28 years’ experience in the construction, planning and tendering of large-scale civil engineering projects within Australia, Asia and the Middle East, primarily tunnelling and shaft excavation, also piling, marine reclamation, slope remediation and site investigation. He has worked several major tunnelling projects in Australia, including Eastlink, Melbourne Metro and North East Link.

His hands-on construction experience includes design and construction supervision for geotechnical aspects of underground works, temporary support design assessment, ground investigation and mapping in tunnels, shafts and caverns in hard rock and soft ground, site investigation coordination and interpretation, managing instrumentation & monitoring, technical report preparation, contract administration, claims preparation, QA/QC reporting, workforce supervision and production drilling and ground support installation.

His precontracts experience on numerous tunnelling tenders includes management of competitive bids, team management, development of technical methods and solutions, management and coordination of design consultants, preparation of submission documents, technical writing, pricing estimates, development of cycle times and preparation of tunnel construction programs.

Richard is a Technical Executive at WSP, based in Melbourne, where he provides technical and constructability support to tunnelling feasibility studies, tenders and active projects, as well as management of personnel and engagement with partners and clients.

Dr Jurij Karlovšek
Dr Jurij KarlovšekUniversity of Queensland | Vice President | AuSS Representative
Dr Jurij Karlovsek is an engineer, researcher, and educator at The University of Queensland, Brisbane Australia. Jurij has a broad area of expertise in Geotechnical Engineering with the main speciality in infrastructure projects, especially the development of sustainable underground space. Jurij focuses on the digital enablement of infrastructure to deliver applications of digital engineering, asset information modelling, and construction. His current position is the deputy director of an UQ Sustainable Infrastructure Research Hub, leading the area of digitalisation for a sustainable future. Since 2016, Jurij chairs the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association Working Group 22 – Information Modelling in Tunnelling. In addition to the above, Jurij actively engages in the mentorship of undergraduate students, supporting their industry engagement activities, and generally helping to make their experience as students a more enriched one.
Harry Asche
Harry AscheImmediate Past President | Aurecon | Design Director - Tunnels
Harry Asche is the current ATS President. He is a civil engineer with 40 years’ experience and has a BE(Civil) from the University of Melbourne and a PhD from the University of Queensland. He holds a position with the University of Queensland as Adjunct Professor at the School of Civil Engineering.

Harry is Aurecon’s Design Director – Tunnels and he has provided technical leadership for many of Aurecon’s tunnels in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Tunnels that he has worked on include the Channel Tunnel (UK), the Brisbane Rail Tunnels, New Southern Railway, Northside Storage Tunnel, both in Sydney, and S1 sewer and South-East Busway in Brisbane. Harry then worked on tunnels including the Cross City Tunnel in Sydney, EastLink in Melbourne and the three TransApex Tunnels (Clem7, Airport Link and Legacy Way) in Brisbane. In New Zealand, Harry worked on Project Hobson, Rosedale and the Waterview Connection in Auckland. Recently Harry has worked on Melbourne Metro, NorthConnex, WestConnex 2 and Central Kowloon Route in HK.

Harry is the author of more than 30 conference and published papers on tunnelling.

Geoff Archer
Geoff ArcherTreasurer | John Holland Tunnelling | Business Development Manager
Geoff Archer is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and first joined the ATS in the 1980s. He has served on the committees for both the Victorian and Queensland chapters of the ATS. In March 2015 he became Treasurer of the ATS National Committee.

Geoff has more than 25 years’ experience in the Tunnelling industry, the majority of which has been with construction contractors.

He is currently John Holland’s Business Development Manager for Tunnelling, a role which covers John Holland’s tunnelling activities across Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

Brodie Aitchison
Brodie AitchisonATSym Representative | Aurecon | Lead Engineer (Tunnelling)
Brodie is a Chartered civil engineer specialising in tunnels and underground spaces. Since 2018 he has been an active member of the Queensland ATS committee and has been a key member of the ATSym team developing the ATS Tunnel Design Guideline.

