December 2008 - Halcrow

Katherine makes a Pitt stop
Katherine Pygott – the water and power business group’s chief scientist for catchment processes
– has been elected to the national rivers and coastal group of the Chartered Institution of Water
and Environment Management (CIWEM).
Katherine has already been invited to take up a role as its national consultations
coordinator, and has since drafted the group’s response to the Pitt Report
– the government’s study into the 2007 floods that wreaked havoc across the UK.
The group provides a professional voice for flood risk management
practitioners, as well as responding to government consultations and
producing policy position statements.
Protecting our
rivers and coasts
Formed over 50 years ago, CIWEM’s
rivers and coastal group boasts over
1,000 members. Organisations such as
the Department for the Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs, the
Environment Agency and the Scottish
Environment Protection Agency
have joined forces with consultants,
contractors, local authorities and the
academic world to promote excellence
in the sustainable management of
rivers and coasts.
The complete Worcs
The UK’s Worcester office has shown itself to be a hotbed of academic and professional
industry with its latest crop of personal achievements.
Studying at GLOSCOL in Gloucester, highways technicians Matthew Holliday, Sam Ihle and
Leigh Palmer passed their BTEC higher national certificate (HNC) in civil engineering. Leigh
and Sam each gained a distinction and Matt secured a merit.
Monitoring engineer Natalie Jones passed her HNC building studies at the University of
Wolverhampton, bridges engineer Jinliang Zhu achieved a merit for his MSc in construction
management from the University of Birmingham, and highways technical assistant Jenni
Bridgens passed her NEBOSH construction certificate in health and safety with credit.
The Glasgow
and west of Scotland
region of the ICE covers more
than half of Scotland. It represents
the interests of 3,500 fellows, various
grades of members, graduates and
students in the area, providing a
conduit for information and feedback
between ICE headquarters in
London and the other regions
around the country.
ICEing on the cake
Graeme Forsyth’s time within the Institution
of Civil Engineers’ (ICE) corridors of power
is set to continue, having risen to the heady
heights of honorary secretary of the Glasgow
and west of Scotland regional committee.
From his Glasgow base, the water and power
business group director has served on the
committee since his election in 2005. The
exhibition and archive sub-committee also
attracted large chunks of his attention, and
he ended his three year term as its chairman.
When invited to take on the role of honorary
secretary, Graeme leapt at the chance
to influence the
institution’s workings
from an infinitely more
strategic position.
A Project Excellence
mentor, Graeme also
heads up the Nuclear
Decommissioning
Authority’s client team.
Graeme Forsyth
Senior bridge engineer
Mike Green from Swindon
gained a credit for the
National Examination
Board in Occupational Safety and Health
(NEBOSH) national certificate in construction
health and safety. It covers managing and
controlling hazards in construction activities,
as well as the areas required for a competent
construction, design and management
(CDM) coordinator.
Transportation engineer David Wells is
swapping the delights of Halcrow’s York
office for the sunnier climes of Australia,
having graduated from Glasgow Caledonian
University with a BSc in railway operational
management. Having been sponsored by
Halcrow in his studies, David is now based
in the Sydney office, helping to develop
the rail business, in between sampling
the Antipodean delights of Vegemite and
Christmas on the beach.
Isam Zaheer from Halcrow’s India team
has scooped a ‘gold medal’ for an
outstanding performance in his
M.Tech structural engineering
course at the Aligarh Muslim
University. His dissertation on
predictions of wind loads
earned him an honours
degree, presented by
former president
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.