Current winner
Recipients of the Young Structural Engineer of the Year Award 2011
Selecting the winner and runner-up this year proved to be a difficult decision as each of the entrants had produced outstanding submissions. However, after much discussion, this year's winner is Roma Agrawal of WSP for her submission on The Shard at London Bridge. Rob Nield was selected as a close runner-up for his project on the new airport traffic control tower in New Delhi.
Winner: Roma Agrawal
The Shard at London Bridge
Roma graduated from Oxford University with a MA (Hons) in Physics before advancing to Imperial College London to complete an MSc DIC in Structural Engineering.
In her submission, Roma details her involvement in the concept and detailed design of enabling works in the main tower. Following this she progressed to design both the pinnacle (spire) and the foundations.
Of particular merit was Roma’s approach to following a career in structural engineering, having initially studied physics to MA level at Oxford University.
Having been inspired by the engineers working within the physics department at Oxford, Roma was motivated to apply her knowledge of physics to something tangible and decided to focus on structural engineering at Imperial College, London.
The judges expressed particular commendation for Roma’s submission in the following areas:
-
The approach Roma adopted to the buildability of the spire of the Shard
-
How Roma integrated a new ramp structure within the existing arches of London Bridge station (this point was particularly well illustrated in her submission)
-
How Roma has promoted engineering as a career
Runner up: Rob Nield of Arup
Delhi Control Tower
Rob graduated from the University of Manchester with an MEng in Structural Engineering with Architecture. Since then, he has also become a chartered engineer and corporate member of the Institution.
His submission was based on his role in developing a design solution for a 100m high control tower at Delhi Airport. The judges were particularly impressed by:
-
The level of responsibility that Rob was given on a technically challenging project
-
His ability to address the challenge of developing and responding to some creative and unusual concepts proposed by the architect
-
His innovative approach to structural solutions that met architectural aspirations for the tower
Highly commended: Emily Roberts of Arup
Transitional Shelter Guidance for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
The judges were impressed by the quality of all the submissions and would like to thank the entrants for their hard work. The judges would also like to congratulate the firms for whom they work for the support they have given in developing these young engineers who are the future of the profession.