CSIC has hosted a number of distinguished lectures delivered by leading members of the construction and infrastructure industries.
2022: Rachel Skinner CBE, Executive Director WSP. 'Sustainable infrastructure for the 2020s: what might ‘really good’ really look like?'
Rachel was the youngest president in the ICE’s 200-year history and chose the climate emergency and the vital role that civil engineers must play in achieving net zero carbon emissions as the focus for her presidency. We are at the front edge of understanding some of the most pressing challenges of our time and entering an era of thinking about infrastructure in an entirely different way. As civil engineers who create, maintain and improve the built environment, we have it in our hands to help shape the future. While 2050 is the net zero carbon emissions target date, we need to act now to understand the systems we seek to change, take ownership for what we can do and be bold in the decisions we can make to strategically create the change our sector needs. You can watch the lecture on this page or visit our YouTube channel.
2021: Professor Jim Hall: 'The data revolution in global-scale analysis of climate risks to infrastructure systems'
This year’s lecture addresses extreme events, such as floods and hurricanes, and how they can lead to systemic impacts by disrupting supply chains, industries and communities. These risks to infrastructure systems from climate change can be quantified, thanks to rapidly growing capabilities for analysing infrastructure networks at very large scales. Professor Jim Hall is Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks at the University of Oxford and Director of Research in the School of Geography and the Environment. You can watch the lecture on this page or visit our YouTube channel.
2020: Professor Jerry Lynch: 'What is the role of the civil engineer in an increasingly automated infrastructure world?'
This year’s lecture explores the importance of civil engineers taking the role as lead innovators in the design, deployment, and accessibility of our increasingly automated built environments to serve society and advance the common good. Professor Lynch is Donald Malloure Department Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the University of Michigan Urban Collaboratory; he is a member of the CSIC International Advisory Group. The Distinguished Lecture 2020 is now available to watch on the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction YouTube channel.
2018: Dr Anne Kemp: ‘A glimpse into the future.... by considering the past. The challenges, the opportunities – and our consciences’
Dr Kemp’s lecture draws attention to the potential of smarter infrastructure to support a healthier and more prosperous society but raises questions about the ethics required to safeguard data use and how to ensure that, as humans, we remain an essential part of the decision-making process. Watch on the CSIC YouTube channel or below.
2017: Dr W. Allen Marr: 'Managing Risks to Infrastructure with Real-Time Monitoring of Performance'
The 2017 lecture was presented in June by Dr W. Allen Marr, the founder and CEO Geocomp Corporation, a leading US-based company providing comprehensive geostructural design and performance monitoring services to clients across the United States and around the globe. Watch on the CSIC YouTube channel or below.
2015: Dr Keith Bowers: 'London’s transport; infrastructure, value and the case for innovation'
Dr Keith Bowers CEng, FICE, MIMMM, FGS is Principal Tunnel Engineer at London Underground Transport for London and a member of CSIC’s Steering Group and his lecture called for innovation in transport infrastructure.
2014: Professor Bill Spencer: 'Assessing Complex Structures'
Professor Spencer, from the University of Illinois, highlighted some of the leaps that have been made in testing and analysing critical structural components including several successful projects which illustrate recent advances and innovations and point towards future challenges and opportunities. Read more and watch a video of Prof Spencer's lecture.
2013: Professor Tom O’Rourke: 'The New Normal for Natural Disasters'
The effects of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, Canterbury Earthquake Sequence, and Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy are discussed with respect to their impact on regional and international economics, national practices for security and recovery, and worldwide energy policy. The severity and far ranging consequences of these extreme events have established in effect a new normal for natural disasters. The lecture explains why these events require a fundamental re-thinking of the way we evaluate the risks of extreme events, as well as define and protect critical infrastructure.