Cooling Prize Deadline Extended to 27 January 2023

Deadline Extended to 27 January 2023 - Call for Entries – 54th Cooling Prize Competition

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. The winner will be invited to prepare a 2000-word paper for publication.

The poster must be prepared using the template available on the British Geotechnical Association website and must be submitted with a completed application form by 27th January 2023.

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 at an evening meeting on 27 March 2023, hosted by the ICE Cymru Group. 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 not exceed 10 years’ experience post receipt of a relevant Level 6 or 7 qualification (equivalent to BEng or MEng) on 31st December 2022;
• It is the contribution of the individual to the project that is to be presented in the poster;
• The BGA expects that entrants will be based in the UK, OR, are reporting on a project undertaken in the UK within the 12 months before the application deadline. Candidates not based in the UK must be able to attend the competition in person and, if successful, be able to attend the BGA Annual Conference to present their work. The BGA will not cover travel expenses outside the UK;
• To enter the competition, if UK based, it is not essential to be a member of the British Geotechnical Association (BGA) at the time of submission, but if shortlisted, the candidate will be asked to join the BGA. Candidates not based in the UK must be a BGA member for at least two years on the 31st December 2022; and
• 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 2023.

Full rules can be found HERE on the Cooling Prize page. Deadline for submissions is 27 January 2023.

Prizes include:

• a cheque for £200 donated by Ground Engineering (donated on presentation of the paper before November 2023 for publication);
• BGA sponsorship to the next European or International Conference on Soil Mechanics the following year (2024), noting that to be eligible to present at the conference you must be aged 35 or under at the time of the conference;
• publication of the winning paper in Ground Engineering;
• the opportunity to present their poster at the BGA Annual Conference; and
• a cut-glass decanter or an alternative trophy, and much more.