Michael Pender is professor of Geotechnical Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. In addition, he is a visiting professor to the European School for Advanced Studies in the Reduction of Seismic Risk, EU Centre, at the University of Pavia. He is a fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand, a life member of the New Zealand Geotechnical Society, a past president and life member of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering, a life member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and an international honorary member of the Japanese Geotechnical Society. His primary areas of interest include the elucidation of the geotechnical properties of NZ materials (particularly soils of residual or volcanic origin), the design of earthquake resistant foundations, limit state design in geotechnical engineering, and the engineering behavior of closely jointed rock masses.