In 2021 Brodie was elected as the national ATSym representative and is responsible for supporting the next generation of tunnellers locally in Australia.

Brodie is the Lead Engineer (Tunnelling) at Aurecon operating out of Brisbane and is involved with the delivery of tunnelling projects across Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

Nadine Makin
Nadine MakinTechnical Director–Tunnels | Aurecon | Victoria Member
Nadine graduated from the University of Melbourne with an honours degree in civil engineering and a degree in computer science and has spent the last 16 years in the tunnelling industry.

In that time she has gained extensive experience in a range of technical aspects within the industry including the planning, design and construction of various major tunnel projects throughout Australia, including Legacy Way road tunnel in Brisbane, the Westgate Tunnel Project and the Melbourne Metro rail tunnel.

Currently Nadine is a Technical Director–Tunnels at Aurecon and a committee member of the Australasian Tunnel Society–Victorian Branch

David Lees
David LeesJournal Editor | Grouting and Foundation Works Australia, GFWAust | Director
David Lees has more than 35 years international experience in tunnelling and underground construction.

David became a member of ATS soon after coming to Australia in 1995. He has been a member of the National Committee since 1997 and took on the responsibility as Editor of the journal which he has carried out ever since.

He is a founding member of Grouting and Foundation Works Australia and in recent years David has been providing Site Supervision on major international tunnelling projects in South East Asia.

Jiang Aizezi
Jiang AizeziWestern Australian Chair | Services Manager | NEWest Alliance
Aziz has more than 11 years’ experience in the tunnelling and trenchless industry. He has been an active member of ATS since 2013 and has presented at a number of ATS technical sessions, conferences, and the ATS Design and Construction Short Courses.

Recently relocated to WA, he’s been promoted as chair of the ATS WA chapter, actively promoting tunnelling and trenchless technology in the not-so-busy WA market.

Aziz has obtained extensive technical knowledge, engineering, finance and management skills in the industry by supporting multiple complex projects from planning phase through to delivery. This includes optioneering, constructability analysis, concept design, tender analysis, design assessments, site/project engineering, forecasting and problem solving.

He has been involved and contributed to successful delivery of trenchless projects involving diverse trenchless techniques including microtunnelling; pipe jacking; auger boring; pilot boring and horizontal directional drilling.

With his strong profile on the utility field, he’s working as Service Manager at NEWest Alliance leading some of the largest service relocation projects in Perth.

Morteza Ghamgosar
Morteza GhamgosarQueensland Chair
Morteza is a Chartered Senior Associate Geotechnical Engineer with over 20 years of experience in major underground projects, waste-water dams, dredging, and landfill projects. Morteza’s primary focus has been on the planning, design management, construction and operation of national and international large-scale projects. He has provided design office and site-based geotechnical input and project management across the entire project lifecycle. He is experienced in delivering works under Alliancing, Design & Construct, Early Contractor Involvement and PPP frameworks and more traditional formats. He enjoys working closely with public and private sector stakeholders to assess and mitigate project geotechnical risk, striving to draw on his diverse experience background to consider new ways to deliver value for clients and projects.

Morteza specialises in hard and soft rock and soil behaviour studies, geotechnical modelling for slopes and underground and deep excavations, incorporating these aspects into the mega-scale geotechnical projects, and provides leadership and technical advice on designs and engineering processes based on innovative and cost-effective approaches. Morteza has experience in the implementation of integrity assessments, QAQC management, inspections and risk assessments to conventional tunnels and dams, hydroelectric dams, and water resource projects in association with carrying out slope stability analysis based on standard methods and numerical assessments.

Morteza is the Chair of the Queensland Tunnelling Society and has been an ATS member since 2017.

Phil Clark
Phil ClarkNew South Wales Chair
Mr. Phil Clark is a geosciences professional with over twenty years technical, multinational experience as a geotechnical consultant, a technical advisor for a tier one mining company and a tunnelling subject matter expert for Transport for New South Wales.

