Our speakers
Enjoy our fantastic speaker line up for EMCONZ '27
Get ready for EMCONZ ’27 and hear from the people leading fresh thinking across electrical and mechanical engineering. Our speakers will bring practical insight, bold ideas and real-world experience to the conversations shaping the future of our fields.
Meet our speakers, click the button below to find out more about who you’ll hear from at EMCONZ ’27.
Our keynote
Professor Rod Badcock
Chief Technology Officer at OpenStar Technologies
Professor Rod Badcock FRSNZ is the Chief Technology Officer at OpenStar Technologies and a leading figure in applied superconducting engineering for advanced energy systems and electrified transport.
Rod is internationally recognised for pioneering high‑temperature superconducting (HTS) technologies that enable ultra-high power‑density and efficiency in electrical machines and fusion magnet systems.
Professor Badcock is the recipient of the Royal Society Te Apārangi Pickering Medal — New Zealand's highest honour for engineering innovation — along with recognition as Wellingtonian of the Year and the KiwiNet Researcher Entrepreneur Award, reflecting his exceptional ability to translate laboratory advances into real‑world impact. Prior to joining OpenStar, he held senior roles at Paihau–Robinson Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington, leading multidisciplinary teams across superconducting science, advanced engineering, and cryogenic technologies.
As CTO at OpenStar, Professor Badcock leads the development of superconducting magnet systems for levitated dipole fusion, drawing on deep expertise in HTS, cryogenic systems, and large-scale magnet engineering. He is widely regarded for bridging fundamental physics and practical engineering design, and for building high‑performing teams that deliver complex superconducting hardware from concept through to deployment.
EMCONZ '27 panel discussion
The Future of Engineering in New Zealand: Skills, Technology, and Collaboration
Join us for a forward-looking panel discussion exploring what it will take to grow capability, embrace new technology and strengthen collaboration across New Zealand’s engineering profession.
About the discussion
This session will look at how the engineering sector can respond to changing economic conditions and workforce needs; make the most of emerging trends, tools and technologies; and work more effectively within and across disciplines.
Panellists
The discussion will feature Eleanor Grant, Arron Sands, Dr Daniel Konings and Dr Jan Polzer, with Simon Hall moderating the conversation.
Why attend?
Hear practical insights, big-picture thinking and fresh perspectives on the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of engineering in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Our panellists
Eleanor Grant
General Manager of Beca’s Industrial New Zealand Business
Eleanor is the General Manager of Beca’s Industrial New Zealand business, based in Auckland. A Chartered Chemical Engineer, Eleanor has worked at Beca for almost 20 years and brings deep experience across the sector, supported by strong relationships with many of Beca’s major industrial clients.
Throughout her career, Eleanor has held technical, management and governance roles, this includes managing the Auckland Industrial team for 6 years, leading the Industrial Sustainability service offering, and project management roles on complex industrial, waste and energy projects across the full project lifecycle.
Eleanor sits on the Bioenergy Association board working to support NZ to understand the opportunity for biofuels such as the published biomethane study with Firstgas, Fonterra and EECA. Eleanor is motivated by supporting New Zealand industry to thrive through the energy transition and working with the Beca teams to support the re-industrialisation of New Zealand.
Arron Sands
Chief Executive Officer Buckley Systems
Buckley Systems Limited has a proud 45+ year history of collaborative design and custom manufacture of precision electromagnets, charged particle beam line systems and high vacuum equipment used in medical therapy systems, particle accelerators for physics research and the semiconductor ion implant industry.
Arron has been with Buckley Systems since February 2016, working in the commercial department until his appointment to COO in 2017, and CEO in 2020.
Starting his career as a 15 year old apprentice fitter/welder, he progressed to being the managing director of a heavy structural engineering business, a position he held for 18 years. He has also held shareholdings and directorships of other related manufacturing businesses throughout his 40 year career.
Daniel Konings
Senior Lecturer Department of Mechanical Engineering, AUT
Dr Daniel Konings is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Auckland University of Technology, where he leads the Mechatronics major. His work spans the themes at the heart of this panel: developing engineering skills, applying emerging technology, and building collaboration across disciplines and sectors.
Daniel's research focuses on TinyML, human sensing, and artificial intelligence for health applications, including capacitive floor systems for fall detection and gait analysis. He is a named investigator on grants including an MBIE Smart Ideas grant and NVIDIA Academic Hardware awards, and supervises a growing cohort of masters and PhD students. He has also published on engineering education, with conference papers and book chapters on soft skills development for engineers and the innovative use of technology in teaching.
His academic career spans both Massey University and Auckland University of Technology, alongside industry experience in industrial control systems and the design of AI for whiteware appliances. This blend of research, teaching, and industry practice shapes his view on how New Zealand can grow the engineering talent and technological capability it needs.
Daniel is a strong advocate for collaboration between electrical and mechanical engineering, and for closer partnership between universities and industry.
Simon Hall
Panel Moderator
MEG Chair | EMCONZ Co-Chair
Simon Hall is Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Group (MEG), an Engineering New Zealand Technical Interest Group open to anyone with an interest in mechanical and mechatronic engineering. By day he is also CAD Systems Manager at Temperzone Group, a leading designer and manufacturer of commercial climate control solutions since 1956.
His background is 25 years of product design and machine design experience, while his current role involves administering and developing tools and practices for the design and manufacture of complex, highly configurable products.
Simon is also a Board member of Vocational Engineering New Zealand, supporting his strong advocacy for the renewal of the engineering profession at all levels.