Leeds hosts international civil engineering conference

Leading civil engineering researchers from 22 countries are gathering in Yorkshire this week as the University of Leeds hosts a prestigious international conference focussing on technology advances in the field of construction.

More than 120 academics will share their expertise at the 9th International Conference on Steel Concrete Composite and Hybrid Structures [08-10 July], which will see discussions on the latest construction thinking and design. It will cover topics such as earthquake and impact, structural analysis, fire behaviour, and progressive collapse.

Says University of Leeds’ Dr Dennis Lam, who is chairing the conference: “Construction methods around the world tend to focus on either steel or concrete and the best methods and designs are crucial to ensuring safety and cost-effectiveness. Steel beams and columns are easy to manufacture and erect, but their integrity is compromised when there’s a fire, and whilst concrete is much more durable, it’s a much slower and wasteful method of construction.”

“This conference is about discussing new ways to combining the advantages of both materials - and technology advancements that offer opportunities for the industry to enhance durability, sustainability and safety.”

For example, using composite steel tubes filled with concrete in the construction of a large building offers many advantages: the manufacturing process would be simpler, cheaper and more efficient, yet in the event of a fire, the structural integrity of the building would not suffer.

“There’s great scope for sharing novel ways to design composite and hybrid structures and this 4-yearly conference brings experts together from all over the world to discuss their research, knowledge and best practice techniques,” says Dr Lam.

“This is the first time conference has been hosted in the UK and we were nominated on the strength of the research at Leeds in this area. It’s a great opportunity to showcase our research in the School of Civil Engineering to such an eminent audience.”

The 2009 conference runs from 08-10 July 2009 at the University of Leeds’ Faculty of Engineering and is run in collaboration with the Association for International Cooperation and Research in Steel Concrete Composite Structures (ASCCS). The website for the conference is at www.engineering.leeds.ac.uk/cpd/ASCCS2009

For more information, please contact:
Dr Dennis Lam, Reader in Structural Engineering and Steel Design, School of Civil Engineering on 0113 3423 2295, d.lam@leeds.ac.uk

Leeds engineers developing bullet proof vests from cement

Engineers at the University of Leeds are working on a new type of body armour made from cement.

The new vests will combine super-strong cement with recycled carbon fibre materials to make a material tough enough to withstand most types of bullets.

The cement vest project, still at the early research stage, is being carried out the School of Civil Engineering at the University.

Dr Philip Purnell, who is leading the team, said: “By using cement instead of alumina we are confident we can deliver a cost-effective level of protection for many people at risk. It should be good enough for people like security guards, reporters and aid workers who are worried about the odd pot shot being taken at them.

“The fact is many of the armoured vests sold today are over-engineered for the threats they face. Cement based body armour would not only create a whole new market but it would also take some of the pressure off the demand for hi-spec alumina models so that people like soldiers, who really need this kit, can get it.”

Currently available hi-spec body armour is constructed with alumina plates - the raw material used to make aluminium - which is heated to 1600 degrees Celsius for up to two weeks in a process called ‘sintering’ in order to make them ultra hard.

Enhanced combat body armour (ECBA) as supplied to UK troops uses sintered alumina plates. In the past UK and US soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have faced shortages of ECBA as production has struggled to keep up with soaring global demand.

Cement vests are just one of a range of novel uses for the 2000 year old material that the Leeds engineers are investigating in a three year project called ‘Cementing the future’. Other ideas include cement based pump-less fridges, a new type of catalytic converter, and improved bone replacements.

Dr Purnell is actively seeking other researchers, engineers, scientists, designers or even sculptors and artists who also have ideas for new uses for cement.

For more information and to take part in the project visit http://.tinyurl.com/nacnet

Cementing the future has £100,000 in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

School launches new institute to tackle global challenges

The University of Leeds’ Engineering Faculty has launched a new Institute for Resilient Infrastructure (iRI) to focus on global issues of resilience of physical infrastructure to both natural and man-made disasters.

Based in the School of Civil Engineering, the Institute aims to be at the forefront of research and debate and draws experts from a wide range of disciplines together with industrialists and government representatives. iRI’s research will ensure the sustainability of essential physical infrastructure and its impact on communities, businesses, the economy and society – in both the UK and beyond.

 “Around the world, systems such as transport infrastructure and power and water supplies are taken for granted. But as pressures on these systems mount due to a range of factors, there’s an increased risk of their failure,” says iRI Director, Professor Steven Male.

