In a past life, Environmental Engineer Theo Dombroski’s designed dream homes, industrial warehouses for expanding NZ businesses, a new courthouse for the little island of Tuvalu in the Pacific, and even cyclone shelters that could house the whole island of Palmerston and Rakahanga in the Cook Islands.
Now, you’ll find Theo working on projects to help Auckland city work towards being a liveable, water sensitive community, or reducing erosion and improving the ecological health of NZ streams. It’s a welcome change for Theo and aligns perfectly with his passion.
Theo left behind his structural engineering career last year and headed back to Uni to study his Master of Engineering at the University of Auckland. At the same time he joined Morphum Environmental part-time. With his Master’s now complete, Theo has come on board as a full-time environmental engineer.
“I enjoyed the design aspect of structural engineering, but I realised I wanted to contribute to things that would make a positive environmental impact and where my interests lay, such as NZ coastlines and marine ecosystems,” says Theo.
His Master’s study focused on coastal and environmental engineering. This included gaining an understanding of environmental engineering topics such as urban stormwater management and the monitoring of surface water quality, through to understanding coastal engineering, coastal geomorphology, and conducting a research project on the effect of coastal vegetation on wave overtopping flows for coastal structures. Theo’s research explored whether soft engineering could reap the same results as conventional coastal structures while adding environmental benefits.
The ocean is Theo’s passion. He’s a keen surfer which has taken him all around the globe, he is a qualified, Advanced open-water SCUBA diver, and he’s driven to ensuring NZ coastlines and marine ecosystems are conserved. Theo hopes to apply his knowledge to as many projects as possible, grow Morphum’s expertise in coastal engineering and ensure that positive, sustainable environmental outcomes contribute towards achieving the clean, green NZ that we all want.
Some of the local fish catching a wave with Theo in Sumbawa, Indonesia.
Theo during a week diving trip in Komodo National Park, Indonesia.