The British Geotechnical Association (BGA) is the principal
association for geotechnical engineers in the United Kingdom.
The British Geotechnical Association (BGA) is the principal
association for geotechnical engineers in the United Kingdom.
The Cooling Prize competition is held annually by the British Geotechnical Association (BGA) and is awarded to a geotechnical professional in the early stages of their career. Candidates submit a poster, and selected finalists present their poster at an evening meeting, at which the winner is selected by a panel of judges. The winner is invited to prepare a 2000-word paper for publication in Ground Engineering Magazine.
In addition to the prestige of winning the Cooling Prize, the winner receives a cheque for £200, BGA sponsorship to the next European or
International Young Engineers Conference on Soil Mechanics, and publication of the winning paper in Ground Engineering magazine.
The Cooling Prize competition is held annually by the British Geotechnical Association (BGA) and is named after Dr Leonard Cooling, one of the founders of British Soil Mechanics, a former chair of the BGA, and the 2nd Rankine Lecturer. The Cooling Prize competition is intended for professionals in the geotechnical/ground engineering industry in the early stages of their careers.
Dr Leonard Cooling
Entrants may submit a poster on any topic dealing with the engineering behaviour of the ground, whether it be a description of an industrial design or construction project, development of a new piece of equipment, or research. The winner is invited to produce a 2,000 word paper (based on their poster and presentation) for publication in Ground Engineering magazine.
Some recent Cooling Prize winning papers can be viewed on the website of Ground Engineering Magazine here. BGA Members who have not already done so must register with that website using the BGA Member option.
The aim of the competition is to encourage young engineers to present their work; the work presented should not have been previously published or submitted for publication. Equal merit will be given to high quality industrial experience as to state-of-the-art research. The work does not have to be solely that of the author, but the author’s part should be stated clearly.
The call for Cooling Prize Entries is now open - Deadline Friday 1 March 2024.
The British Geotechnical Association (BGA) is pleased to invite Early Career Geotechnical Professionals to submit posters on any topic dealing with the engineering behaviour of the ground, whether it be a description of an industrial design or construction project, development of a new piece of equipment, or state-of-the-art research.
Entrants must submit a poster, and those shortlisted will present their poster at the Cooling Prize event in London on 15 October 2024. The winner will be invited to prepare a 2000-word paper for publication.
The poster must be prepared using the template below. The completed poster (with a completed application form and short CV) and must be submitted via the BGA Prizes page HERE.
The deadline for submission is Midnight on Friday 1 March 2024.
Full details of eligibility and entry requirements can be downloaded below.
| 2023 | Diarmid Xu, University of Cambridge |
| 2022 | Stan Jun Qi, Atkins / Imperial College London |
| 2021 | Alice Duley, Jacobs |
| 2020 | Emily Riley, CVB JV Tideway East |
| 2019 | Harry Postill, Loughborough University |
| 2018 | Joe Newhouse, Mott MacDonald |
| 2017 | Francesc Mirada, Arup |
| 2016 | Helen Dunne, University of Oxford |
| 2015 | William Beuckelaers, University of Oxford |
| 2014 | Katherine Jones, Dunelm Geotechnical & Environmental |
| 2013 | Frederick Levy, National Grid / University of Southampton |
| 2012 | Jonathan Dewsbury, Buro Happold |
| 2011 | Gabrielle Wojtowitz, University of Southampton |
| 2010 | Kevin Briggs, University of Southampton |
| 2009 | Alice Berry, Arup |
| 2008 | Esteban Litvdis, Atkins |
| 2007 | Mei Cheong, Mott MacDonald |
| 2006 | Dave Edwards, Imperial College London |
| 2005 | Keith Emmett, Sheffield University |
| 2004 | Dimitrios Selematas, Cambridge University |
| 2003 | Alistair Hitchcock, University of Southampton |
| 2002 | Felix Schroeder, Imperial College London |
| 2001 | Fleur Loveridge, Babtie Group |
| 2000 | Andreas Frangoulides, Cambridge University |
| 1999 | Antoine Andrei, Kvaerner Cementation Foundations |
| 1998 | Archie Mundegar, Ove Arup and Partners |
| 1997 | Judith Harvey, Cambridge University / Imperial College London |
| 1996 | Edward Ellis, Cambridge University |
| 1995 | Fiona Chow, Imperial College London |
| 1994 | Trevor Addenbrooke, Imperial College London |
| 1993 | Paul Gildea, Mott MacDonald |
| 1992 | Darren Russell, Mott MacDonald |
| 1991 | No Cooling Prize was held |
| 1990 | Carl Erbrich, Earl & Wright |
| 1989 | Sarah Stallebrass, City University |
| 1988 | Vicki Hope, University of Surrey and Wimpey Laboratories |
| 1987 | Neil Dixon, Kingston Polytechnic |
| 1986 | Tom Henderson, University of Oxford |
| 1985 | Nicholas Mettyear |
| 1984 | William Hewlett |
| 1983 | Roger Finn |
| 1982 | Richard Harris, Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick |
| 1981 | Matthew Symes, Imperial College London |
| 1980 | Paul Martins, Imperial College London |
| 1979 | Ken Been, University of Oxford |
| 1978 | Derek Morris, Cambridge University |
| 1977 | Clive Williams, University of Plymouth |
| 1976 | Nigel John, University of Portsmouth |
| 1975 | Mark Randolph, Building Research Establishment/Cambridge University |
| 1974 | Duncan Nicholson, George Wimpey & Co |
| 1973 | Nicholas Withers |
| 1972 | Eddie Bromhead, Imperial College London/Ove Arup & Partners |
| 1971 | John Endicott, University of Cambridge |
| 1970 | Howard Roscoe, Rendel Palmer & Tritton |