The impact of climate change on infrastructure is a key area of research for iRI. The impact of natural disasters worldwide ran into the hundreds of billion of dollars in 2008 alone, and an expected increase in floods and droughts, the estimated migration of around 200 million people as a result of increased temperatures and loss of land and changes in soil conditions, mean current infrastructures will be unlikely to cope.

“We’re breaking the traditional mould, where researchers are split according to their subject area, to enable engineers to play a key role in addressing global challenges such as climate change.

This approach to engineering research echoes the findings of the House of Commons report Engineering: Turning Ideas into Reality, published in March this year by the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee. The report concludes: “…we have become increasingly conscious of the critical contribution that engineering makes to the economy and societal well-being, and the decisive role it must play in tackling global challenges such as climate change, water and food supply, and energy security.”

Professor Male says that iRI aims to look at the infrastructure systems necessary to sustain life in the light of such changes. “Infrastructures aren’t just about the physical design and construction of systems we need,” he says. “It’s not enough to, for example, to develop new methods of power or water delivery. What’s needed is an approach that also takes into account the human response – the decision making structures that are necessary and the way in which communities work. Equally, the iRI will also be working in areas allied to the development of sustainable construction and ensuring the resilience of buildings in the face of government policy to move towards a low carbon economy.”

“The challenges facing the world today are huge,” says Professor Male. “And engineering will play a leading role in enabling us to meet those challenges.”

For more information please visit the iRI website.

Resilient Infrastructure - Institute Launch

Tuesday May 12th saw the launch of the newest of our research institutes, the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure (iRI). One hundred staff, students, partners and other guests joined together to celebrate the event which was hosted by Nigel Smith, with keynote presentations from Steve Male the Institute Director and from Barry Clarke and Phil Purnell, both Deputy Directors of the Institute.

Physical infrastructure is vital for continued national and international economic, social and environmental development and prosperity. “‘Resilience’ is the ability of a system to withstand threats and continue to function, and is related to continuity, durability and performance to expected standards over time. ‘Resilient Infrastructure’ is therefore, those systems of physical assets that will be able to survive and perform well in an increasingly uncertain future. The challenge is that existing and new physical assets will have to become more adaptable; and, be created, designed, built, operated, and/or, disposed of in the light of current as well as ‘new and emergent futures’.

“It is as a direct response to these challenges that we have created the institute, the scope of which is interdisciplinary; embracing the interactions and impact of disciplines drawn from the Engineering, Environmental, Economic, Community/Societal and Political domains on the whole life performance of physical assets. The time frames of the Institute’s research agenda cover the short, medium and long term requirements for meeting the physical infrastructure challenges now facing society, and encompasses fundamental, applied and policy-oriented research.” Steve Male, Director of the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure.

For more information please visit the iRI website.

Leeds students in climate change debate

ICE president Jean Venables recently took part in a debate with Leeds University students about the impact of climate change on civil engineering, one of the key themes of her presidency.

Venables watched as three students took to the stage in front of an audience of local engineers and students from Leeds, Bradford, and Leeds Metropolitan universities to present their work. She was attending the symposium at Leeds’ school of civil engineering as part of her visit to Yorkshire & Humberside region.

First up was third year architectural engineering student Philip Wainwright, who summarised the likely effects of climate change over the next 50 years, including the possibly of the ICE’s One Great George Street headquarters in London flooding.

Next, civil and structural engineering student Giles Mortimer described how energy policy must change to create a balanced, secure energy supply that does not contribute to climate change.

The final presentation came from Beena Mistry, another architectural engineering student, who showed why it was highly unlikely that our current transport systems would survive the next 50 years unless alternative green solutions are found.

Venables said: “It’s great to see young minds grappling so effectively with these important issues.

“The challenges of climate change are set to grow over the years and engineers of the future will need to rise to meet them.”

A lively debate was held after the presentations.

Venables invited the audience to challenge an invited panel of local industry leaders and members of the Yorkshire Forward Regional Development Agency on how engineers must engage in the ongoing discussions about the impact of climate change if they are to develop the solutions society needs.

UV light cuts spread of TB

Ultraviolet lights could reduce the spread of tuberculosis in hospital wards and waiting rooms by 70 per cent, according to a new study involving researchers from the University of Leeds.

The study, published in PLoS Medicine today, explores the transmission of tuberculosis (TB) from infected patients, and suggests that installing simple ultraviolet C (UVC) lights in hospitals could help reduce the transmission of even drug-resistant strains.

