Recognising engineering excellence

Congratulations to BPC Bid Manager Paul Botha, who has been awarded the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Parkman Medal in London for the best paper on civil engineering, material science, and project management.

The ICE virtual library receives over 4,000 research publications annually on a range of topics. They recognise authors of publications that provide significant contribution to the industry in a number of categories. Paul’s paper was A Tool for Reporting on the Optimum Timing of Pre-Construction Services in New Zealand

Paul thanked his supervisory team of Daniel van der Walt and Eric Scheepbouwer, and Dr Philip Barutha for their advice during his three years of research.

“The paper was a step towards achieving my goal of giving back to the industry that has provided me with so many opportunities over my career,” he said.

Paul recalled the first project he worked on, a water scheme in rural South Africa. “The community never had access to fresh drinking water and residents had to walk 20km a day for 20 litres of water,” he said. “The day we opened the scheme the excitement through the tears of joy of an 80 year old woman is a moment I will never forget. I am incredibly proud to be part of an industry that changes the lives of the communities we work in.”