2022 NSW Research Award Night

Michael Jeffrey, Joseph Arivalagan and Chathuri Arachchige

As part of their ongoing support of academic institutions and students, the Sydney and Newcastle Chapters of the Australian Geomechanics Society are offering the prestigious AGS NSW Research Award for research in Geotechnical Engineering or Engineering Geology. The award aims to provide a forum for research students from NSW universities to showcase their research to the wider Geotechnical Community.

Finalists

Prize

$2,000

Important Dates

Closing date for submissions
13th May 2022

Selection of Three Finalists
13th June 2022

Finalists Presentation (Sydney)
13th July 2022

Eligibility

The award is open to:

• Research students
• Enrolled in any New South Wales university
• Undertaking research in Geotechnical Engineering or Engineering Geology
• Former PhD candidates already graduated within 18 months of the event date

Candidates must be current research students (i.e. No Phd awarded at the time of the application), and they must not have applied for the AGS YGP award in the current year. However, unsuccessful candidates who have previously applied for this award and remain to be current research students are eligible to reapply for the current Research Award.

Submissions

The submission for the Award shall comprise a report, with a geotechnical engineering or engineering geology theme, of no more than 3,500 words, giving a broad summary of the research. The report shall cover the research questions and rationale, the scope of the thesis, the most important results, and conclusions. The submission must be detailed enough to convey the full impact and significance of the research and should be accompanied by selected tables and figures.

The student must be the sole author of the submitted report. The AGS may request supporting documentation from the candidate’s supervisor, and the supervisor’s details must be provided in the submission.

The finalists will be expected to provide a written paper (with any co-authors as appropriate), which complies with the editorial requirements of the Australian Geomechanics journal (obtainable from the Australian Geomechanics Society website). The written paper must be substantially new, unpublished material, and a statement of this must accompany the written paper.

Presentation

The finalists will be required to give a special presentation of their work to members of the AGS Sydney Chapter in June. The presentations need to be targeted at the audience – geotechnical professionals working in industry.

The AGS will pay the reasonable out-of-town transport and accommodation costs of finalists.

Evaluation of submissions

Written submissions will be assessed by a Review Panel. The Review Panel will select up to three finalists, who will be invited to present their submissions at AGS technical meetings in Sydney. The winner will be selected by the Review Panel at the end of the second presentation on the basis of the selection criteria below.

The decision of the Review Panel will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

Review panel

The Review Panel will consist of:

• Three senior academics from NSW universities; and
• Two AGS committee members from the Sydney Chapter

Selection criteria

• Technical content 30%
• The originality of content 15%
• Industry relevance 20%
• Clarity of written submission 10%
• Clarity of verbal communication 25%

TOTAL 100%

Publishing

It is expected that written papers will be prepared by the finalists for publishing in Australian Geomechanics.

Sponsorship

The event organisers would welcome a company to sponsor the event. Expressions of interest can be made to Stefano Pirrello via [email protected]

Engineers Australia members participating in AGS technical sessions can record attendance on their personal CPD logs. Members should refer to Engineers Australia CPD policy for details on CPD types, requirements and auditing guidelines.