News release: Glenn Bell delivers Gold Medal address

Author: IStructE

Date published

10 November 2025

The Institution of Structural Engineers The Institution of Structural Engineers
News release: Glenn Bell delivers Gold Medal address
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News release: Glenn Bell delivers Gold Medal address

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“Assuring structural safety takes courage”, says IStructE’s 2025 Gold Medallist Glenn Bell

The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) recently awarded the 2025 Gold Medal to Glenn Bell for his significant contributions to structural engineering, particularly in the areas of building safety, standards development, and forensic investigations of catastrophic failures.
 
To mark the occasion, Glenn Bell delivered his engaging and timely Gold Medal address on the theme of “Learning from Failures: from the Hyatt Regency Walkways to Champlain Towers South".
 
Glenn Bell receiving the medal from President Mohamad Al-Dah

Glenn Bell receiving the medal

Glenn Bell with President Mohamad Al-Dah and CEO Yasmin Becker

Glenn Bell with President Mohamad Al-Dah and CEO Yasmin Becker

Glenn Bell delivering the address at IStructE HQ auditorium.

Glenn Bell delivering the address

Glenn Bell delivering the address at IStructE HQ auditorium.

Glenn Bell delivering the address

Gold Medallist Glenn Bell talking to attendees to the Gold Medal Address 2025

Networking reception at Gold Medal address 2025

Glenn Bell receiving the medal from President Mohamad Al-Dah
Glenn Bell with President Mohamad Al-Dah and CEO Yasmin Becker
Glenn Bell delivering the address at IStructE HQ auditorium.
Glenn Bell delivering the address at IStructE HQ auditorium.
Gold Medallist Glenn Bell talking to attendees to the Gold Medal Address 2025
With a career spanning five decades, Glenn’s address demonstrated a powerful perspective on the role of forensic engineering to shape a resilient built environment, exploring how studying structural failures can enhance design practice and improve public safety.
 
Glenn shared with the audience his career history, with his path to structural engineering influenced by his father who was also an engineer.
 
Glenn spoke compassionately about the collapse in July 1981 of two suspended walkways at The Hyatt Regency in Kansas, USA which killed 114 people and injured 100s. It was this tragic structural failure that led Glenn to a career focused on investigating and understanding the causes of failures, and to help bring changes to prevent future disasters.
 
Glenn also spoke his role as the NIST’s Associate Lead Investigator into the June 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Miami, praising the team for their forensic investigative work in announcing preliminary findings about the collapse in September 2025.
 
After his address, Glenn was presented with the Institution’s Gold Medal by Mohamad Al-Dah, IStructE’s President.
 
Glenn Bell said of the event: “It was an honour to share with the audience how the profession can learn from structural failures and their prevention. Continuity, completeness and culture are all vital for the future of the profession, with the need to be continuously diligent.
 
“There is also a need for the right competences, for owners and managers of buildings to be appropriately qualified. I ended my address by reminding everyone that assuring structural safety takes immense courage by structural engineers.”
 About IStructE’s Gold Medal Award

Established in 1922, IStructE’s Gold Medal is the highest accolade for individuals who have made unique and outstanding contributions to the advancement of structural engineering.
 
The Gold Medal was first presented in 1922 to Professor Henry Adams. Past recipients include Felix Candela (1960), Ove Arup (1973), Oleg Kerensky (1977), Sir Edmund Happold (1991), Dame Jo da Silva (2017), Albert Taylor Williamson (2023) and Werner Sobek (2024).
 
Glenn Bell’s Gold Medal address can be accessed here.
 
- Ends -
 
For further information please contact:
The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) Newsroom on +44 (0)7930 53 45 43.
 
Notes to Editors
 
About the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE): https://www.istructe.org/

The Institution of Structural Engineers dates from 1908 and is now the world’s largest membership organisation dedicated to the art and science of structural engineering.
 
It has 30,000 members working in 139 countries around the world. Professional membership is one of the leading global benchmarks of competence and technical excellence. Members undergo rigorous technical assessment and commit to continual learning and development.
 
The Institution drives higher standards and shares knowledge because its members’ work is vital to public safety and meeting the challenges of the future. The Institution provides a voice for its members, promoting their contribution to society as innovative, creative problem solvers and the guardians of public safety.

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