People and Papers Awards 2026

Papers Awards

Recognising the best work published in The Structural Engineer and Structures magazine each year, as well as the best lectures given at HQ or around our Regional Groups. They reward excellence in technical content and the hard work of the authors and presenters.
 

Murray Buxton Award

Two medals were awarded this year for papers of general interest, rather than relating to structural engineering research, in The Structural Engineer publications

• Matthew Poulton, Wendel Sebastian, for the paper: Modular FRP-steel bridges for the UK road network (September 2025)

• Rahul Wala, for the paper: An ethical framework for AI in structural engineering: from promise to practice (October 2025)
   

Guthrie Brown Award

For papers published in The Structural Engineer written by a member or members under 40 years of age

• Tom Martin, for the paper Conservation compendium, Part 22: Care of historic ironwork sites- inspection, assessment and repair (June 2025)

Clancy Prize

 For papers of merit related to the understanding and practice of the whole life management of structures, including surveys, investigations, strategic planning, testing and subsequent works to the structure

• Alison Wallis, Mike Davies, for the paper: Mary Ward Centre, London: risk management of a  heavy retrofit  and vertical extension of a 1970's concrete-framed building (March 2025)

Husband Prize

For papers of merit related to bridges

• Stephen Melville, Matt Aldham, Camille Chevrier, for the paper: Tan House Footbridge: Designing with repurposed steel, from early design stages to fabrication (February 2025)

 Derrington Construction Award

For papers deemed to refer to construction and/or health and safety, published in The Structural Engineer during the year

• Diploma: Kwok-Fai Chung – For paper: Effective use of high-strength S690 steel in construction (February 2025)

• Medals: Krishnan Murugappan, Catherine Wong Chi Fun, Ngan See Pyng, Tan Chee Siew – For paper: Delayed destressing – an enhanced demolition strategy for a 29-storey office building with mega transfer beams in Singapore (July 2025)
   

​Oscar Faber Awards

For papers presented for discussion at Evening Meetings or colloquia of the Institution during the year

• Diploma: Seb Kaminski, David Trujillo – For presentation: Current practices and future of structural use of bamboo (September 2025)

• Diploma: Eoin Kelly, Peyrouz Modarres – For presentation: Structural engineering for high-rise precast buildings (October 2025)

• Medals: Julian Birbeck, Neill McClements – For presentation: The value of common design on the Elizabeth Line (July 2025)
   

Sir Arnold Waters Medal

For papers deemed to be the best of those that have won a Regional Group prize during the session, written by a member or members of the Institution

• Ian Firth, For the presentation: The Long and the Short of it – Designing Bridges for Tomorrow’s World 
   

Structures Best Research Paper Prize

For papers of merit published in Structures. Awards are made by our Research Panel.

• Xing Li, Jiwen Zhang, Yuchao Yang, Xinzhe Min, Sheng Gu, Lu Hao – for paper: Experimental investigation on the seismic performance of pre-tensioned prestressed precast integral cast-in-place frames
  (Structures, 2025, Vol. 82)
   

Structures Best Research into Practice Paper Prize

For papers of merit published in Structures. Awards are made by our Research Panel.

• Weisong Yang, Fei Han, Weixiao Xu, Jigang Zhang,  for the paper: Experimental analysis of infill wall stiffness effects on seismic performance of reinforced concrete frame structures using shaking table tests
  (Structures, 2025, Vol. 77)

Education Awards

Excellence in Structural Engineering Education Award
In recognition to individuals committed to teaching and passing on their wisdom in the field of structural engineering

• Commendation: Ladan Vojdanzade, for the paper: Embodied Structural Learning: Teaching Geometry, Motion, and Force through Scissor-Based Design and Full-Scale Experimentation

• Winner: Yasemin Aktaş, for her paper: Adaptive Reuse of Existing Structures

Young engineers prizes

Young Structural Engineering Professional Award
A competition showcasing rising talent in structural engineering: offering a £1500 cash prize and two tickets to the Structural Awards. 

• Winner: James Jackson

Young Researchers Conference Competition

Researchers in academia or industry with fewer than five years of research present their work at the Young researchers conference.

• 1^st place: Tong Hu, for the presentation: Hybrid T-joints featuring 3D printed details: optimisation and experimental verification

• 2^nd place: Ruikai Dai, for the presentation: Elastic buckling formulae for web crippling of square and rectangular hollow sections under concentrated transverse forces

• Joint 3^rd place: Sahand Khalilzadeh Tabrizi, for the presentation: From paper cuts to earthquake protection: Kirigami as a seismic damper 

• ​Joint 3^rd place: Saba Ghassemi, for the presentation: Experimental investigation of corrosion effects on the structural performance of reinforced concrete slabs incorporating distributed fibre optic sensing
   

Kenneth Severn Award

For papers, written by an author or authors who are 28 years of age or under, on a topic chosen by the President

The topic set by the President was: ‘How can structural engineers take a leading role in the construction industry to promote structural efficiency and thereby lower embodied carbon solutions? How can structural engineering research support this role and should we have minimum expectations of structural engineers in maintaining technical competence in innovation as well as maintaining public safety?

• Winner: Rena Vogelzang

• ​Commendation: Delina Haile

• Commendation: James Bruce