Three NUI Galway engineers were honoured recently at the Bridge and Concrete Research in Ireland conference that was held in Dublin, from 6-7 September.

This biennial symposium features leading researchers and practitioners from the island of Ireland with the focus on the latest developments and findings in the areas of bridge engineering and transport infrastructure, concrete technology, geotechnics, structural engineering and material science. This year, for the first time, a number of individuals received awards for their research contributions and there was considerable success for Civil Engineering at NUI Galway.

The prestigious lifetime achievement award went to Eamonn Cannon, a recently retired Senior Lecturer from NUI Galway. Eamonn Cannon received the award for his significant and sustained contributions to research and teaching in concrete that stretch back over forty years.  Holding degrees from University College Dublin, Polytecnico di Milano and Imperial College London, Eamonn Cannon has published widely on many aspects of concrete research.

Dr Jamie Goggins received the young researcher award and this category was for researchers at an early stage in their careers (under the age of 35). Dr Goggins received the award for the quality of his research publications and for his growing international reputation for the research in earthquake engineering, computational mechanics, sustainable construction technologies, sustainable energy and life cycle assessment.

The final award for NUI Galway went to Gerard O’Reilly for the best paper by a graduate student at the conference. Gerard works under the supervision of Dr Goggins and the title of his presentation was ‘The development of a novel self-centering concentrically braced frame system for deployment in seismically active regions’. 

There was strong competition for this award with over 50 graduate student presentations at the conference. Gerard O’Reilly has recently returned from an exchange visit to the University of California.

“It is noteworthy that the three awards span the spectrum from a lifetime of achievement to a graduate engineer who is starting out on his research career”, commented Dr Piaras Ó hEachteirn, Head of Civil Engineering at NUI Galway. “The awards reflect well on the level and excellence of the research at NUI Galway and particularly in the area of concrete research.”

ENDS