Gibson received the prestigious award for his paper titled “Construction of the shaft slipform secondary lining at Thames Tideway West”.
The announcement was made after the four finalists gave their final presentations at the Institution of Civil Engineers on March 19.
The judging panel selected Gibson as this year’s winner in recognition of the exceptional quality of his presentation and his excellent performance during the Q&A session.
The judges commended all 11 entrants who participated in the Harding Prize Evening Presentation, noting the impressive breadth of both design and construction topics covered.
All four finalists – Alasdair Fraser-Sinclair (AtkinsRéalis), Ramnath Arumugam (Bedi Consulting), and Ross White (BEMO), alongside Matthew Gibson – delivered outstanding presentations. The scores were very close across the board, “reflecting the remarkable quality and professionalism demonstrated by each finalist”.
“The standard was exceptionally high, making it very difficult to shortlist just four finalists. All four finalists delivered outstanding presentations, and selecting a winner was extremely challenging,” said the judges. “The British Tunnelling Society looks forward to supporting them in showcasing their work through other platforms, such as Tunnels & Tunnelling International, webinars, and both UK and overseas conferences.”
The presentations are available to watch on the BTS’s YouTube channel. Gibson’s winning paper will be published in Tunnels & Tunnelling International, and available to download from the BTS website.
The BTS thanked all the applicants for their submissions, as well as their employers and clients for their support.
It also thanked the judging panel: Ken Kwok (BTS Awards Sub-Committee chair; Bouygues Travaux Publics UK); Alastair Smith (BTS vice-chair and treasurer; Jacobs); Bethan Haig (BTS Technical Sub-Committee chair; Dr Sauer & Partners); and Asil Zaidi (BTS Young Members chair; London Bridge Associates Ltd).
