Associate Director

Juan joined M.E’s Research team after having worked at Texas A&M University and Scion for almost 12 years. Juan specialises in the application of numerical methods, namely optimisation protocols (e.g. equilibrium models) as well as stochastic simulation, especially in contexts involving land-use change, ecosystem services, climate change, renewable energy and natural hazards.

Most of Juan’s work has been funded by private firms, government and three National Science Challenges. Such work has culminated in several publications in some of the world’s leading scientific journals such as Ecological Economics, Ecosystem Services, Science of the Total Environment, Environmental Science & Policy, and the Journal of Environmental Management. Such work has been used and cited by various government entities, private firms, and private consortia.

Juan currently leads a project funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries to model the direct and indirect impacts from potentially more frequent wildfires under future climatic change. Juan also serves as a section editor of the New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science and as associate advisor in master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Canterbury and Lincoln University.