Every year, more than nine million people are infected with tuberculosis and approximately two million people die from the disease, according to the World Health Organisation. Infection rates are particularly high in places where vulnerable people are crowded together, such as hospitals, homeless shelters and prisons.

When a tuberculosis patient coughs, bacteria are sprayed into the air in tiny droplets, floating around the room and infecting other patients, visitors and healthcare staff. These bacteria can be killed by hanging a shielded UVC light from the ceiling and ensuring an effective system to move and mix the air, say the researcher team, which includes the University of Leeds, Imperial College London, Hospital Nacional Dos de Mayo, Lima, Peru, and other international institutions.

UVC light kills tuberculosis bacteria, including drug-resistant strains, by damaging their DNA so they cannot infect people, grow or divide. It is already used at high intensity to disinfect empty ambulances and operating theatres.

The impact of UV lights is greatest when combined with careful management of the air flow on the wards, as Dr Cath Noakes from Leeds’ Faculty of Engineering explains: “The lights must be set high enough to ensure patients and health workers are not overexposed, but if the lights only treat air at that level, there will be little benefit. To be most effective, ventilation systems need to create a constant flow of treated air down to patient level, and potentially infected air up towards the lights.”

A specialist in hospital ventilation and air flow management, Dr Noakes is already building on the results of the Peruvian trial in new research aimed at developing practical guidelines for the installation of UV infection control systems. By creating computational models of UV lights in realistic environments such as hospitals and clinics, Dr Noakes will determine in which environments the UV is most beneficial and design systems to interact effectively with the air flow in the building.

“The trial showed that UV can work,” says Dr Noakes. “For hospitals and other institutions to be able to use it with minimum cost but maximum impact, we now need to know the details – where the UV lights need to be placed to work most effectively and safely and what changes to ventilation systems may be required.”

Lead researcher Dr Rod Escombe, from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Clinical Tropical Medicine at Imperial College London says: “Thankfully, the rate of tuberculosis infection in countries like the UK is relatively low and people who are infected can be treated using antibiotics, which are readily available here. People are more likely to die from the disease in developing countries like Peru, because there are limited resources for isolating patients, diagnosing them quickly and starting effective treatment. Also, the prevalence of drug-resistant TB is much higher in the developing world. Preventing infection is much easier and cheaper than treating a patient with tuberculosis.”

Plans are already underway to install upper room UV lights in the chest clinic at St Mary’s Hospital, London, which will be the first hospital to have them in the UK.

This research was funded by the Wellcome Trust, Sir Halley Stewart Trust and the Sir Samuel Scott of Yews Trust, Proyecto Vigia (USAID) and the charity Innovation for Health and Development (IFHAD). Dr Noakes’ current research project to develop UV usage guidelines is funded through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

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Cleansing toxic waste - with vinegar

Engineers and environmental scientists at the University of Leeds are developing methods of helping contaminated water to clean itself by adding simple organic chemicals such as vinegar.

The harmful chromium compounds found in the groundwater at sites receiving waste from former textiles factories, smelters, and tanneries have been linked to cancer, and excessive exposure can lead to problems with the kidneys, liver, lungs and skin.

The research team, led by Dr Doug Stewart from the School of Civil Engineering and Dr Ian Burke from the School of Earth and Environment, has discovered that adding dilute acetic acid (vinegar) to the affected site stimulates the growth of naturally-occurring bacteria by providing an attractive food source. In turn, these bacteria then cleanse the affected area by altering the chemical make-up of the chromium compounds to make them harmless.

“The original industrial processes changed these chemicals to become soluble, which means they can easily leach into the groundwater and make it unsafe, says Dr Burke. “Our treatment method reconverts the oxidised chromate to a non-soluble state, which means it can be left safely in the ground without risk to the environment. As it is no longer ‘bio-available’ it doesn’t present any risk to the surrounding ecosystem.”

Chromate chemicals have previously been successfully treated in situ in neutral Ph conditions, but this study is unique in that it concentrates on extremely alkaline conditions, which are potentially much more difficult to treat.

The current favoured method of dealing with such groundwater contaminants is to remove the soil to landfill, which can be costly, both financially and in terms of energy usage. The Leeds methods being developed will allow treatment to take place on site, which is safer, more energy efficient and much cheaper.

Dr Stewart says:  “Highly alkaline chromium-related contaminants were placed in inadequate landfill sites in the UK right up until production stopped in the 1970’s – and in some countries production of large quantities of these chemicals still continues today. The soluble and toxic by-products from this waste can spread into groundwater, and ultimately into local rivers, and therefore will remain a risk to the environment as long as they are untreated.”

