Jose C. Borrero Ph.D.
Jose earned a Ph.D. in civil, environmental, and coastal engineering from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He is a specialist in the assessment and mitigation of coastal hazards including tsunami inundation, erosion, coastal flooding and overtopping. He is active in the area of tsunami hazard analysis and mitigation with a focus on ports and maritime assets. His other areas of specialisation include coastal adaptation to climate change and sea level rise, particularly in tropical small island developing states (SIDS). He has a keen interest in the design of nature-based solutions including submerged and multipurpose reefs for coastal protection and amenity enhancement, coastal plantings, dune management, beach rehabilitation, sea grass restoration and living shorelines. In the area of submerged reefs, he has worked on designs aimed at enhancing recreational amenities such as snorkelling or diving trails. He has extensive experience in the area of surf break science including the characterisation and preservation of natural surf breaks and when possible, enhancement of surfing resources.
Dougal Greer M.Sc.
Dougal has been working as a physical oceanographer since 2007. His background is in mathematical and computational science including physics, statistics and machine learning. He has worked on a broad range of projects dealing with numerical modelling of coastal processes. This includes modelling coastal hazards including coastal inundation, dredging, dispersal modelling, waves and hydrodynamics. He is also an expert in machine learning and data analysis using advanced statistical tools which he has used to better understand the effects of great tsunami events, destructive cyclones and the long term effects of climate change. Dougal is a keen sailor, surfer and diver and is passionate about the sustainable management of marine resources based in sound scientific evidence.
Rhys McIntosh M.Sc.
Rhys is an experienced modeller of various freshwater and marine physical processes, from catchment hydrology through to coastal and open-ocean hydrodynamics. In 2016 Rhys earned a Master’s in Environmental Hydraulics from the University of Granada, Spain, where he utilised hydrological, statistical, hydrodynamic and water quality modelling to determine the seasonal concentrations of fluvially-sourced coliforms in a coastal estuary. Rhys specialises in the modelling of ocean currents, waves, sediment transport and coastal protection solutions. In the freshwater environment, Rhys has worked on projects ranging from harbour-scale catchment hydrology to smaller scale drainage design modelling for residential subdivisions. Rhys is an expert in the analysis and presentation of model results, creating numerous web applications that allow users to access and manipulate environmental data. These web applications include river flow and water quality forecasting, as well as a platform for the display and extraction of hindcasted wave data. Rhys moved to Costa Rica in 2024, where he enjoys exploring the incredible range of wildlife that the country has to offer.
Sam O'Neill M.Sc.
Sam is a physical oceanographer specialising in coastal processes, numerical modelling, and oceanographic data analysis, holding a BSc in Earth and Ocean Sciences from the University of Waikato and an MSc in Physical Oceanography from the University of Melbourne. His master’s research, undertaken in collaboration with the Bureau of Meteorology, focused on wind, wave, and current-driven dynamics at the ocean surface, including mesoscale coastal circulation and Southern Ocean drift patterns.
Since 2014 Sam has worked as an oceanographer, building practical experience across a wide range of coastal and nearshore environments. His expertise spans hydrodynamic and wave modelling, tsunami modelling, coastal hazard assessment, surf zone dynamics, coastal geomorphology, and oceanographic field data collection. He is experienced in the deployment and management of oceanographic instrumentation and brings strong quantitative skills to data analysis, applying a broad range of numerical and statistical methods.
As a keen surfer, he brings a strong personal connection to the coastal environment and a practical appreciation for the ocean processes that shape it.
Jinze (Jerry) Zhou M.App. DataSci.
Jerry is a senior data scientist and the principal architect behind ORCA’s Ripple Forecast platform. He has a background in full-stack development, data science, and embedded systems, and specialises in building high-performance systems for real-world applications. His work spans data science, cloud infrastructure, geospatial analytics, distributed systems, and modern web technologies, with a focus on turning complex data into reliable, user-friendly tools.
Jerry is a versatile technical problem solver with strong skills in data analysis and modelling, and is equally comfortable working across software engineering and scientific workflows. He plays a key role in developing and scaling Ripple’s forecasting and data delivery systems.
Based in Christchurch, Jerry has recently taken up surfing and is enjoying learning the dynamics of the ocean firsthand.