Marina Schnaider Bortolotto Wins 57th Cooling Prize Competition
The British Geotechnical Association (BGA) is pleased to announce that Marina Schnaider Bortolotto, Fellow in Civil Engineering at Imperial College London and Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Cambridge has won the 57th Cooling Prize for her outstanding presentation, titled: ‘Polymer support fluids permeating sands’.
The Cooling Prize is a prestigious annual competition hosted by the BGA, named in honour of Dr. Leonard Cooling, a pioneering figure in British soil mechanics and a former BGA Chair. The competition is designed to recognise and support early-career professionals in the geotechnical and ground engineering industry.
This year’s event took place on 25 February 2026 at the stunning Wills Memorial Building, University of Bristol, chaired by Lawrence DeLeeuw, Chair of BGA South West.
The judging panel included:
- Dr Gerrit Meijer (Lead Judge), Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering, University of Bath
- Dr Lawrence de Leeuw, Chair of BGA South West & Principal Geotechnical Engineer, Arcadis Consulting
- George McElroy, Graduate Geotechnical Engineer, Geoquip Marine
Before the winner was announced, attendees enjoyed a keynote lecture from Dr Jim Whiteley, winner of the 2024 BGA Medal and Geophysics Discipline Lead at AtkinsRéalis. His talk, “Safeguarding the natural and built environment through geophysical monitoring,” sparked great discussion and set the tone for an exciting evening.
This year’s Cooling Prize featured four exceptional finalists:
- Pishun Tantivangphaisal (Imperial College London) – Long‑term cyclic assessment of offshore wind turbine foundations
- Xinyue (Lois) Yin (Imperial College London, AtkinsRéalis) – Numerical assessment of pile‑over‑pile systems for offshore monopile life extension
- Ahmed Alagha (University of Dundee) – Tunnel‑soil‑pile interaction: exploring the 3D effects
- Marina S. Bortolotto (University of Cambridge) – Polymer support fluids permeating sands
The judges praised all finalists for making their complex research accessible, engaging, and relevant—reflected in the wide‑ranging questions from the audience. Marina ultimately took the top spot for her exceptional ability to connect fundamental soil and pore‑fluid behaviour with real‑world geotechnical challenges and applications.
As the Cooling Prize winner, Marina will:
- Publish her presentation in Ground Engineering magazine
- Present her work at an upcoming BGA event
A huge congratulations to Marina S. Bortolotto and to all the brilliant finalists. Their passion and innovation continue to shape the future of geotechnical engineering.
