Topic Awards, People
Date 12 Aug 2026
University of Edinburgh student Harriet-Rose Smith has been awarded the Galliford Try Best Civil Engineering Thesis Prize 2025-26 for her dissertation, Closing the Loop: Generational Recyclability in Construction and Demolition Waste-Based Geopolymers into Bricks.
The annual prize is awarded to one student for their Master of Engineering (MEng) dissertation each year, with the winner being chosen by Jon Hodgins, Engineering Director for Galliford Try Infrastructure.
Jon commented: “I picked Harriet- Rose's thesis as the winner this year because the idea of investigating whether demolition waste can be crushed and turned into bricks and then those bricks crushed again and turned into second generation recycled bricks really resonated with me.
"As an industry, we must find ways to get better at recycling or re-using existing materials or resources, so that we reduce the rate at which natural resources are depleted. I really liked the practical nature of the thesis, and the fact that it felt like an idea that ought to be relatively easy to develop and apply."
Harriet-Rose said: “I am very grateful for winning the Galliford Try Best Thesis Prize, and it means a great deal to me. It’s encouraging to hear that the concept of generational recyclability in construction and demolition waste resonated with Jon, and I hope that the research like this can contribute to more sustainable construction practices.
"The results themselves showed that there’s still a long way to go before this approach could be used in practice, but I think that’s what made the project interesting. It highlighted how much more research is needed. Thank you again for this recognition."