With a particular interest in the formulation of geotechnical models in complex geological settings, Mark has extensive experience in applying this expertise to a range of engineering projects. These include open-pit and underground mining, mine infrastructure development, corridor studies for tunnel and surface construction (road, rail, pipelines, services) and water development projects (dams, reservoirs, canals, and intake, headrace and tailrace tunnels).

Mark has undertaken projects throughout Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Southeast Asia and Africa. In mining he has worked on over 100 individual projects in a range of commodities including iron ore (bedded, channel and detrital iron deposits), porphyry copper-gold, epithermal gold-silver and lithium hard-rock pegmatite deposits. In civil construction, he has worked on Sydney Basin and Melbourne tunnel projects for both road and rail, highway construction in New South Wales and New Zealand, water development projects in Australia and New Zealand, landslide and terrain evaluation projects in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.

In 2012 Mark was awarded an Erskine Fellowship at the University of Canterbury. Normally reserved for senior academics, Mark was the first non-academic to be awarded this position in the 55-year history of this fellowship. In addition to his adjunct role at University of Canterbury, Mark teaches postgraduate programs at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering  and School of Mining Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Mark also co-teaches field-based courses for the Australian Geomechanics Society (AGS).

Mark was the Australasian Vice President of the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG) from 2015 to 2018 and sat on the Executive Committee of the IAEG and National Committee of the AGS. He is a committee member of IAEG Commission C25 on the use of engineering geological models. Mark was a member of the Landslide Risk Management Taskforce for the AGS Landslide Risk Management Guidelines published in 2007.

Mark’s mining and civil engineering specialist competencies include:

• Development of geotechnical models in compact geological settings
• Structural geological models and rock mass characterisation for rock engineering studies
• Slope engineering especially for hard and soft slope design
• Design implementation, performance assessment, mapping and monitoring and risk management
• Investigation of landslides on natural slopes and landslide risk assessments
• Engineering geomorphology studies, terrain evaluation, landuse capability assessments.