Annual academics conference 2026

Andrew specialises in structural biomechanics, and in particular the development of combined structural finite element and musculoskeletal approaches. His most recent work investigates the application of optimisation strategies in structural engineering and skeletal biomechanics. He has a particular interest in engineering education and completed his MEd ULT at Imperial in 2014, investigating Conceptions of Engineering Leadership and the Role of Universities in Developing Engineering Leaders as the subject of his dissertation. He developed the innovative Sketching and Modelling module at Imperial equipping students with the analogue and digital design alongside leading Structural Analysis and Structural Mechanics modules.

Thomas is the Head of Sustainability & Resilience at the IStructE and is passionate about supporting structural engineers in their efforts to understand their carbon impact and how they can decarbonise their projects. Previously, at Elliott Wood, Thomas was heavily involved in the development of the IStructE’s Structural Carbon Tool and led on its development following the recent revisions to the RICS Professional Statement on Whole Life Carbon Assessments. He was part of ACAN's Embodied Carbon group and now sits on the steering group for the Engineers Reuse Collective. 

Dr. Modupe Jimoh is the course manager for Civil and Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Studies and has been significant to the running of the MSc in Humanitarian Engineering at the University of Warwick. She has built expertise in embedding interdisciplinarity, sustainability and global responsibility across multiple modules and curricula. She is a Chartered Engineer and was a Lead Author for the United Nations Environmental Program’s Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-7). In 2024, she was named a finalist in the UK’s WE50 Top 50 Women in Engineering. In May 2026, she was invited to the King's Garden Tea Party in recognition of her contribution to Education.

James worked on a wide variety of projects and has designed in a variety of materials, including steel, concrete, timber, earth, straw and glass. In 2015, James moved full-time into academia, where he teaches structural design with a focus on low-carbon solutions. He has co-written Conceptual Design of Buildings, The Regenerative Structural Engineer and The Future of Structural Design. James is Vice Chair of the JBM and was heavily involved in the drafting of the 2026 guidelines.

Gregory Quinn is CEO and co-founder of Augmented Haptics, the company behind EdTech innovation Grasp It. With over 10 years in academia, he earned his doctorate in lightweight engineering in Berlin, then launched and ran an undergraduate Architectural Engineering course at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. He has consulted as a computational structural engineer for Arup, Atelier One, and Bollinger Grohmann, among others. He is now Head of Engineering at product design company Pinter and a European EdTech Fellowship fellow.

Olivia is a consulting structural engineer with over 18 years' experience working across multidisciplinary and design-led consultancies before becoming a freelance consultant. She has always considered strong links between industry and academia fundamental to the future of the construction industry. Olivia began working with UCL in 2014 supporting the final year Integrated Design Project before joining the teaching team on the newly formed MEng in Engineering and Architectural Design in 2018. 

Professor Charlie Statham heads up the education team at The Department of Engineering, University of Exeter. Before academia, he worked as a structural engineer with WSP UK Ltd.