Professor Costas Georgopoulos CEng FHEA FCS FICE FIStructE

Evidence of strategic leadership on teaching and learning, leading to improvement and reputation and of significant leadership contribution to HE pedagogy within subject or discipline, or innovation and integration of ed tech, with evidence of external impact and leadership as follows:

Development, Leadership and Management of Innovative Programmes:

PG Course Director (2010-15), developed MSc Structural design, leading structures team, three PG modules (flagship recruiting 60% of 70-80 students); Academic Chair of the Department's Industrial Advisory Board that I have expanded and enhanced industrial membership over the years (2010 to date); Led the successful 2014 and 2018 JBM (Joint Board of Moderators = ICE + IStructE + IHE + CIHT) accreditations of UG & PG programmes (Kingston); Led the QA validation of ‘refreshed' integrated interdisciplinary BEng and ‘new' 4yr MEng with Industrial Experience both including modern Teaching & Learning Methods at Kingston;  Developed and delivered inspiring lectures to 35 Universities in the UK (TCC); Led the structures team, PG flagship module on Seismic Design (Portsmouth); Transformed teaching structures  enhanced from professional practice and awarded PGCert in HE (Napier, 1994) and became FHEA (2001).

At the Concrete Centre, I designed and ran the Annual Student Design Competition in Structural Concrete that aims to encourage interest and raise competence in designing with concrete.  The competition offers a stimulating and fun challenge to students of structural design, while supporting the curricula of Civil and Structural Engineering Departments of UK Universities.  The competition is currently embedded in the assessment of UG/PG curricula of around 15 Universities in the UK and is fully supported by the Institution of Structural Engineers that recognises it as an innovative preparation for the professional CM Exam.  This competition provides the brief for the assessment of my module CE7112 Advanced Concrete Design.

Innovative Technology Enhanced Learning:

I conceived and led the creation of a Virtual Concrete Laboratory that was fully funded by the Concrete Industry, developed in collaboration with Imperial College and Bath University and used by a number of universities.  An essential element of any civil engineering degree is for students to see how concrete structures respond to the environment until failure. This is ideally taught in a laboratory by observing load testing of concrete specimens to failure.  However, these tests are not done to any extent in most universities due to limited laboratory space, facilities and teaching time and stringent financial and health & safety constraints. Furthermore, such one-off tests do not allow students to carefully study and reflect upon behaviour. The aim of the Virtual Concrete Laboratory is to overcome these difficulties with a web-based learning and teaching tool which allows students to observe the behaviour of a wide range of concrete specimens tested, in their own time, followed by appropriate assessment tutorials (Concrete Centre).

I led further development and enhancement of CALcrete (a comprehensive suite of 16 e-learning modules - over 200 hours of teaching time for concrete materials, design, and construction - £2m investment from the Concrete Industry - that is used by all students in the UK and overseas.  Enhancements included updating to Eurocodes, the introduction of a Sustainability module, embedment of a global index and navigation that strengthened learner centred quality, association with assessment with an automated Computer Aided Assessment package which provided feedback on access and an on-going project to layer the information to better satisfy the student experience and university curricula. In a recent survey of the Institution of Structural Engineers CALcrete came up as the most used e-learning package in the UK and the best e-learning package for concrete in the world (Concrete Centre).

To promote excellence in design and construction with concrete and disseminate Concrete and Cement Industry Publications I developed and delivered (by invitation) over 25 inspiring guest expert lectures per year on Sustainability, Latest Developments in Concrete Design & Construction and Historical Evolution of Concrete Design (one guest lecture for each University – I have lectured to students of 35 Departments in the UK).  The lectures, usually also attended by local practicing engineers, introduced the students to latest design techniques and utilised project case studies to support experiential learning of conceptual design.  I am still invited to deliver a guest lecture annually to students at City University.

