Jason lived in several towns and cities of New Zealand, before completing his schooling in the Bay of Plenty where his family owned a small kiwifruit orchard.

 

Jason did his BE(Hons) and ME(Dist) at The University of Auckland, followed by a PhD at the University of California at San Diego. Supervised by Professor Nigel Priestley and Professor Freider Seible, he investigated the seismic response of elevated concrete freeway frames and was funded by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).

 

Jason joined the University of Auckland as a staff member in 1995 and undertook an MBA in 2004. In that same year, Jason was awarded a $3.75m research grant funded by the NZ Foundation for Research Science and Technology, investigating and developing guidelines for seismic assessment and retrofit of earthquake-prone buildings. The project was a collaboration with The University of Canterbury and collectively involved 27 PhD studies. Jason then extended his research interests to include the use of recycled or waste materials in concrete, and the condition assessment of concrete bridges.