CONCRETE MATTERS

Concrete Structures Section Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Imperial College No. 17 December 1999

Editorial

Marilyn Treadaway

Following the despatch of the previous Newsletter in March, I was pleased to receive a sudden flood of email messages from all parts of the world; some names I knew to put faces to, others I had never met before. Ive put more details in the News from around the world section. At the time of writing, another academic year is almost over and a new term will begin in a few weeks. After 11 weeks, at the end of the term on December 17th, it will only be a matter of 14 days before the Big M. Time passes only too quickly and we notice it even more while working and leading busy lives. I usually try to meet those of you returning for Graduation in May each year after the ceremony for a cup of tea in the Civil Eng. area. With 16 Greek countrymen in one Course, I need a prompt to remember your names and faces after July; Ill bring the Year photos to remind me! This year, I understand, letters will be written to you from the Department, inviting you to look around and meet the staff again with your folks; facilities will be available for you and your families to sit and have a cup of coffee. Our equivalent College magazine, IC Matters, edited in the Alumnus office, is beautifully printed in colour and specially packaged. I would like to produce the same quality but I discovered last year that multi-printed colour copies are very expensive; in time, I might be able to produce colour pages economically. My current production run is 1200 although we have 1600+ on the database. We have been forced to make alternative financial arrangements to pay for the postage of our Newsletter. We are looking at alternative ways of producing this to be financially viable. Therefore, with the power of modern technology, I hope to distribute it successfully to those email addresses I have stored. I will post copies to those without email facilities but look forward to receiving more email addresses (with your news) for the future. We may even make the Web! As the Annual Reunion DIC Dinner has been cancelled, the distribution of the Newsletter at Christmas time is now less urgent. The copy is dated December each year, but with the usual hasty and increased amount of urgent paperwork before Christmas, the despatch of the Newsletter is moving nearer to March. I hope you will enjoy this edition I have put together and be able to make contact with colleagues - from the past, on your Course, or someone who may guide you into a new position!

STAFF NEWS

First of all, Prof. Sir Alan Harris, CBE, has been a visitor to hospital for various tests two or three times this year; we wish him well and toast him - in the best vintage of course - for better health.

Dr. Nick Buenfeld Nick and his Concrete Durability Group have had another very busy year undertaking a great deal of research and writing more than 20 papers for international journals and conferences. In March, Fosroc International agreed to provide 160k over 4 years to support research on the development of novel methods of enhancing the corrosion resistance of steel reinforced concrete. In May, Nick gave a keynote lecture at the Gordon Research Conference in Lucca Italy, on the chemistry and physics of cement-based materials. In June he was awarded a 200k EPSRC grant to develop an ac impedance based method for characterising surface treatments (e.g. coatings) in situ on concrete structures; Dr Jian-Zhong Zhang will be the Researcher. In September Nick was awarded a UK Government (EPSRC) Platform Grant of 265k "to provide a world leading group with continuity of funding for longer term research and international networking." This is the only such grant to be awarded in mainstream civil engineering and will be used to enable more examination and testing of site concrete and a better co-ordinated approach to service life prediction. Also in September, Gareth Glass (Research Fellow) was a lecturer and session chairman at the International Corrosion Congress in South Africa. At the Institution of Civil Engineers awards ceremony in November, Nick and former PhD student Dr Nadir Hassanein (1992) (brother of Dr Alaa Hassanein (Research), another of Nick's current postdoctoral researchers) were awarded a Telford Premium for their paper "Predicting the life of concrete structures using neural networks". Nadir came from Sudan for the event. The Telford Premium was instituted in 1835 following a bequest made by Thomas Telford, the Institution's first President. In December, the Chinese contingent in the Group (Drs Jian-Zhong Zhang and Renhe Yang) was increased with the arrival of Jianyong Li, a Visiting Scholar from the Chinese Building Materials Academy. At Christmas, Nieves Losilla-Miranda, who had been working with Julia Stegemann (Research Fellow) on neural network analysis of contaminated cement data returned to Spain to take up a new job. Julia had another busy year leading the EC neural network project and using more travel funds than any one else in the Group, with visits to Rome, Lisbon, Darmstadt, New York, Lyons, Dublin, Galway, Tenerife and Doncaster! Rob Sweeney, Waleed Khushefati, Gregg Stevenson, Emeka Agbasi and Bharti Reddy are currently writing up their PhD theses and we hope to report of their success next year. Prof. George England Thomas Telford Ltd have just published a book written by Prof England and Dr Neil Tsang (a previous research student of George's) entitled, "Integral Bridges - A fundamental approach to the time-temperature problem" and this is now available. Neil is currently lecturing at the University of Strathclyde but remains in close contact for research, which is continuing here at Imperial College and at University College London. Another of George's research students, Yoshi Ichikawa has taken his PhD examination and is now working for the Kajima Corporation in Tokyo. His research was in the field of high temperature exposure for concrete as in a fire and he was modelling the spalling behaviour of concrete as caused by high internal pore pressures.