Current environmental regulations mean that before the team can test out its research findings in the field, they need water-tight proof that their methods can work, as it is illegal to introduce any substance into groundwater - even where it is contaminated - unless it has been shown to be beneficial.

“From the results we have so far I am certain that we can develop a viable treatment for former industrial sites where chromate compounds are a problem,” says Dr Stewart. “Our next step is to further our understanding of the range of alkalinity over which our system can operate. As society becomes more environmentally-aware, new regulations demand that past mistakes are rectified and carbon footprints are reduced. By designing a clean-up method that promotes the growth of naturally occurring bacteria without introducing or engineering new bacteria, we are effectively hitting every environmental target possible.”

The research, part funded by The Royal Society, is published online in the Journal of Ecological Engineering

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Greener future for water companies

Treating sewage could need fewer chemicals in future, following research from the University of Leeds.

The findings are good news for the environment - and will be welcomed by water companies battling to meet tough European targets to cut phosphorus in waste water from sewage plants.

The EU's Fresh Water Fisheries Directive aims to reduce phosphorus in lakes and rivers where high concentrations can lead to excessive algae bloom taking a stranglehold.

Cheaper and more environmentally friendly biological methods for removing phosphorus from waste water are unreliable, so companies are currently forced to rely on expensive chemical methods to ensure they meet the stringent EU legislation. But Dr Nigel Horan, from the School of Civil Engineering, has found a solution to enable water companies to reduce the use of chemicals and maintain their green credentials.

“Biological methods of removing phosphorus generally only fail during extended periods of heavy rain, when the concentration of sewage is weaker,” said Dr Horan. “Climate change has meant that this type of weather is increasing as witnessed by this year’s wet spring. Water companies can’t risk getting it wrong as the impact on the rivers and fresh water courses would be serious.”

Dr Horan’s team developed a model by which water companies can monitor the flow of sewage through their treatment systems and predict when biological methods of phosphorus treatment are likely to fail – and use chemical treatment only when required.

The model is based on research undertaken at one of Yorkshire Water’s largest sewage works in Sheffield, which sees one hundred and sixty million litres of sewage go through every day. Dr Horan’s team set up a pilot biological treatment plant at the site and over a two-year period, the team monitored the flow of sewage through the plant, its phosphorus concentration and the point at which biological treatment failed to reduce phosphorus to the necessary level.

“In heavy rain, the flow increased and the concentration dropped and we’ve been able to pinpoint at what rate of flow the biological method of removing phosphorus breaks down,” said Dr Horan. “By using our model and monitoring the flow of sewage through a plant, companies can predict when biological methods become unreliable and will only need to carry out chemical treatment for the short period necessary until flows return to normal.”

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Warning to London 2012: Decide now or pay later

Olympic Games organisers are being warned to make key decisions now about the long-term use of the 2012 stadium - or face costs that will spiral out of control.

Professor of Engineering Project Management at the University of Leeds, Denise Bower, has found a link between the way decisions are made about the design and building of iconic structures and the likelihood that these are built within the agreed expenditure and timescale.

Her study showed that where several parties come together to form a client group there can be clashes between what each member expects from the project.

Professor Bower says: “Unlike the building of simpler public structures such as a school or hospital there are often incompatible expectations for an iconic building that can lead to spiralling costs,” says Professor Bower. “For example, a football club will want to create a striking image to raise their profile whereas the local council may want a project that will aid regeneration in the area. 

“The challenge for the Olympic delivery team and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is to marry the aspirations of all those involved in this project and complete the job within the estimated timescale and cost. But our research shows that if decisions are not made and stuck to along the way this becomes almost impossible. Given the current economic climate this need for concrete decisions is even greater.”

The researchers also discovered that even when firm decisions have been taken there is often a failure for clients and contractors to communicate - a problem that can lead to further escalation of cost. This failure arises partly because the clients involved may have had no previous experience of construction projects.

The study initially compared the processes and costs involved in the development of Arsenal’s Emirates stadium and the new Wembley site. With these projects, the Emirates completed on time and within budget, whereas the Wembley project went over-budget and exceeded the expected timescale for completion.

Other sports stadia, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly buildings were also included to gain further insight into how such large-scale projects are managed.

Co-researcher and engineering PhD student, Bernard Aritua, says, “Iconic structures are seen as a legacy, so the approach to building them is unique. In cases where public funding is involved the client often fails to communicate fully the real aims of the project for fear of a public backlash. Consequently they leave themselves open to constant changes to both the concept and the design, with each change potentially leading to an escalation in cost.”

