Alex Swallow Wins Prestigious Cooling Prize for Geotechnical Engineering

The Cooling Prize is one of the most prestigious competitions in the UK geotechnical community, established in honour of Dr. Leonard Cooling, a pioneer in British soil mechanics and former BGA Chair. The annual award recognises early-career professionals for their contributions to ground engineering research and practice.

This year’s competition took place on 11th February 2025 at the University of Leeds, hosted by the Yorkshire Geotechnical Group. Finalists presented their research to an audience of industry professionals and academics before the judging panel selected fourth-year Oxford Engineering Science DPhil student Alex Swallow as the winner for his presentation on Grout Injection in Open Caisson Shaft Construction. 

Alex’s research focuses on reducing carbon emissions in underground construction, particularly in microtunnelling and open caisson shafts. His work combines advanced laboratory modelling, case studies, and numerical simulations to enhance design efficiency, minimise material use, and optimise construction methods. His Cooling Prize presentation highlighted the experimental aspects of this research.

Alex’s work has been conducted in collaboration with industry partner Ward and Burke Construction and the University of Cambridge, where he spent a year as a visiting researcher at the Laing O'Rourke Centre for Construction Engineering and Technology, and the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction, after graduating from Oxford in 2020 with an MEng.

The panel ultimately selected Alex as the winner for his ability to clearly explain a complex topic, engage the audience, and confidently address challenging questions. Thomas Riccio, one of the judges, said about Alex’s presentation: “The journey Alex took us on the use of grout injection in open caisson construction was totally brilliant. Fantastic delivery of a complex-experimental based project which was still fully digestable by the layperson.”

Speaking about his achievement, Alex said: "I am honoured to have received the Cooling Prize. It was a pleasure to present my research to leading experts and fellow early-career engineers, and I’m delighted they enjoyed my presentation."