Dr. John Newman

As years go, 1998/99 was relatively uneventful for John Newman. He travelled the country giving the odd lecture on 'Plain formed concrete finishes' and went, with Libby, to South Africa for a few weeks to lecture on numerous topics on the Advanced Concrete Technology Course at the Portland Cement Institute, Halfway House (between Jo'burg and Pretoria). After the visit, he went with Libby to Namibia for a memorable trip using rudimentary roads mainly through the Kalahari and Namib deserts. Many kilometres were covered with accommodation being found in a variety of lodges. A fitting journey for a concrete person - plenty of fine aggregate and some overnight rests within

extremely large pieces of coarse aggregate (boulders). He also organised, and lectured on, the UK ACT Course at Nottingham University. Perhaps one of the most significant contributions during the year was his involvement with projects aimed at producing aggregates for structural concrete from waste incineration using new processing and kiln technologies. Plans are well underway to take the ideas into the commercial sector and they have been included as part of a scheme to reduce London's dependence on landfill as a means of waste disposal which has been submitted to the Institute for Wastes Management for their Millennium Competition. Judging will be in June 2000. Prof. Milija Pavlovic continues his long-standing research with such old DIC luminaries as Frank Mbakogu, Naji Tahan, Roger West and Gordon Wylie. He has now prepared a course of lectures for the new module Advanced Structural Concrete, based on the two books he has recently co-authored with Mike Kotsovos (Structural Concrete 1995 and Ultimate Limit-State Design of Concrete Structures 1998). The same course is being given at the National Technical University of Athens, where Mike heads the Concrete Structures Division and Laboratory. Milija has also contributed to the teaching at NTUA and Mike is expected to reciprocate in the near future. With the closure of several structural-testing laboratories in the London area, our own Laboratories are beginning to thrive and commercial testing is beginning to be a serious earner for the Section once again. Milija would like to encourage all our DICs to make use of these facilities when the need for structural and material testing arises in the course of their work. Dr. Robert Vollum Robert Vollum had a busy year in 1999 at both home and college. His current research interests include beamcolumn and slab-column connections, and long-term slab deflections. His first PhD student, Tahsin Hossain, was awarded his PhD in September for numerical modelling of long-term slab deflections. Robert is managing a project to measure long-term slab deflections in the in-situ concrete framed building at Cardington; he would be very pleased to hear from anyone who has reliable data on the long-term deflection of flat slabs or is designing buildings suitable for monitoring. Robert presented a paper at the fib (ex-CEB and FIP) Conference in Prague in October on strut and tie modelling of beam-column joints. Saving the best for last, Robert and Clare had a son Timothy, on 14 August. He is a delight to both his parents and shows a keen interest in demolition. Dr. Sunday Popo-Ola is still active on his European project which involves the development of anchor using composite materials such as steel and polymer. This is a new innovation which cuts down the cost of using steel components for the anchor sleeves. Sunday is also fully involved running FutureHome, a 3-year, 5M Euro project, which brings together 15 partners in six EU countries, and forms part of a global consortium including researchers in Japan and North America under the IMS (Intelligent Manufacturing Systems) programme. The project aims to apply advanced manufacturing technology to the production of houses, aiming for cost and time savings of at least 30%, and reduction in defects on completion of 60%. General Information can be obtained form the Website at http://www.cv.ic.ac.uk/futurehome/ Dr. Chris Burgoyne sent news from Cambridge of his family in his 99 Christmas card. Chris achieved Readership status in October 99. Chris and Vanessa have the third and youngest family member, Charlie, at home while he takes his (non-science) A levels. The elder two are away to learn the rudiments of biochemistry and medicine, slowly growing past them and learning to cope with their own lives. Prof. Simon Perry signed his last report over the table as our MSc. Course External Examiner last July but keeps in contact with his old Section. John Turner, who retired from the Section Laboratory almost 10 years ago, is always pleased to join us - with, or without Jack Neale! - for various events during the year, the latest being the retirement of Richard Packer, the Department photographer, who laid on a wonderful spread in 170 Queens Gate for his friends and colleagues. Mick Hobbins, who joined the Section Laboratory at about the time John left, has now retired himself,