Leading Substantial Enterprise Activity:

Developed a Strategy for Professional Practice and led implementation at School with the scope to be used at Faculty & University levels, key aspect CPD provision: first flagship CPD on Seismic Design ran successfully in Jan 15 (Kingston); Conceived, developed, and managed 35 CPD courses for practitioners adopted by IStructE (The Concrete Centre)

Qualifications and expertise

• Structural Engineering
• Sustainable Construction
• Advanced Concrete Design
• Conceptual Design
• Seismic Design to Eurocode 8
• Concrete Design to Eurocode 2
• Technology Enhanced Learning
• Forensic Engineering
• Sustainable Concrete Solutions
• Learning and Teaching

Undergraduate courses taught

• Civil Engineering BEng (Hons)
• Construction Project Management BSc (Hons)

Postgraduate courses taught

• Structural Design and Construction Management MSc
• Structural Design & Construction Management with Sustainability MSc

Evidence of history of sustained publications, with highly regarded and influential impact in the discipline, including world leading outputs as follows:

Research in Teaching Conceptual Design:

Following a successful grant application, I managed the work and completed the EU funded Research and Development programme (approx. £50k RAE fees) called WINDS (Web-based INtelligent Design and tutoring System – approx. £1m project with 34 Universities) 2001-04.  The resulting paper was presented and published in the Proceedings of the 8th International UNESCO Conference on Engineering Education (2005).  Following the successful completion of the Project in 2004, a WINDS Consortium, a website (e-arch.org) and a book have been developed. The 1st Consortium Meeting with the theme "From e-learning to the architectural collective ‘beautiful' mind" was held in Italy (2005). Commercialisation of WINDS is on-going (Portsmouth).

Original Outputs in Civil / Structural Engineering:

Papers in The Structural Engineer, Int. journal of IStructE and Civil Engineering Proceedings of ICE, International Conference Papers and Book (see publications); Contribution to Subject Area (author of standards / expert commentary for BSI & IStructE guides for practicing engineers)

Most Recent Funding & Bid for Research:

Participation at LIMESNET, EPSRC funded network that has led to a funded research mission to Chalmers University, Sweden, and a collaborative with Loughborough (leader), Nottingham and Dundee Universities application for a grant of £1.6m (£250k for Kingston) submitted to EPSRC in September 2012 but unfortunately was not successful.

PhD Supervision:

Five PhDs from which three completed in the last two years and two are at viva stage (see PhD Supervision) and, active member of the Sustainable Technologies Research Centre (Kingston); Led two research assistants for WINDS project (Portsmouth)

REF 2021 Outputs:

My submission for UoA12 included: Output 1 - Georgopoulos C, Minson A - Sustainable Concrete Solutions 2014, Output 2 - Damdelen O, Georgopoulos C, Limbachiya M - Measuring thermal mass of sustainable concrete 2014, Output 3 - Georgopoulos C, Minson A - Sustainable Concrete Solutions for Buildings in the UK 2017, Output 4 - UoA12 - Georgopoulos C - Stress and Strain 2019 and Output 5 - Glass J, Dyer T, Georgopoulos C et al - Future use of life-cycle assessment 2013.  Output 1 is my book ‘Sustainable Concrete Solutions' (collaboration with The Concrete Centre) published in 2014 by Wiley that has developed beneficial impact to academia and construction industry (over 1000 copies sold in over 60 countries around the world). Evidence of national impact is the review in the ICE Civil Engineering Proceedings (Volume 168 Issue CE2 May 2015) "This book provides useful guidance to students, researchers, academics and practitioners of all construction disciplines. It is especially recommended to trainees preparing for their Institution of Civil Engineers professional review as it offers excellent background for that often-considered-problematic attribute of ‘sustainable development.' Evidence of international impact includes a review in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) journal ‘Performance of Constructed Facilities' (Volume 29, Issue 2, March/April 2015, IF=0.841): "This is a must-read book for designers, engineers, architects, researchers, planners, and students who advocate creating a sustainable built environment, because the author has keenly provided a very thorough, concise, engaging, and intriguing discussion within each of the five chapters. It covers all aspects of sustainability in concrete design, in a well-balanced fashion, capturing the reader's attention to examine the advantages realised by embracing the concepts of sustainability. This book is an excellent resource."

REF2021 Impact Case Study:

Founded on my contributions to Sustainable Concrete and Earthquake Design to enhance the sustainability of concrete in construction by A) Using sustainable concrete solutions and B) Improving the earthquake resistance of concrete-framed structures. Summary: Challenges facing the sustainability impact of concrete in 21st century construction includes A) Unsustainable greenhouse emissions during cement manufacturing that contribute to diverse anthropogenic - generated by humans - influences to climate change (environmental impact) and B) Disproportionate damages from increased frequency & intensity of earthquakes to existing concrete-framed structures designed to out-of-date codes of practice (socio-economic impact). The results of the research in this ICS directly contribute to the reduction of: A) the environmental impact of concrete by going beyond traditional cement replacements towards changing industry specification for concrete with modern concrete mixes and introduction to the sector of innovative conceptual & detailed design and construction techniques to reduce the embodied and operational impact of concrete and B) the socio-economic impact of earthquake damages to new concrete-framed structures with the introduction of the international most up-to-date state-of-the-art code of practice Eurocode 8: Seismic Design of Structures.

