BGA Cooling Prize 2026

The Cooling Prize competition is held annually by the British Geotechnical Association (BGA) and is named after Dr Leonard Cooling, one of the founders of British Soil Mechanics, a former chair of the BGA, and the 2nd Rankine Lecturer.

The Cooling Prize is awarded to a ground engineering professional in the early stages of their career. Candidates submit a poster, and selected finalists present their poster at an evening meeting, at which the winner is selected by a panel of judges. The winner is invited to prepare a 2000-word paper for publication in Ground Engineering Magazine.

In addition to the prestige of winning the Cooling Prize, the winner receives a £300 prize, BGA sponsorship to the next European or International Young Engineers Conference on Soil Mechanics, and publication of the winning paper in Ground Engineering magazine.

During this event, Cooling Prize finalists will present their papers, and Dr Jim Whitely is our guest speaker. The event will be in person and also available to join online. Select and online ticket if you wish to join remotely and joining instructions will be shared closer to the time.

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Host or Publisher BGA South West