Dr Simon Cox is a Principal Scientist at GNS Science in Dunedin, with professional expertise in the fields of geological mapping and tectonics. Simon graduated with a PhD from University of Otago in 1993, then developed consulting experience in the mineral industry. Simon now sits in GNS Science’s Natural Hazards Division, where his work involves: fault and earthquake research in the South Island; the mapping of rock avalanches, earthquake-induced landslides and alluvial fan flooding hazards; and building a digital geological map dataset of Antarctica. He has led immediate earthquake response, was part of the Alpine Fault Drilling Project, run experiments on Southern Alps hot springs, and an Earthquake Hydrology project that demonstrates liquefaction damage during the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes was exacerbated by leakage and release of groundwater from artesian aquifers. As a regular recipient of national geoscience awards, he is well respected in the New Zealand earth science community. Widely recognised as a public speaker and communicator of science, Simon also maintains close ties with local iwi/Māori, supervises research students, collaborates internationally and is cited globally, and has a wide-network to science end-users.