unfortunately with ill-health, so we wish him better health and enjoyable days ahead. Charlie Mortlock is enjoying his retirement with his wife, Lilian. They set out on the trip of a lifetime to Australia in January 2000, visiting relatives and seeing more of the country before they return in April. Peter Jellis can still be seen flying his models high around Epsom Downs and the fields of France when hes not in his toolshop (in Cheam) hewing and chipping away at a new one. Sylvia Keen is happily involved with her voluntary work at St. Marys Hospital during the week when shes not looking after Donald and baking for her grandchildren. Prof. George Somerville OBE, gave a lecture to Concrete and other interested courses in March on the Residual service life of r.c. structures. George also made his contribution to our Design and Construction course in January 2000 SECTION NEWS when he gave his lecture on Bridges. Prof. Haig Gulvanessian continues to contribute to our Structural Assessment and Loading module and is actively involved in collaborative contracts between the Section and BRE. The Designing to Eurocode 2 course given by the BCA, which had been arranged by Dr. Pal Chana and Dr. Robert Vollum, was held on Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th May. Six students were fortunate enough to join the other industrial members on both days. We were pleased to help out with the Women in Science & Engineering (WISE) visits again in July. Dr. Sunday Popo-Ola (Research), Dr. Alaa Hassanein (Research) took a turn with Dr. John Newman amd Dr. Robert Vollum, explaining the beams cast in the lab. Not entirely from around the World, but The Dome, one of the latest tourist sites in London, we have discovered through Section connections that it was designed by Ian Liddell (1963), Senior Partner at Buro Happold. Ian was Chief Engineer of the Dome which won the MacRobert award and some other things. Ian has kindly agreed to come and talk to all the students and interested staff in the Department about the work involved on the structure which has been the talking point of tourist attractions before, and since, it opened. Andreas Constantinides (1999) completed the Course this year but has returned to the UK to work for an MBA in Loughborough. Despite the column in copy No. 16, Dr. George Dinic (1982) is still looking to employ Graduate Engineers in his Division at Bechtel. George can be reached at work on 020 8600-8636 or 020 8579 3640. Following the despatch of the Newsletter no. 16, I received E-mails from : Jude Alibey (1981) in his quest for a transcript in order to move on to Canada in February 2000. Dr. Seema Alim (1982) likewise, needed a reference done quickly in her search for an academic position in the U.S. (see Visitors) Philip Biggs (1993) who is working as Principal Structural Engineer with GHD, a large multi-disciplinary consultancy in Adelaide. Philip and his wife have Simon, 3 and Francesca, 2, and enjoy living in the wine region renowned in Australia. Philip is still in touch with Surinder Sura who now lives in Canada. Paul Corbett (1991) thought I wouldnt remember one of the most disruptive? ...! Paul and his wife, Jayne, live in Swindon with their two sons, Howard, 2 years and Rowan, 6 months while Paul continues to work for Halcrow