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Smart design could reduce 'super bug' outbreaks

Hospitals around the world have become increasingly worried about the risks of cross infection between patients, particularly with the rise of ‘super bugs’ resistant to antibiotics.

Alarmingly, research indicates that one in 10 patients will acquire an infection during their hospital stay.

A first-of-its-kind study at Leeds, by the Pathogen Control Engineering (PCE) research group in the School of Civil Engineering, has found that making simple changes to the design of hospital wards and ventilation systems could be a critical factor in controlling outbreaks of serious airborne infections, such as SARS, influenza and tuberculosis, as well as some well-known hospital pathogens like acinetobacter and MRSA.

The study’s findings will inform the UK’s new guidelines for the ventilation of healthcare facilities.

Principal investigator Dr Andrew Sleigh said: “There is evidence that 10 to 20% of infections are spread through the air, but until now, their role in the infection chain has been largely overlooked, as doctors tend to emphasise the importance of washing hands and avoiding physical contact.

“Although diseases such as tuberculosis are widely accepted as being airborne, others may also be spread this way. Numerous bacteria-carrying particles - such as tiny flakes of human skin - can be widely dispersed into the air within hospital wards through routine activities, and potentially contribute to the risk of infection for patients,” said Dr Sleigh.

To investigate this further, PhD research students Katherine Roberts and Abigail Hathway used a laser counter to measure the number and size of particles present in the air of a respiratory ward at St James’ University Hospital, taking air samples every 30 minutes over a working day. They also sampled for micro-organisms in the air using a bioaerosol sampler, and kept a log of activities within the ward.

They were able to show that human activities such as ward rounds, changing the beds, drawing the curtains, and patients using nebulisers were linked to peaks in the number of airborne particles in the ward.

To understand the implications of such findings, the PCE research group has brought together engineers, microbiologists, mathematicians and medical experts to examine the problem from several different perspectives.

This is apparent in other aspects of the study, where computer modelling has yielded considerable insight into the risks of airborne infection.

Civil engineering lecturer Dr Catherine Noakes used computational fluid dynamics to model a tuberculosis ward in Peru. This allowed her to predict how airborne particles would travel from one patient’s bed to another, spreading pathogens across the room.

The model showed that moving the ventilation inlets and outlets to different positions could reduce the risk of airborne transmission by more than 75%, without having to increase the air supply into the ward, which would consume more electricity.

Dr Noakes also calculated the risks of an airborne disease outbreak in a hospital environment, accounting for factors such as temperature and humidity. This showed that in some cases, less than a 10% increase in the ventilation rate may be sufficient to prevent a major outbreak.

The research was funded by the Department of Health’s NHS Estates and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

To read about other projects led by the Pathogen Control Engineering research group, visit www.efm.leeds.ac.uk/aerobiology

*These diagrams show the flowpaths of contaminated air coming from two patients (red and blue lines) in a hospital ward, before (above) and after (below) modifying the ventilation inlets/outlets, and placing a partition between the beds. The air ventilation rate remained constant, yet transfer of infectious material between the two beds was reduced by over 75%.

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Leeds Civil Engineers help government save billions

Civil Engineers at Leeds have been commissioned by the UK Government’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC) to improve the management of the £220 billion central civil government estate.

Asset engineering and management is concerned with the creation, renewal, refurbishment, management and disposal of assets over time. In short, the engineering and management of their whole life performance. It requires decisions to be made about the purpose of the assets, why investment is required and over what time period, what the best engineering solutions are, and what are the best management options for dealing with these assets as a resource that needs to perform over time.

Professor Steven Male who led the study said “There were three stages to this study, the first stage was to establish the current status of property asset management in central civil government. We then developed a framework and model of excellence for practitioners to use when planning for asset management within the context of the central civil government estate. Finally, we identified a series of efficiency gains of some £1-1.5 billion worth of savings with specific timescales and actions for implementation.”

The findings of the study were launched by the Right Honourable Steven Timms MP, Chief Secretary to HM Treasury at an OGC Conference in June 2006 and have also been used to feed into an OGC official publication entitled ‘High Performance Property’. Civil Engineers at Leeds have been commissioned by the UK Government’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC) to improve the management of the £220 billion central civil government estate.