Selected Publications

1. Books: Include, single authored, co-authored, edited and co-edited collections

Georgopoulos C (50%), Kong K H (2022), Examples for the seismic design of steel and concrete buildings to Eurocode 8', book for students, academics & practitioners, The Institution of Structural Engineers, ISBN 978-1-906335-54-0 (print), ISBN 978-1-906335-55-7 (pdf), pp 103, made available to 28,000 members in over 100 countries, February 2022

Georgopoulos C. (2017) Essential Knowledge Text on Stress and Strain, book for students, academics and practicing civil / structural engineers, The Institution of Structural Engineers - made available to 28,000 members in over 100 countries, March 2019

Georgopoulos C. (50%), Minson A. (2014), Sustainable Concrete Solutions, book for students, academics and practitioners, Wiley Blackwell, Publishers, UK. ISBN: 978-1-119-96864-1, 256pp. 1000+ bought in over 60 countries in the world (Wiley stats)

Georgopoulos C. (2010), "Chapter 8 - Extracts from Eurocode 8: Design of structures for earthquake resistance", PP1990 Extracts from the Structural Eurocodes for students of structural design, British Standards Institution, ISBN 978 0 580 69454 7, pp.8-1 to 8-47.

2. Refereed articles in academic journals

Georgopoulos C. (100%), Minson A (2017), Sustainable Concrete Solutions in the UK, review paper, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, ‘Construction Materials' Journal

Damdelen O., Georgopoulos C (50%)., Limbachiya M. (2014), Measuring thermal mass in sustainable concrete mixes, Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, USA, Feb 2014, Volume 8, No 2, ISSN 1934-7359, pp. 2013-220

Glass B. A., Dyer T., Georgopoulos C. (10%), Goodier C., Paine K., Parry T., Baumann H., Gluch P. (2013) Future use of life-cycle assessment (LCA) in civil engineering, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, ‘Construction Materials' Journal, May 2013, Volume 166, Issue 4, pp. 204-212.

Georgopoulos C. (2011), "Concrete research in support of the next Eurocode 2", the Structural Engineer, Journal of IStructE, 1 February 2011, Volume 89, Number 3, pp. 16-18.

Georgopoulos C. (2008), "Supporting research and teaching of concrete in the UK", the Structural Engineer, Journal of IStructE, 1 April 2008, Volume 86, Number 7, pp. 41-44.

Georgopoulos C. (2007), "Concrete research is needs driven", the Structural Engineer, Journal of IStructE, 4 December 2007, Volume 85, Number 23/24, pp. 24-26.

Georgopoulos C. (2007), "Concrete takes the lead in sustainable construction", Civil Engineering Journal, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, May 2007, Volume 160, p. 53.

3. Refereed and published conference proceedings

Georgopoulos C. (2023) Evolution of Structural Design of Concrete Framed Buildings for Net Zero, fib (The International Federation of Structural Concrete) Symposium, Istanbul, Turkey, 5-7 June 2023. The proceedings will be published by Springer and indexed by WoS and Scopus.

Georgopoulos C. (2019) Latest Developments in Sustainable Concrete in the UK, review paper, Proceedings of 8th World Congress in Advanced Materials, Osaka, Japan, 22-25 July 2019

Hopartean G, Donchev T, Petkova D, Georgopoulos C, Limbachiya M, El Kashik Z (2019) Experimental investigation of FRP reinforced RC frames under cyclic in-plane loading, 14th International Symposium on FRP Reinforcement of Concrete Structures (FRPRCS), Queens University Belfast, N Ireland, 5-7 June 2019

Georgopoulos C. (100%), Minson A (2017), Sustainable Concrete Solutions for Buildings in the UK, review paper, Proceedings of 6th Structural Engineers World Congress, Cancun, Mexico, 14-17 November 2017.

Georgopoulos C. (2013), The challenge of learning conceptual design of sustainable concrete-framed buildings at universities, Proceedings of 1st International Conference on Concrete Sustainability, Tokyo, Japan, 27-29 May 2013.