on major bridge projects. Paul says a reunion in Cyprus was discussed between his classmates in 91 but never materialised! [If DICs react to this comment here, as they usually do for a reunion Paul, I am sure it wont take long for people and places to be co-ordinated!] In September, I took the liberty of circulating an invitation to the Section which we received from Jean Desproges-Gotteron (1983) on his marriage with Mademoiselle Catherine Stonestreet on Saturday 23rd October at the Church of Sainte-Eulalie de Bordeaux. The staff would like to take this opportunity to wish both Jean and Catherine every happiness for the future in their marriage and return the invitation to them for a cup of coffee in the Section when they visit London! Stella Smerou Fox (1989) sent a lively version of her news to date. Stella and her husband, Andrew, live in Athens with George, age 5 and Margarita, 4. Andrew is an ex-DIC of Industrial Engineering and works in Athens for a German firm. Stella has two part-time jobs to enable her to cope with her family life, one of which is a rep. for Knight Piesold. Stella is still in touch with fellow female classmates from her year, Lena Zannaki and Irini Yiannakou, as well as Yianni Paniaras, her sons Godfather. Mohamed Arshad Khan (1977) worked in Somalia for Mowlem International, then transferred to Nairobi with Howard Humphreys as Director of Operations. Mohamed presented a paper in the 1997 Concrete Society conference on the 38-storey RC framed building he worked on, believed to be the tallest in East and Central Africa. Mohamed has taken on the role of house-husband while his wife works in Vienna, allowing them the more fortunate position to live in Austria. Mohamed wishes to be remembered to previous colleagues of his class; he especially remembers Prof. Sir Alan Harris who gave him guidance with his undergraduate thesis on floating breakwaters. ... speaking of which, Mulberry Harbour off the Normandy Coast, circa 1944 was seen still very much floating, in October 1999. [Ed] Kyriacos Kouros finished the course in 94 and now works in Cyprus for an Earthquake Rehab. Service. Nic Labuschagne (1984), a classmate of Michal Nikiforou, told me he lives and works in Pretoria with his wife and two children. Dr. Sharif Ramsis Mansour (1985) sent greetings to all and said how pleased he was to read about his colleagues. ... and a Course colleague of Shariefs, Dr. Cam Middleton, has made contact while liaising about an applicant to Cambridge. Cam and his wife Kerstin are now parents to Michael 4 and Ben 2. Apparently Ben has an engineering talent for knocking things down!! Michalis Nikiforou (1984) was pleased to receive the latest copy and realised from the photographs of staff members that time had caught up with those of us left behind! Michal is working for a consultancy in Limassol. Sam Nwankwo (1985) rose to become a Partner in the company Cad Consult, following his initial start with Ove Arup in Nigeria. Sam would love to hear from old colleagues and sends all best wishes to those who remember him. I was unable to meet Leslie Pakianathan (1986) and his wife when Leslie mailed to say they were coming to London in August. I hope they enjoyed a successful trip after all. Leslie works as a Resident Engineer for Mott Macdonald in Hong Kong while his wife looks after their sons, age 6 and 2 years. Leslie is a committee member of the IC Alumni Association of which our newly appointed Fellow of IC, H.K. Cheung, is President. Dr. Mark Raiss (1983) wrote on receipt of the previous epistle, to keep in touch and also to ask for contact addresses of our colleagues in Malaysia. Mark completed the MSc. course in 1983 but continued with research to complete his PhD several years later. He was fortunate to make contact with Robert Benaim (1961) through Roberts guidance at the Wednesday morning Design sessions and later at a DIC Dinner. In 1995 Mark moved to Malaysia to establish the RBA office there and later, to set up the Singapore office, despite the Asian economic crisis. On his return to the UK, Mark became Managing Director of Robert Benaim and Associates in

