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25 November 2009 Canterbury PhD Student is the Young Engineer of the Year Canterbury University PhD student Michael Newcombe is the New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards Young Engineer of the Year. The New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards are the premier awards for the engineering professionals of New Zealand. The awards are presented in two major areas: Awards Recognising People, that recognise leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship and our young engineers; and Product and Project Awards, that recognise achievement in the various industry areas, together with a Supreme Award for the best of the Product and Project winners. After completing his first degree at the University of Canterbury, Michael did a Masters in earthquake engineering at the University of Pavia in Italy. He has continued to build on the research he did in Italy and is working towards a PhD on the design of reinforced wood structures, using laminated veneer lumber held together by high-strength steel. ‘Recently there has been renewed interest in multi-storey timber buildings within the New Zealand government sector that is having a flow on effect to the private sector and international markets’, says Michael ‘The cause of this re-emergence is centered on sustainability’. The goal of the work is to establish how to build safe multi-story buildings using this new material, which has the advantage of contributing to sustainability, as well as having potential to establish a new New Zealand industry and add value to the forestry industry. www.nzeeawards.org.nz DDI: +64 4 473 2028 |
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