Bostanci C. S., Limbachiya M., Georgopoulos C. (20%) (2013) Contribution of composite cements in reducing embodied CO2, Proceedings of International Conference on Sustainable Construction Materials & Technologies, Kyoto, Japan, 18-21 August 2013.

Georgopoulos C. (2005), "Teaching Structural Design: the WINDS experience", the 8th UNESCO Int. Conference on Engineering Education, Kingston, Jamaica, 7-11 February 2005, pp. 337-341

Georgopoulos C., Lee B. (2003), "Windstorm Vulnerability Assessment of Tiled Roofs in the UK using a Damage Function based on Structural Reliability Analysis", the 11th International Conference on Wind Engineering, Lubbock, Texas, USA, 2-5 June, pp. 1503 -1510.

4. Book reviews and review articles

Manual for the seismic design of steel and concrete buildings to Eurocode 8, book for students, academics & practitioners, The Institution of Structural Engineers, ISBN 978-1-906335-06-9, pp 187, made available in over 100 countries in the world, October 2010

Qualifications and expertise

• Sustainable Concrete Solutions
• Seismic Design to EC8
• Advanced Concrete Design

Research student supervision

• Mr George Hopartean

Evidence of sustained body of work with significant impact and innovations of professional practice that have been recognised as field leading are as follows:

Active Engagement with Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs):

Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers; Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers; Fellow of the Concrete Society; Member of the IStructE Governing Council; Member and chair of IStructE Southern Branch (and Scottish Branch); Vice-chair of the Academic Qualifications Panel (IStructE); Member of Research Panel (IStructE); Member of Education Panel (IStructE); Member of Structures Expert Panel (ICE); Founding Editor-in-chief of the ‘Forensic Engineering' international journal; Member of Committee & Chair of two sessions for ‘Forensic Engineering' international conference London (ICE); Chair  of the Seismic & Dynamic Events Panel (IStructE); Member of the Design Practice Risk and Structural Safety Committee (IStructE).

National & International Beneficial Impact on Sustainable Concrete Structures:

Paper shaping research policy (‘Concrete research in support of the next Eurocode 2', The Structural Engineer); Keynote address on R&D (‘R&D in Concrete Technology', Concrete Society); Journal papers (see Output); Established network of 200 academics / researchers on concrete material & structures; Designed and ran four 2-day Concrete Communication Conferences and 1-day Research Symposium (The Concrete Centre); Member of Sustainability Expert Group (International Federation of Structural Concrete – fib); Author of book ‘ Sustainable Concrete Solutions' (Wiley, Feb 2014); Technical evening presentations to practitioners for the Institution of Structural Engineers (Newcastle, Southampton, Surrey, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. receiving excellent feedback); Member of the Scientific Committee and invited to present review paper on Sustainable Structural Engineering in the UK at the 6th Structural Engineers World Congress, Mexico, 14-17 November 2017; Led a session with a review paper on Latest Developments in Sustainable Concrete in the UK at the 8th World Congress in Advanced Materials, Osaka, Japan, 22-25 July 2019; Paper on the Evolution of Structural Design of Concrete Framed Buildings for Net Zero, fib Symposium on Concrete Resilience, Istanbul, Turkey, 5-7 June 2023.

National & International Beneficial Impact on Seismic Design of Structures:

Seismic Design Engineer of state-of-the-art projects (Trident Nuclear Submarine Refitting Facility at Rosyth, Scotland & Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station, Suffolk, England); Developer and Lecturer of research-informed practice-driven MSc modules on Seismic Design (Universities in the UK); Member of British Standard Institution (BSI) National Expert Committee for Eurocode 8: Seismic Design; Author of Chapter 8 of PP1990: Guide to Structural Eurocodes for Lecturers and Students Worldwide (BSI); Author of Expert Commentary to Eurocode 8 Plus on-line (BSI); Tutor of the unique 1-day CPD on Seismic Design to Eurocode 8 (ICE and IStructE Regional Groups); 2-day Master Class for Professors from University of Moscow (BSI); 2-day CPD course on Seismic Design (IStructE & Institution of Engineers Singapore); Chair of the IStructE Seismic & Dynamic Events Panel; Author of ‘Worked Examples of Seismic Design to EC8' an IStructE publication Feb 2022; 1-day Webinar on Earthquake Resistant Design of Reinforced Concrete Buildings Based on Eurocode 8, Institution of Engineers Singapore 22 July 2022; Keynote ‘Seismic design of reinforced concrete buildings to EC8 with reference to the 2nd generation of the code' at the 4th International Conference on Seismic Design and Analysis of Structures and Foundations, SeismiCON, ASRANET, London, 14-15 June 2023.

