Undergraduate Research Grants

Introduction

The Undergraduate Research Grants scheme sponsors undergraduate research projects by individuals or groups carried out during term-time as part of the assessed work of a degree programme with a research or element of innovation within it. The scheme is funded by the Institution's Research Fund and aims to support challenging and satisfying research at undergraduate level.

Up to ten grants of up to £500 each were available in 2008. In addition, cash prizes will be awarded to the students submitting the best two project reports. A plaque will also be presented to the supervisor of the student(s) awarded first prize.

Please scroll down for information on how to apply, eligibility criteria and details of grants awarded in previous years.

Supervisors submit applications during for a particular project idea to be carried out in the next academic year. If the application is successful the supervisor then selects a suitable student to undertake the project. The timing of the project is decided by the supervisor and is intended to coincide with the university's usual arrangements for term time undergraduate projects that are assessed for a degree.

How to apply

All applications must be made by the supervisor of the intended project using the proper form.

Applications are invited from now and are made for a particular project idea to be carried out in the next academic year. If the application is successful the supervisor then selects suitable student(s) to undertake the project.

Applications will be considered by a sub-committee of the Institution's Research Panel.

Eligibility

For a research project to be eligible for an Undergraduate Research Grant it must be:

• focussed on a structural engineering topic
• undertaken during term time in the last or penultimate year of undergraduate study and before graduation
• part of the assessed work of an undergraduate degree programme (BSc, BEng or MEng) in Civil or Structural Engineering
• undertaken by an individual student or as a joint project with two students.

The following criteria will be used in assessing applications:

• extent of innovation
• relationship to a practical problem
• feasibility to conduct the project within a short time by a student
• likelihood of expected outcome to provide scope for further research.

Only one application can be submitted by each member of academic staff per year.

Postgraduate studies (MSc and PhD) are not eligible.

Conditions

Grants up to a maximum value of £500 each will be awarded. £200 will be awarded to the student and up to £300 will be awarded to the university to cover project costs (e.g.: equipment, software licences, consumables). A breakdown of costs must be provided as part of the application.

The student must agree to submit a copy of their full project report and an A1 sized poster, highlighting the main features of the project, to the Institution of Structural Engineers within two months of completing the project. A first prize of £500 and a runner up prize of £300 will be awarded to the top two submissions. (The winning students may want to use the cash prize to cover travelling expenses to a conference or research centre.) The winning posters will be displayed at the Young Researchers Conference held in March at IStructE. Also the winners may be invited to publish their work in The Structural Engineer if considered merit worthy.

Grants are awarded for projects to be carried out in the next academic year. On receiving a grant the supervisor must confirm when the project is to be carried out and, in due course, by whom. Monies will only be released when these details have been confirmed. The supervisor must also confirm that the university will make suitable resources available for the successful execution of the project.

The grant is awarded to a named supervisor for a specific project as detailed on the application form. Grants are thus not transferable to other supervisors or projects. Any changes in circumstances that would affect the undertaking of the proposed project should be made known to Ben Cresswell Riol at the Institution at the earliest opportunity.

Further Information

Please refer any queries to: , IStructE, 11 Upper Belgrave Street, London SW1X 8BH, UK (Tel: +44 (0)20 7201 9134, Fax: +44 (0)20 7235 4294)

2007/08 Awards

Grants of £500 each have been awarded to the following:

• Tim Lyon of University of Sheffield to study Extremely lightweight sustainable composite floors
• Joe Garbett of University of Bath to study Bone growth analogy for design of flexibly formed concrete structures
• Michael Burdett of University of Leeds to study Composite stainless steel concrete filled elliptical hollow section
• Eric Grieve of University of Strathclyde to study Economy of portal frames to EC3
• Patrick Nolan and Kwok Loon Chan of University of Bristol to study Human perception of building sway
• Joseph Clarke, Robert Mills, Sophia Forest and Steven Tideswell of University of Bristol to study Timber beam - limecrete slab hybrid with hemp reinforcement and wood connectors
• Pitakkos Theodoros of University of Nottingham to study Behaviour of blind-bolt moment-resisting connections to concrete filled rectangular hollow sections
• Cankang Li of University of Birmingham to study Performance based monitoring and investigation of R. C. beam under concurrent impairs of loading and corrosion

2006-07 Awards

Grants of £500 each have been awarded to:

• Namrata Ghelani of Imperial College to study Structural stainless steel elliptical hollow sections
• Joshua Macabuag of Oxford University to study Increasing the collapse time for non-engineered masonry buildings during strong earthquakes
• Thomas Brogan of University of Durham to study Novel strut design
• Chikezie Ibe of Southampton University to study The potential application of piezo-electric materials in structural Engineering
• Thomas Foley and Fiona Deas of Bristol University to study Physical modelling of spiral cantilever stairs