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'Optimisation: getting more and better for less' - Inaugural Lecture by Professor Vassili Toropov

Over 100 members of staff, students, industry partners and external academic colleagues packed into a crowded lecture theatre in the Faculty of Engineering on the evening of Friday 23rd of March to hear Professor Vassili Toropov deliver his Inaugural Lecture entitled: ‘Optimisation: getting more and better for less’. Following the lecture, guests were treated to a buffet and reception where they had the opportunity to congratulate and speak to Professor Toropov.

Professor Vassili Toropov recently took up a Chair in Aerospace and Structural Engineering, a joint appointment between the Schools of Civil and Mechanical Engineering. He came to Leeds from Altair Engineering, one of the leading CAE software development and consulting companies with a world-wide presence. Professor Toropov’s research interests are in multidisciplinary optimisation, metamodelling, design of experiments, evolutionary optimisation, computational mechanics and stochastic analysis leading to a variety of aerospace, automotive, offshore and structural engineering applications.

During his time in industry, Professor Toropov kept close contacts with academia as a visiting professor at the universities of Southampton and Bradford. In his previous academic career he had permanent and visiting appointments at Bradford, University, Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands), Hiroshima University (Japan), Technical University of Denmark and Gorky University (Russia).

Professor Toropov is also Chairman of the Association for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimisation in the UK; he served as a Secretary General of the International Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization and is a co-editor of the Springer’s Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization journal.

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Top Companies Target Leeds Civil Engineers

The School of Civil Engineering held three successful Careers Fairs receiving positive compliments from top civil engineering companies who attended.

Over 30 civil engineering companies, consultancies and agencies, were present to discuss recruitment opportunities with students. Due to the high demand for our graduates this latest event had to be split over three days.

The purpose of these fairs is to provide employing organisations and prospective employees (our students) the chance to explore the engineering oportunities available to them. The School of Civil Engineering attracted major firms such as;

• AMEC
• Balfour Beatty
• BP
• Buro Happold
• Carl Bro
• Jacobs Babtie
• National Grid
• White Young Green

Mike McConnell at Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering said “These departmental fairs emphasise how much more effective our day is in speaking with a captive audience i.e. students only seeking careers in the civil engineering industry”.

Jacobs Babtie who also attended this year said  “Jacobs have 100 graduate vacancies for civil engineers in 2007 as well as summer placement opportunities so the Leeds University Engineering Careers fair was a key event for us. It was a great event, very well organised and attended by a lot of very enthusiastic people who we are hoping to match with summer and graduate vacancies. We will be back in force next year!”

To demonstrate just how successful these careers fairs are, recent graduates from The School of Civil Engineering have successfully secured positions such as Graduate Civil Engineers, Graduate Engineers, Transport consultants and Road Design Engineers with organisations such as WS Actkins, Arup, Halcrow, Oscar Faber, AMEC, White Young Green, Balfour Beatty, Earth Tech and Shephards Construction.

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24 Students Awarded with Top Scholarship

Twenty four new undergraduate students have been awarded the Faculty’s top scholarship after achieving excellent marks in their A-Levels or equivalent.

This new scholarship package which has been developed to recognise excellence, is open to all new Home/EU students who achieve 3 A’ s in their A-Levels or equivalent and enrol onto an Engineering or Computing undergraduate course at Leeds.  Eligible students receive £1500 in the first year of their course.

Certain conditions apply, for example students must achieve the As in the A-level subjects required for the course. For more information on this scholarship package please visit our scholarships page.

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Leeds Students Win GE Foundation Award for Outstanding Students

Walter Tendayi Chiyaka, an undergradaute student in Civil Engineering at Leeds, was among fifteen UK undergraduates to be presented with the GE Award for Outstanding Students. This is part of a scholarship programme which is in partnership with the Institute of International Education (IIE). Spread over two years, the financial award is made to low-income, first year students who have demonstrated academic excellence and financial need, to support them during years two and three of study.

The GE Foundation launched the scholarship in the UK to attract students to areas of study such as engineering and technology, and to contribute to opening up access to higher education to the whole community. This reflects the Government’s policy to expand higher education participation, particularly amongst 18-30 year olds and those from lower income backgrounds.

The students were selected from six universities in the Government’s Education Action Zones: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield Universities, as well as University College London.

In addition to the financial award, the students are invited for a three-day summer seminar and will also be offered a work shadowing opportunity within GE UK. The summer seminar, which took place from June 28-July 1 featured workshops in leadership led by Mike Hanley, Vice President of GE’s Human Resources division, as well as workshops in communication skills, and career planning. 

The students received their awards at a presentation ceremony, from Marissa Dineen, GE Managing Director of Corporate Financial Services Europe.

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