The Concrete Institute of Australia Concrete PhD Research Award (formerly known as the National Engineering Bursary) is a biennial award made to post graduate students studying engineering, chemistry, materials science, building science and other relevant subjects which contribute to the research knowledge base of concrete in Australia.
For the 2025 award, eligible thesis are those completed in 2023 and 2024, the years prior to the Biennial Conference of the Concrete Institute of Australia.
The award will be made for excellence in thesis work on concrete and cement based products and processes. Eligible topics could be related to cement, cementitious materials, concrete, concrete admixtures, reinforcement, related design and construction procedures, contributions to improvements in sustainability, and the like.
To be eligible, the student must have been resident in Australia during the completion of the thesis, studying at an Australian academic institution with the research having been principally conducted in Australia.
The overall value of the award consists of a cash prize of $2,500 and registration to participate in the next Biennial Conference.
The winning entry will be announced at the Institute’s Biennial Conference, and the author will be asked to present a summary paper on his/her thesis at the Conference.
The assessors will be suitably qualified persons nominated by the Concrete Institute of Australia. They will be guided, but not wholly bound, by the following parameters – value to industry and the professions, value to the community, thoroughness of the investigation, clarity of the exposition, and presentation.
Submissions for the 2025 Concrete PhD Research Award will open in early 2025.
Past Winners
| Author | Institution | Thesis Title | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Ravendran (Arun) Arunothayan | Swinburne University of Technology | Investigation of Ultra High Performance Concrete for 3D Construction Printing | 2023 |
| Dr Van Tin Do | Curtin University | Dynamic Analysis and Design of Monolithic and Segmental Concrete Bridge Columns against Impact Loads | 2021 |
| Dr Mahdi Babaee | University of NSW | Corrosion of Reinforcement in Alkali-Activated Materials | 2019 |
| Dr Ali Amin | University of NSW | Post Cracking Behaviour of Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete: From Material to Structure | 2017 |
| Dr Farhad Aslani | University of NSW | Instantaneous and Time-Dependent Behaviour of Reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete Slabs | 2015 |
| Not awarded | 2013 | ||
| Dr Hamid Valipour | University of NSW | Nonlinear dynamic analysis of reinforced concrete frames under extreme loadings | 2011 |
| Dr Sakdirat Kaewunruen | University of Wollongong | Experimental and Numerical Studies for Evaluating Dynamic Behaviour of Prestressed Concrete Sleepers Subject to Severe Impact Loading | 2009 |
| Dr Mohammed Sharfuddin Ahmed | Effects of systematic increase in pozzolanic materials on the mechanical, durability and microstructural characteristics of concrete | 2007 | |
| Dr Radu Biluc | University of NSW | Particularities of the structural behaviour of reinforced high strength concrete slabs | 2005 |
| Dr Rebecca Gravina | University of Adelaide | Non-Linear overload behaviour and ductility of reinforced concrete flexural members containing 500 MPa grade reinforcing steel | 2003 |