2005-06 Awards

Grants have been awarded to:

• Xuan Chen of University of Edinburgh to study Improving damping of lightweight structures with granular solids - awarded first prize for completed project.
• Oliver Peat & Jonathan Farrance University of Exeter to study Structural assessment of curved cantilever staircases - awarded second prize for completed project.
• James Wilkins & Jonathan Conn of University of Edinburgh to study rational use of Advanced Fibres to Strengthen Unreinforced Masonry
• Fergus Aitchinson and Richard Marshall of Heriot Watt University to study impact of reinforced concrete structures
• Bola Ogunmefun of University of Birmingham to study Promoting Arch Action in Steel Free Concrete Suspended Slabs
• Alan Yan & Peter Loizides of University College London to study health monitoring of structures using dense dynamic strain data
• Clayton Binkley of University of Bath to study the use of NURBS representation to model buckling behaviour of flexible struts with initial unstressed curvature .

2004 Awards

The Institution is pleased to announce that two grants of £1000 each have been awarded under the 2004 scheme. These grants enable undergraduates and immediate graduates to carry out short-term research projects in structural engineering during a long vacation or term time. Grants have been awarded to:

• Antonio Ministro of Imperial College for his project The structural design of oval hollow sections . The introduction of high strength hot-rolled oval hollow sections for structural applications represents a recent advance in engineering offering potential benefits in structural efficiency and aesthetics. However, despite strong interest in their usage, a lack of fundamental test data and verified structural design guidance is inhibiting uptake. This project will initiate research to overcome these problems, and enable more widespread usage.
• Keith McIlwaine of Queen's University Belfast for his project A modular chimney stack system with novel connections . Modular construction offers a reduction in construction time and potential savings in materials compared to more traditional chimney systems. However none of the most applicable British Standards for this system give scope for structural design with polymer connectors. These connectors have the potential to enhance the masonry flexural capacity and to improve the durability characteristics leading to a lower maintenance system compared to a steel reinforced chimney stack.

2003 Awards

The Institution is pleased to announce that three Young Researcher Grants of £1000 each have been awarded under the 2003 scheme.

Grants have been awarded to:

• Allen Rand of Cambridge University for his project Development of a theoretical model and a practical testing methodology for the structural performance of tunnel formed structures for use in humanitarian relief operations . This research is a collaborative project between the departments of Architecture and Engineering at Cambridge, via a group of researchers called Shelterproject that has built up an international reputation within the relief community for its work on the development of appropriate emergency shelter provision.
• Officer Cadet Kirsty Stevens of Cranfield University for her project on Structural Use of Recycled Plastics . It is hoped that confirmation of design data will justify more widespread structural use of recycled plastics in aggressive environments, which will be potentially advantageous both economically and environmentally.
• Jason Szczerbicki of Southampton University for his project on Advanced Polymer Composite and Concrete Floor Slab Systems . This research aims to investigate the feasibility of using Advanced Polymer Composites, such as CFRP, to replace steel in a very common structural situation, namely a composite floor system with a concrete slab. Click here for his project report as published in The Structural Engineer .

2002 Awards

The Institution is pleased to announce that four Young Researcher Grants of £1000 each have been awarded under the 2002 scheme.

Grants have been awarded to:

• Tobias Hodsdon of University of Bath for his project An investigation into the feasibility of timber and limecrete composite flooring . Buro Happold and TRADA Technology are providing technical support to this project. Click here for his project report as published in The Structural Engineer .
• Jamie Rickard of Aston University for his project Lateral-torsion buckling of cold-formed steel purlins with supports of sag-bars . This project aims to improve existing design procedures and to provide not only safe but economic design rules.
• Sinéad Smith of University of Edinburgh for her project Buckling of axially compressed and internally pressurised cylindrical shells with local loss of internal pressure . Part of this work will be undertaken at the French university INSA de Lyon. Click here for her project report as published in The Structural Engineer .
• Yiyuan Xie of South China University of Science and Technology for his project The vibration control of twin-tower connected high-rise building with damper . This project will be undertaken following graduation and will culminate in a presentation to the 17th National High-rise Building Technology Conference in Shanghai in October 2002.

2001 Pilot scheme

Grants of £800 each were awarded under the 2001 pilot scheme to :

• Ioannis Vacanas of University College London to research Non Linear Dynamics of Coupled Systems: Tuned Mass Dampers and Chaotic Synchronisation, and
• Barry Mullin of Queen's University Belfast to research Arching Action in Concrete Slabs with Novel Reinforcement. Click here for his project report as published in The Structural Engineer .