Grafton Road, NW5 but he and his wife, Kate, have decided to settle down again with their family in the West country, which means Mark will be a customer of the Great Western network each week. While in telephone conversation with Professor Mohamed Raoof (1979) I established he had been out of touch with the Section since leaving the Course. Mohamed is a Lecturer in the Civil Eng. Dept. at Loughborough. Khalid Shafi (1997) is working for Whitby Bird and will no doubt catch up with other ex-DICs in his office. Surinder Sura (1993) has been making his way in Canada for several years and has at last been able to put his own company name on the door : S. Sura and Assocs. Ltd., in Abbotsford BC. Dr. Naji Tahan (1987) was happy to report the birth of his daughter in April, to join his son. Naji is spending a majority of his time away from his family working on a project for his company in Sweden. He continues to publish papers with Professors Pavlovic and Kotsovos. Dr. Raj Valluvan (1989) gave his current email address. Raj is happy to continue his role as father to Dhivya, now 2 years, while busy working as Superstructure Lead Designer on the special bridge structures for the expansion of the Skytrain Network in Vancouver. Raj also takes time to be involved with the American Concrete Institute Technical Committee. Christiane Butz (1998) sent us her news and of her colleagues from Germany since they left I.C. as Occasional students from Aachen. Christiane reports that she, Eva Hoffmann and Markus Schmidt are all still living in Aachen. Markus finished his studies in Summer 99 and became a PhD student at the Institute of concrete structures, preferring to work in a university and do research. She and Eva are both currently working on their theses. However, Eva stayed with the concrete section, but on her return from London, Christiane changed to steel structures. Her thesis on vortex induced vibrations of steel stacks followed a student job at the Institute of steel structures, where she sometimes met Ralf Klinkhammer (1997). Christiane wants to apply for an MBA course so we wish her all the best, as well as her colleagues of course, for their future in the construction industry. Just before we go to print, we have received news that Gordon Wylie (1982) is to marry his partner, Karalee, in March 2000! I heard from Bruce Mubiru-Lwanga (1997) at the Graduation tea in May 98 that he was heavily involved on the Bluewater Centre in Dartford, Kent but experiencing a dreadful journey from Surrey each day. Having done a site visit with friends recently, (2 of us concentrating on the shops and the other 2 on the structures you understand), I can report that it was well worth the aggravation! I can assure you, Bruce, the Structural Engineers alongside gave it worthy praise! No excuse needed to return! Stuart Smith (1992) called in before one of his Wednesday morning Design supervision sessions with Robert Vollum, to pass on his news: that he and his wife Lucinda, are now the proud parents of George Robert, who was born last October 10th. Stuart is an Engineer with Ove Arup and has his work cut out keeping several projects on the go at once, especially when they all start at the same time!

Anstasios Frangos, Greg Nikolau, Andreas Constantinidis and Tassios Kyriacou came for the Graduation ceremony in May and signed our Visitors book while Evita Tsartilidou and Maria Christodolou entertained their families around the Campus. Tassios Frangos and Greg have started their National Service this year, while Andreas was considering returning to England to take an MBA course at Loughborough. Tassios Kyriacou and his wife, Despo, live in Cyprus and work for a Greek Geotechnical company. GRADUATION + + + + + + Tahsin Hossain was successful in his viva on 3rd September with his thesis : Numerical modelling of deflections of reinforced concrete flat slabs under service loads, supervised by Vollum and Pavlovic. Tahsin has returned to Bangladesh while his wife remains here for 2 years to complete her PhD research in Biochemistry. Rod Goodfellow was semi-detached to Concrete Structures (Pal Chana) with the

Earthquake Section while he worked on his thesis Ductility of r.c. flexural members constructed from high performance steel and concrete but sealed that at his viva on 12 November 1999... ... and finally, our first PhD success in 2000, Yoshi Ichikawa, who went through his viva on 23rd March with his thesis : Prediction of pore pressures, heat and moisture transfer leading to spalling of concrete during fire. Yoshi worked intensively under George England to complete his thesis and viva within 3 years 6 months. He has returned to his wife, Kazue, son Kazuki 7 and daughter Wakana 3 in Tokyo, where he works for the Kajima Corporation. Dr. Seema Alim (1982) started the roll of visitors to the Section in May when she called in with her daughter, Noreen on arrival in London at the start of a business trip over 2 weeks. Noreen was enjoying her freedom before starting a medical course in the U.S.A. Soon afterwards, John King (1998), the winner of our first Joe Peirce Award prize, returned to liaise with Robert Vollum. Johns wife Marion, was about to deliver their first baby, Matthew, allowing John to join the realms of other new fathers experiencing restless nights. John is now working with a local consultant in Essex. In early June we continued the succession of visitors from various parts of the world : Yves Leroy (1981) took a break from the Ecole Polytechnique Palaiseau, to say hello while discussing exchange students with Dr. David Lloyd-Smith (1970) and Dr. Bassam Izzuddin. Khalid Al-Rawahi, a Technical Supervisor, from the Sultan Gaboos University in Oman came to Imperial following visits to Strathclyde and Nottingham to study the setting up and organisation of laboratories. We received a letter and phone call from Prof. Edward Nawy (1951) prior to his visit on 14th June with his wife, Rachel during their tour of the UK. Prof. Nawy is still involved with the Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Rutgers, New Jersey and was keen to see our labs. and meet staff here. We were pleased to receive a copy of his book, Reinforced Concerete, a fundamental approach. David Beal (1971) visited us in mid-June at the end of his business trip around the world again. David became President of the Concrete Institute of Australia with effect from May 1999 but will retire as Lecturer at the University of Queensland because he has his hands full dealing with his personal company, D. Beal Engineer Pty Ltd. in Queensland. Professor Ljupco Lazarov came from the University of Skopje on a scheme Tempus-Phare programme in the European Commission and worked around the Section from July to September. Mid-August, Mahendra Patel (1957) came to the Section at the start of his stay with his son in London. Two days later, Professor Hee Kiat Cheong (1981) came for just the one day, Friday 13th, to liaise with several members of staff again before travelling to Bath to attend a course in the following week. Well two of you have discovered how the system works more favourably: visit the Section while Im working on the Newsletter, and your news is typed here on the same day! George Giaroli (1991) called on Thursday 23rd September, after attending a Conference (FIDIC) in Holland. Having arranged to meet business colleagues in Knightsbridge, George decided to call in to South Ken. for an update since he last came in 1993. Georges practice in Brisbane is progressing well and looks forward to expanding before long when other projects need labouring over. George and his wife, Sandra, live with their two sons, Joseph, 2 1/2 years and Christian 6 months on the outskirts of Brisbane. George will call in to see his family in Italy before speeding back to Brisbane. Within the hour, I took a call to say that two students were on their way to see me: it appeared to be Sam Yong (1997) with friend, who decided to spend a day in London. True to the British weather, it turned out to be one of the wettest of the year! At present, Sam is working as a resident engineer with Juvutera Konsultants Malaysia on a 19-storey building but is likely to find himself on terra firma behind a drawing board, when the last pour of concrete has been delivered. Dr. Nadir Hassanein (1992) returned to the campus in October for 3 weeks to, amongst other excursions, collect

