Atkins’ expertise in geotechnical engineering has been cemented at the prestigious 2011 Ground Engineering Awards as the consultancy was recognised in three award categories.
The first honour went to Benoit Latapie, who was named Young Geotechnical Engineer of the Year.
Benoit , 27, joined Atkins fresh from university in 2007 and has been involved in a number of high profile projects, particularly overseas in the Middle East and Europe. He said: “ Winning the award is personally fantastic but also indicative of the supportive team in which I work and the great projects I am involved with in the UK and overseas. Atkins has provided all I need for a great career and I’ve been able to fulfil my potential thanks to the diverse range of opportunities afforded in a variety of countries around the world.”
Judges were particularly impressed by his “clear passion for the ground. Benoit’s ability to explain his ideas and to quietly enthuse his audience is impressive as is his depth of technical knowledge and understanding. He is certainly an outstanding young geotechnical engineer.”
Dr David French , managing director of our UK ground engineering group and Atkins’ geotechnical network chair, said: “ I’m delighted that Benoit has won this prestigious award. It is recognition for his commitment to technical excellence which lies at the heart of our geotechnics group. Benoit has always been enthusiastic about our projects and has also taken full advantage of the great opportunities we have internationally, keeping an open mind in approaching project challenges and appreciating that understanding and accepting international cultures and other ways of working is a crucial project success factor. ”
Two Atkins projects were also commended for their technical excellence:
* The innovative use of bi-directional pile testing for the foundations of Farringdon station’s new integrated ticket hall, overcoming space constraints while minimising carbon footprint.
* Data management on the Crossrail C122 bored tunnels contract (in collaboration with Arup), which adopted a unique intelligent spatial data-centric approach in contrast to a traditional application-centric approach, incorporating clear tools to allow all Crossrail employees to access, review and update the information.
[mappress] Source: atkinsglobal,May 13, 2011;