Whilst working as a consultant with PSM, Phil worked on many of Sydney’s major tunnelling projects, including the Eastern Distributor, Cross City Tunnel, Epping to Chatswood Rail Link and Lane Cove Tunnel. Now working with Transport for New South Wales, he is the Director of Tunnel Structures and working in some capacity on all of Transport for New South Wales tunnel projects and operations.

Elena Gavazzi
Elena GavazziVictorian Chair
Elena is a Chartered civil engineer with over 16 years’ experience within the tunnelling and major infrastructure industry in UK and Australia.

Elena has worked on several high-profile projects including Crossrail (Elizabeth Line), High Speed 2 and the Melbourne Metro Tunnel Project. Throughout her career Elena has led large multi-disciplinary teams, she is passionate about creating successful teams to achieved the desired outcomes. During her career Elena has developed excellent technical and engineering knowledge, including critical interface and integration requirements for multi-disciplinary projects where she focuses on project delivery and project management. Elena has experience across all aspects of major infrastructure projects from planning to detailed design and construction.

Elena is a Group Leader within the Arup Victorian practice as well as leading the Arup tunnelling team in Victoria.

Penny Jones
Penny JonesStrategic Communications Advisor and A&NZ Journal Sub Editor
Penny Jones is a Freelance Personal Historian and started her engagement with the ATS in 2022 on a discrete project to write and curate the Special Edition ATS 50th Anniversary Journal. Following this highly successful project she was invited to join the organisation in a one day per week role coordinating all things communication. She now provides assistance to the ATS in promoting events, people, projects and technology through website stories and LinkedIn posts. She is particularly interested in promoting the importance of diversity in tunnelling and working to reframe the narrative of the profession to focus on how tunnelling can be used to address many aspects of our unfurling Climate Emergency.

Local Commitees

Queensland

  • Morteza Ghamgosar Chair
  • Annalena Baier Vice-Chair
  • Scott Keniston Secretary
  • Brendan Henry Treasurer
  • Anthony Harding CPD Coordinator
  • Geoff Archer National Treasurer
  • Tony Peglas ATS National Austroads Representative
  • Jiwoo Ahn Webmaster
  • Brodie Aitcheson Young members National Representative
  • Mathieson Stosic Young Member
  • Jurij Karlovsek – Vice President & AuSS Representative
  • Harry Asche Immediate Past President
  • Andrew Ridout National Project Officer
  • Chris Baker
  • Craig Wright
  • Dallas Adams
  • Senthilnath G T
  • Tim Brown

New South Wales

  • Phil Clark Chair
  • Nigel Casey Immediate Past Chair
  • Keith Bannerman Vice-Chair
  • Sam Mirlatifi Treasurer
  • Todd Clarke Secretary
  • Alex Gomes CPD Coordinator
  • Aaron Lippet ATSym Representative
  • David Clague Social Coordinator
  • Hashim Mohammed
  • Rob Nievergelt
  • Sabrina Kost
  • Sam Jones
  • Tom Roper
  • Helen Baxter-Crawford
  • Harvinder Rana

Victoria

  • Elena Gavazzi – Chair – ARUP
  • Stephen Barrett Secretary – Golder/WSP
  • Mahdi Zoorabadi Deputy Chair – SMEC
  • Joshua Barry – Assistant Treasurer  – Aurecon
  • Jay Lee Events Coordinator – GS E&C
  • Richard Buckingham ATS President – Golder/WSP
  • David Grist– T&CCC
  • Nadine Makin – Aurecon
  • Rachael McCarrison – WSP
  • Justin Arifin
  • Mason Duyker
  • Antonia Theodoulou

Western Australia

  • Jiang Aizezi Chair and ATSym Representative – Downer
  • Jayson Bebek Immediate Past Chair – Austunnel
  • Eric Hudson-Smith – PTA
  • Des Vilestra – BarChip
  • Barry Moore – WSP
  • Wayne Leslie – Georgiou
  • Drew Coulhard – Land Surveys
  • Harun Meer – Australian Geotechnical Society
  • Dian Wang – AECOM