VISITORS

the Thomas Telford Prize from the Institution of Civil Engineers with Nick Buenfeld. Nadir teaches at the University of Khartoum on a Masters Course which takes 2 years. Nadir worked with Ali Abbas in Sudan before Ali came to start his research with Milija Pavlovic in October 98. Cedric Cornu (1997) returned to South Ken. in November, having completed his National Service with a company in Paris. Cedric is now a Financial Consultant with mars & co. (not the choccie bar!) in Paris but feels he will return to Civil/Structural engineering at some time in the future. Received a surprise visit from Ioannis Pipilis (1998) in the lunch hour before he dashed back to his lectures in the Management School, where hes doing another MSc. in Finance. Ioannis completed a year in the Navy for his National Service when he finished the course so feels he can start his industrial life afresh when hes finished next September. Dr. George (Robbie) Robinson (1964) and his wife Lymore, moved across Texas in Plano, USA in September 99. Yuk Kui Chiang (1983) has moved to Kowloon. Finally, I was pleased to be on the receiving end of an email from Dr. David Morris (1981) to assure his colleagues that he is no longer lost, as he had been when his previous copy was returned from Sheffield. David has moved to Haywards Heath, W. Sussex, where he is now a Consultant.

Movers

Lost contacts : The letters to the following colleagues have been returned to us. Are they working or living near you?

H. Ali (1966) from Pakistan; Frederick Ajayi (1987) from Ove Arup; Ian Brooks (1986) Swindon; Dr. John Chambers (1982) Aberdeen; Dr. W. Crowe (1962), Co. Tipperary; Mr. E. Dib (1969) Beirut; J.T. Doshi (1954) India; Vincent Duchateau (1985) London SW10; R. Garry (1974) London N1; Lee Maartensz (1995) from Cheltenham; Prof. A. Mattock (1948) Seattle, USA; Dr. Abdul Merii (Research) Epsom; Alpesh Patel (1998) Queensbury Middx; M.G. (Yianni) Paniaras (1989) Greencoat Place, SW1; Kareem Shamma (1983) London SW20; D.J. Wilkinson (1980) London N3 Some of you from more recent MSc. courses are still on the campus : Dimitrios Konstantinidis (1994), working for his Ph.D in Earthquake under Prof. Elnashai (1980). Dimitrios took part in my Christmas carols display in December with other European research students, telling us about their special festivities and how they celebrate Christmas in their countries. Sophia Bethanis, Nikos Tsatsos, Vassilis Symeonidis (1999) returned to South Ken. in September - Sophia to commence research on an environmental project supervised by Drs. Chris Cheeseman and John Newman (1965); Nikos to do another MSc., in Soils, and Vassilis has joined Ioannis Pipilis working on an MSc. in Finance. I found several familiar names amongst those listed taking part in the Institution of Structural Engineers examination in the Department in April : we wish them every success for the future. We have heard that at the parting of the DIC Dinner, reunions have been held by groups of you from the same year : Dr. Nick Buenfeld, with Gerrard Brennan, Dr. George Dinic and Peter Titus from 1980-81; also Marc Lehmann, Stuart Smith, Mike Webster and Charles Walker, all from 1992.

