Call for entries for the 52nd Cooling Prize Competition

Call for Entries - 52nd Cooling Prize Competition

The British Geotechnical Association (BGA) is pleased to invite Young 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. The winner will be invited to prepare a 2000-word paper for publication.

The Cooling Prize is named after the widely renowned Dr LF Cooling who was a pioneer in the field of Geotechnics and is regarded as the ‘Father of British Soil Mechanics.’ The competition was set up to inspire young geotechnical engineers to present their research and/or industry work in their area of interest.

Following selection, the finalists will present their posters on 1st March 2021 at an on-line event hosted by the Midlands Geotechnical Society. This will include a panel of up to four judges who will select the winner. A short presentation of the life Dr L.F. Cooling will be given as well as a presentation by an invited speaker while the judges are deliberating.

Entry requirements are:

• Entrants should be under 33 years of age on 31st December 2021 and a member of either the British Geotechnical Association or the Institution of Civil Engineers.
• The poster must be prepared using the template available on the BGA Cooling Prize page via this link and must be submitted with a brief CV and a completed application form by Friday 15th January 2021.
• The winner must prepare a paper less than 2000 words (excluding titles, captions, and references) based on the poster and presentation, stating which parts of the paper comprise their own work and confirm the number of words does not exceed the limit. The paper must be submitted for publication in Ground Engineering not later than November 2020.

Full rules can be found here on the Cooling Prize page. Deadline for submissions has been extended to 31st January 2021.

Prizes include a cheque for £200 donated by Ground Engineering (donated on presentation of the paper before November 2021 for publication), BGA sponsorship to the next European or International Conference on Soil Mechanics the following year (2022), publication of the winning paper, a cut-glass decanter or an alternative trophy, and much more. The winning paper will be published in Ground Engineering as noted above. Please note that due to the ongoing International Covid-19 pandemic situation, some of the prizes may be subject to variations.