Finalists announced for the Young Structural Engineering Professional Award 2025

Behnam Behzadi-Sofiani

Behnam is a Chartered Structural Engineer at AtkinsRealis and an Honorary Academic at Imperial College London. He studied an MEng in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London, graduating with First Class in 2017. Subsequently, he pursued a PhD in steel structures, where he developed new design recommendations for incorporation into the future revision of Eurocode 3. Upon completion of his PhD in 2021, he joined AtkinsRealis as a structural engineer and obtained his MIStructE Chartership in 2024. Besides his work at AtkinsRealis, Behnam continues to do research at Imperial College London, having gained Associate Fellowship of Higher Education Academy in 2023 and the Honorary Academic title in 2024.

During his career, Behnam has worked on a range of complex and high-profile projects spanning sectors including aviation, rail and education. These projects have allowed Behnam to apply advanced structural design principles while addressing real-world challenges. In High-Speed 2 and Fort Meyers Airport, he maximised the use of existing structures, demonstrating his commitment to reducing environmental impact in construction. For Nairobi Central Station, he helped design infrastructure that serves as a gateway for East Africa, improving accessibility and driving regional economic development, highlighting how structural engineering can deliver social and economic value. Behnam also developed the structural design for EDAROTH, a modular apartment product designed to tackle the UK housing crisis. Additionally, Behnam produced a strategy that employs Passivhaus for a residential development to reduce operational carbon emissions by 90%. Through these projects, he is committed to integrate engineering solutions with sustainability to shape a better built environment.

In parallel with his design role, Behnam continues to conduct research at Imperial College London, promoting collaboration between industry and academia. His research focuses on enhancing the safety, efficiency and reliability of steel structures, with novel design methods proposed for inclusion in Eurocode 3. These methods can reduce material use by 20%, directly contributing to a low-carbon future. Behnam has shared his research findings through multiple publications and presentations at international conferences, as well as CPD sessions across the UK. Through these efforts, he has been able to exchange ideas critical to the profession’s advancement.

Behnam believes a critical part of driving the profession forward is empowering the next generation of engineers. He has supervised eleven Master’s and PhD students, guiding them to produce impactful research while prioritising sustainability. Through his dedication to education, Behnam became an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2023. Following his contributions to the research field as well as teaching activities and mentoring students, Behnam was made an Honorary Academic at Imperial College London in 2024.

Benjamin Hutton

Ben graduated with a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Edinburgh in 2018. During his studies he took part in an exchange at the University of Maryland, USA, an onsite internship with a concrete contractor, Moortown, and joined the IStructE as a student member. This international mix of theoretical and practical knowledge set the foundation for his career.

Following graduation Ben moved to Bath and joined Mann Williams, a consultancy with a reputation for historic building conservation and renovation. The early emphasis on manual analysis and justification of historic structures has influenced his approach to design ever since. At Mann Williams he was involved in listed building renovations and conversions including private and public houses, churches, stately homes and palaces across Southern England. Retrofit and new build extension projects were also part of his work, including Osney Power Station a 130 year old power station that is being transformed into a global business school at Oxford University. The team worked to retain over 150m of brick facades and other structural or historic elements, retaining the character and history of the building while creating new learning spaces and a hotel. Ben proposed this as a student design project that was undertaken by a student group at University of Bristol. Reuse projects have strong sustainability and carbon emissions reduction potential, and he spent time developing tools within the practice to measure project embodied carbon. The subsequent IStructE tools and benchmarks made industry wide comparison feasible and meaningful.

This range of large project work and smaller project management allowed Ben to progress quickly, he attained Chartered membership of the IStructE in March 2023. The same year Ben moved to Germany and joined Knippershelbig in Berlin. The company is a leader in novel materials and construction methods that can improve industry sustainability. Mass timber construction has therefore become a much larger part of his work and knowledge. Ben has adapted to German project stages and national codes and learning German has opened a whole new forum of technical knowledge and industrial expertise. Ben’s project work has involved the design of Glulam structures up to 7 stories tall and several school buildings with timber panel stability systems. Ben is actively involved in the company’s sustainability team, comparing the IStructE carbon analysis methods with the German DNGB standards to improve compatibility and knowledge sharing.

Ben is continuing to work on renovation and analysis of existing structures and believes that an increase in appetite and innovation around reuse potential can be combined with modern materials to improve the sustainability of future projects.

Vera Sehlstedt

Vera graduated from Chalmers University of Technology with a degree in Architecture and Engineering. After completing her studies, she rejoined Cundall, where she had previously done a placement year, as a permanent member of the structures team. At Cundall, she continues to work on a diverse range of projects, from delicate artworks to large-scale, state-of-the-art entertainment venues.

One of Vera's standout projects is The Sphere in Las Vegas, a cutting-edge entertainment venue where she worked on the world’s highest resolution and spherical media-screen. This project highlighted her parametric modelling skills, which were crucial due to the pixel-level precision and complex geometry involved.
While Vera incorporates programming into her workflow, her true passion lies in the design itself. Some of the highlights of her career include collaborating with remarkable designers to bring their visions to life. Working with artists and designers has exposed Vera to a variety of materials, including stainless steel, glass, synthetic ropes, foils, and fabrics, always learning something new from each artisan fabricator.

Her commitment to sustainable design was evident in her role as the structural lead for a multidisciplinary team in the Foster Foundation competition for rebuilding Kharkiv. The proposal, which was awarded first prize, focused on using local resources and upcycling materials, demonstrating both a practical and environmentally conscious solutions.

Vera also values the connection between academia and industry. She is involved in ongoing research at Loughborough University and tutoring architecture students at University of East London, helping them develop their engineering skills. In collaboration with Loughborough University and Foster + Partners, she was a part of the team that developed and constructed a hybrid 3D-printed concrete canopy that is now installed on the campus.

Vera's enthusiasm for the profession comes from the unique challenges each new project presents and her love for design. She enjoys every opportunity to innovate and collaborate, always looking for ways to contribute to meaningful and impactful projects.

Andrew Smith 

Andrew joined Arup in 2016, having studied at the University of Cambridge and MIT. He is passionate about sustainability and safety and believes that these should guide the work of all structural engineers. He has chosen to specialise in two areas directly linked to these topics – assessment/reuse of existing structures and low-carbon design with timber – and has been involved in a wide variety of projects in both areas.

He is heavily involved in writing guidance to support the wider industry and shape the future of structural engineering. He has developed a groundbreaking new method for justifying reduced factors of safety in existing structures which will help increase the reuse of buildings across the world. The new method was presented to the Institution’s members in July 2024 and has been reviewed by experts from across the industry. Andrew has also written two key chapters in the Institution’s forthcoming publication ‘Verification of Existing Structures’. He has published papers in The Structural Engineer on the importance of safety and how to assess existing buildings under the Building Safety Act in the UK, and is supporting the preparation of the Institution’s detailed guidance on structural safety cases.

Andrew is collaborating with academics from across Europe to help increase the uptake of timber as a low-carbon structural material. He has developed new methods for designing multi-storey timber structures to resist wind loading which have fed directly into the new revision of Eurocode 5. He has also published papers on timber-concrete composites (TCCs) and has helped write the TCC design code (TS 19103) which he disseminated via an Institution training webinar.

Finally, Andrew mentors junior engineers, delivers technical training internationally, and teaches at universities to help develop and inspire the next generation of engineers.