We had a total of 28 students on Course 53, which finished on Monday 28th June 1999, including David Davis who completed his 3rd year of part-time study successfully. Till Mayer, an Occasional student from Aachen won the Gbyebi Kufuor Prize and Raymond Leong, the R.S. Jenkins prize. Charles Collins (1984) contacted us earlier in the year to arrange a visit for the Course to his site near the Oval. Unfortunately the visit coincided with another event so did not materialise. Charles is working for Wates Construction and enjoys the flexibility in moving from site to site.

THE JOE PEIRCE AWARD was founded in 1969 by Joe Peirce, Managing Director of a major supplier to the construction industry who merged with Readymix Concrete Ltd. He worked for over 50 years and was one of the founders of the Sand and Gravel Association. He was awarded the OBE and CBE for services to the industry. Joe was a firm believer in study as a means of improvement to the individual and the industry. He wished to provide an extra incentive to those wishing to advance their education. The awards were first made to the most successful candidate for the Diploma in Advanced Concrete Technology. Now they are for the best dissertation contributing to the advancement of Concrete Technology from students born in the UK and studying for an MSc degree or equivalent.

THE COURSE

The first Joe Peirce award for the MSc. was made to John King, who attended the 1997/98 Concrete Structures Course for his dissertation, entitled 'The control of deflections in slabs'. John received 500 cash with a silver engraved ashtray from Mr. Jerry Tyler, a Trustee of the Joe Peirce Trust, accompanied by the Secretary, Frank Standish, during the student social on the evening of Thursday 7th October 1999. On the new Course, we have 28 full-time students including three Occasionals, two from Aachen, one from ENPC on the Erasmus Scheme and an industrial student from TRL taking several modules. Nick and Robert organise the Design & Construction Course over the year and once again have willing help from Prof. George Somerville, OBE, Bjorn Watson, Mike Webster and Stuart Smith, from the 1992 course. Stephen Coyne (1993) is the Site Engineer on site at the Royal Albert Hall, representing Building Design Partnership. Nick is liaising with Stephen to arrange a site visit for the MSc. course. * * * * * * On behalf of the Section staff may I thank all of you who have contributed to this edition and wish you all the very best for a happy and successful year at the start of the new century.

Marilyn Treadaway

EMAIL ADDRESSES (OVERSEAS) aali@amato-eng.co.jp : Dr. Asghar Ali jalibey@netscape.net : Jude Alibey seema@communique.net : Dr. Seema Alim arsenaul@mlink.net : Laurent Arsenault phillip_biggs@ghd.com.au : Phillip Biggs bischoff@unb.ca : Dr. Peter Bischoff bremnert@unb.ca : Prof. Ted Bremner Bulama@Linserve.com.ng : Mustapha Bulama CHKCHEONG@ntu.edu.sg : Prof. Hee Kiat Cheong cedric_cornu@par.marsandco.com : Cedric Cornu dduffy@netvigator.com : Damien Duffy eeipgrm@Ericsson.com : Paul Graham giaroli@powerup.com.au : George Giaroli fgonzalez@caminos.recol.es : Dr. Fernando Gonzales-Vidosa ho.wan.boon@pwdcorp.com.sg : HO Wan Boon yichi@psa.kajima.co.jp : Yoshi Ichikawa jak@djn.iol.ie : Jim Kelly abkhan@EUnet.at : Arshad Khan kouros@logos.cy.net : Kyriacos Kouros krstulovic@ncsu.edu : Prof. Neven Krstulovic-Opara NicolL@africon.co.za : Nic Labuschagne cies_crllopiz@cpsarg.com : Carlos Llopiz manzoor2@paknet4.ptc.pk : Manzoor ul Latif 114271.2257@compuserve.com : Dr Sharief Mansour

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