Tim Sullivan is currently an Assistant Professor with the Universtiy of Pavia, Italy. He is also head of the Design Methods section within the EUCENTRE. His main research interests are related to the fundamentals of seismic design. Tim obtained his degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and his Masters and PhD in Earthquake Engineering from the ROSE School, Italy. Tim has a considerable amount of professional engineering experience, having worked in New Zealand, Germany and the UK on many international projects. Tim is a Chartered Engineer with the UK institute of Civil Engineers and is a Member of the New Zealand Earthquake Engineering Society. He is also a member of the editorial board of the international journal "Earthquakes and Structures".