I am delighted to say that the CIBSE Young Engineers Network (YEN) won the “Outstanding Contribution” at the The Building Services 2008 Awards this week. This is a great achievement for the YEN and all those associated with it. Well done to all those involved! See more details and pictures at BSJ online
Stephen Matthews
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Water – the new carbon
A large number of Members and guests joined us at our Annual Meeting and Presidential Lecture in May. They gathered to recognise the achievements of our latest medalists, to thank our outgoing President, John Armstrong, for his service, and to welcome our new President, Professor John Swaffield, and hear his Presidential Address: Living with the Albatross.
It will surprise nobody that a major theme of the Address was the need to apply CIBSE’s skills of providing design guidance and knowledge dissemination to address the water based causes and effects of climate change. John argued that water based issues should increasingly become an integral part of CIBSE’s response to the challenge of climate change, with associated guidance to support this.
It is very timely that we have in our new President a worldwide reputation in fluid mechanics and water engineering. This year sees the launch of a consultation on changes to Part G of the Building Regulations, dealing with water supply. It also co-incides with the launch of the government’s Water Strategy, in March. And it also occurs when CIBSE is producing a range of new guidance on the theme of water, to address some of the current water supply and public health issues relating to water.
It is particularly appropriate that at this time of growing interest in water we have a President with an interest in this area, to support and champion the work of the Society of Public Health Engineers (SOPHE). The CIBSE Societies provide a ready means for the Institution to deliver expertise and specialist knowledge to engage in areas of importance to the wider profession, whilst drawing on the wider awareness and influence which CIBSE enjoys within the engineering and construction communities, and with government. In this way, the impact of the Institution as a whole is certainly greater than the sum of the constituent parts, adding value and enhancing effectiveness for the Societies and specialist groupings within the Institutional family.
The Address also emphasised the role of CIBSE as a Learned Society, and called for us to continue to engage with the Research Councils and research community, to grow the links with EPSRC in particular, and to further engage with the new managed programmes emerging from EPSRC and the other Research Councils. Increasingly, EPSRC and others view CIBSE as a key intermediate between the academic and industrial communities. CIBSE has already taken a key role in relation to the development of climate data to enable professionals to design for the future, and not in the past. The new Adaptation and Resilience for a Changing Climate programme, currently being developed by EPSRC and the research community, will broaden the scope for CIBSE to operate in an intermediary role in this area.
John referred to Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner, so now we know why he has a beard perhaps? In any event the immortal line of “water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink” does not apply to CIBSE, there is much to do as we seek to address these issues and to embrace the challenge of representing our members and the wider community in seeking solutions to these crucial problems that face society. We need to ensure we have a “broad kirk” so that we can provide an organisation that embraces the many strands of the built environment. The challenge and issues are all interweaved into a complex pattern; it really does need the finest engineers to unravel and explain. As I speak we are building the foundations for the albatrosses!
I look forward to working with John as President over the coming year, and I know that the staff will join me in wishing him every success, and in doing all we can to support him during his time in office.
Stephen Matthews
CIBSE Chief Executive
It will surprise nobody that a major theme of the Address was the need to apply CIBSE’s skills of providing design guidance and knowledge dissemination to address the water based causes and effects of climate change. John argued that water based issues should increasingly become an integral part of CIBSE’s response to the challenge of climate change, with associated guidance to support this.
It is very timely that we have in our new President a worldwide reputation in fluid mechanics and water engineering. This year sees the launch of a consultation on changes to Part G of the Building Regulations, dealing with water supply. It also co-incides with the launch of the government’s Water Strategy, in March. And it also occurs when CIBSE is producing a range of new guidance on the theme of water, to address some of the current water supply and public health issues relating to water.
It is particularly appropriate that at this time of growing interest in water we have a President with an interest in this area, to support and champion the work of the Society of Public Health Engineers (SOPHE). The CIBSE Societies provide a ready means for the Institution to deliver expertise and specialist knowledge to engage in areas of importance to the wider profession, whilst drawing on the wider awareness and influence which CIBSE enjoys within the engineering and construction communities, and with government. In this way, the impact of the Institution as a whole is certainly greater than the sum of the constituent parts, adding value and enhancing effectiveness for the Societies and specialist groupings within the Institutional family.
The Address also emphasised the role of CIBSE as a Learned Society, and called for us to continue to engage with the Research Councils and research community, to grow the links with EPSRC in particular, and to further engage with the new managed programmes emerging from EPSRC and the other Research Councils. Increasingly, EPSRC and others view CIBSE as a key intermediate between the academic and industrial communities. CIBSE has already taken a key role in relation to the development of climate data to enable professionals to design for the future, and not in the past. The new Adaptation and Resilience for a Changing Climate programme, currently being developed by EPSRC and the research community, will broaden the scope for CIBSE to operate in an intermediary role in this area.
John referred to Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner, so now we know why he has a beard perhaps? In any event the immortal line of “water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink” does not apply to CIBSE, there is much to do as we seek to address these issues and to embrace the challenge of representing our members and the wider community in seeking solutions to these crucial problems that face society. We need to ensure we have a “broad kirk” so that we can provide an organisation that embraces the many strands of the built environment. The challenge and issues are all interweaved into a complex pattern; it really does need the finest engineers to unravel and explain. As I speak we are building the foundations for the albatrosses!
I look forward to working with John as President over the coming year, and I know that the staff will join me in wishing him every success, and in doing all we can to support him during his time in office.
Stephen Matthews
CIBSE Chief Executive
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