IStructE Annual Dinner 2007

The Café Royal

This year, the Café Royal once again played host to the most prestigious event in IStructE's calendar, the Annual Dinner, which was held on Friday 11th May 2007. Members of the Institution, their partners and friends, celebrated the occasion in style with a spectacular gala dinner in the Café's Empire Napoleon ballroom.

IStructE President David Harvey, Senior Vice-President Sarah Buck and Chief Executive Keith Eaton welcomed guests for an evening of fine cuisine and stimulating conversation in a truly regal setting. The highlight of the evening was an address by guest speaker Trevor Baylis OBE. Titled Why Invent?, the celebrated inventor regaled guests with talk about his early career as a structural engineer and how this led him to become an inventor.

For the first time, two prestigious Institution awards were also presented as the Annual Dinner. Joe Locke MBE received the Gold Medal 2007 for his services to the engineering profession. The Gold Medal is IStructE’s highest individual award and is made for exceptional personal contributions to the advancement of structural engineering. Formerly Chief Executive Officer of Watson Steel Ltd, Joseph Locke has been a professional structural engineer for nearly 50 years, during which time he has been a vital contributor to both the practical and academic arenas of structural steelwork. He will deliver his Gold Medal Address, ‘A Ductile Material In A Brittle Industry’, on Wednesday, 20th June 2007 at the Institute of Directors, London.

Brenda Shonkwiler was also announced as IStructE’s Young Structural Engineer of the Year Award for 2007 at the Annual Dinner. This annual award, presented by Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), acknowledges young structural engineers who demonstrate outstanding performance and show exceptional promise for the future. Brenda, 27, is currently an Assistant Engineer with engineering consultancy Gifford. Her case study project was the £25 million South Bromsgrove High School. She received a prize of £1,500 and a certificate of commendation.

The runner-up was announced as Oliver Edwards, a Graduate Structural Engineer with Scott Wilson. Oliver was awarded the runner-up prize and received £500 and a certificate. Oliver’s project was Blyth Jex High School in Norwich. For more information on the Young Structural Engineer of the Year Award please visit http://www.istructe.org/youngstructuralengineer.

Keith Eaton described the 2007 Annual Dinner as: "A fantastic event that will be remembered by all those involved…well organised and with all the right people. It was great that so many of IStructE's members and their guests were able to join us, from all over the world, to celebrate another successful and productive year for the Institution, as well as the individual achievements of our Gold Medallist, Joe Locke, and Young Structural Engineer of the Year, Brenda Shonkwiler."

To view images of the event please visit Smile Photography.

Many thanks to Arup and Scott Wilson, who were the generous supporters of the charity prize raffle, which raised money for Mencap, RedR and the IStructE Benevolent Fund.

Guest speaker Trevor Bayliss OBE

Joe Locke MBE receiving his Gold Medal