Calendar: 1975-1976 Page 452

lxxx Annual Report of the Delegacy DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Departmental Notes This year the College was honoured by the invitation of the British Geotechnical Society to Professor Gibson to deliver the Rankine Lecture This important lecture in soil mechanics is given annually in London by international figures and Professor Gibson drew an audience of some 700 people including many from abroad to hear him speak on 'The analytical method in soil mechanics' The Department is well known as research centre in soil mechanics and Professor Nash was invited to deliver two lectures at seminar on Underground construction in fluid trenches given to practicing engineers at the University of Illinois Chicago Circle in April 1974 Professor Gibson took the chair at one of the sessions of conference on Settlement of Structures organised by the British Geotechnical Society at the University of Cambridge in April 1974 and Dr Bassett contributed to the discussion They both also contributed at an earlier symposium at the University of Cambridge on Plasticity and Soil Mechanics There is close link between the research work in soil mechanics and concrete studies and Dr Dougill's fundamental work embraces both materials In April 1974 he lectured on 'Strain softening and progressive fracture in solids' at University College in their series of colloquia in Structural Mechanics and in July 1974 he gave seminars on 'Strain softening' at the Universities of Calgary Washington and Minnesota He also visited the University of California at Berkeley to discuss and advise on the work of group undertaking research on the fire resistance of concrete structures and had discussions in Chicago and at the Portland Cement Association Laboratories on problems of fire resistance Dr Dougill continues to work with the American Concrete Institute Committees on fire resistance of concrete structures and with the corresponding committees of the Institution of Structural Engineers and the Concrete Society in Britain Dr Illston is member of the Materials Division Committee of the Concrete Society and reported to them on conference which he attended on Conservation of Materials held at Harwell in March 1974 He continued as member of the British National Committee on Materials and gave lectures to that body and to the Association of Concrete Technologists the Concrete Society and to courses at the Cement and Concrete Associa-