Achievements during my HoD tenure in 2015-18 are summarised below:

NSS2017: Led the spectacular Improvement (from 71% in 2016 to 92% in 2017) KU=80% Sector=84%

Complete University Guide: Amazing improvement from 2015 and moving up three places from 2018 to 2019.

Data from www.hefce.ac.uk and https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/

Recruitment: Led the amazing recruitment for UG (+24% from last year and 9% above target) and encouraging for PG (like last year)

Professional Practice Strategy: teaching informed by professional practice; academics engaged in the development of their professional discipline; students enabled to fulfil professional employment. In achieving these aims, we facilitate student placements; we participate in national and international student competitions; we train students for professional exams; we establish, develop and use student societies and alumni networks; we nurture relationships with industry for mentoring purposes; we have embedded professional employability into our curriculum; we provide continuous tutoring to our students (Personal Tutoring System) and support their academic skills (Academic Success Centre). Professional Practice is one of the essential pillars supporting our course design and delivery for an enhanced student experience.

Apprenticeships: Kingston University is the academic provider for London and the South working with other regional providers Coventry University, Leeds College of Building-University, Liverpool J Moores University, University of West of England & Solihull College and employers Arup, Atkins, Mott MacDonald, Ch2M Hill and Mouchel as part of the design group for the delivery of the employer-driven Advanced (Degree Level 6 – Integrating a JBM accredited BEng with IEng competences) Technician Apprenticeships in Civil Engineering programme under the Technician Apprenticeships Consortium (http://www.tacnet.org.uk/home/511). 100 apprentices have joined our DA Civil Engineering programme on a 1day-release basis from Jan 2018 with funding secured from the Government's apprenticeships levy 2017 & HEFCE support. First graduations in 2020.

Development and Validation of New Programmes: It was recognised that current provision at Kingston was outdated and needed to be refocused and reinvigorated to offer programmes with a clearer industry employer focus. The refocused BEng in Civil and Infrastructure Engineering is designed to facilitate multidisciplinary integrated teaching across the Faculty's Engineering provision e.g., with Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering that will be based on project-based inter-disciplinary work at all levels. In parallel, the opportunity was taken to embed latest developments in Teaching and Learning such as PBL. T&L sessions adopt a hybrid approach based on modern pedagogical principles. Active delivery of syllabus is used throughout dependent on individual module requirements. For any topics where a more formal didactic approach is deemed the most appropriate, the delivery still involves active participation by students, for example, working through exercises and/or using classroom response systems. Subject material and corresponding techniques are typically introduced via problem-centred learning approach to replace traditional lectures. About the new MEng with Industry Experience, this is a four-year integrated course with 1st, 2nd and 4th year at university and the 3rd year in Industry on successful placement; it is designed to balance the traditional engineering science curriculum with industry-driven competencies in close collaboration with the industry. The distinctive feature of this MEng with Industrial Experience degree provision at Kingston University is that it provides a fast-track opportunity to a degree. During the one-year placement students will gain valuable real world, industrial experience and further develop their employability skills.

ICE's Academic Partner: This partnership provides Kingston and its students a bridge to industry;  Provide university staff with support for professional development activities; Undertake presentations to students to promote the value of professional qualification and related activities; Assist staff with identifying opportunities to promote and embed principles of ICE structured training (IPD) into student coursework; Identify, brief and approve possible mentors amongst staff in relation to the ICE Mentor-Approved Training scheme; Connect universities with employers via the ICE Corporate Partnership scheme; Support access to ICE knowledge services to assist staff and students' journey to professional qualification; Provide invitations to high profile ICE events; Offer cross-promotional opportunities using offline and online marketing channels; Offer an official "ICE student ambassador" role to a student to facilitate communications and links between student representation bodies, local ICE graduate and student bodies and the academic partners; Help to prepare students for industry, working with the employability team to support student career and employment activity;  Provides students with access to ICE IPD Online tool so they can start to record their professional development, giving them a head-start when they seek employment; Access to ICE events, cutting-edge knowledge resources and local employer contacts to give students a taste of professional life and the world of civil engineering.  Arranged free ICE Training for academic staff to become Chartered Engineers

 

Eurocodes Plus: The latest state-of-the-art on-line industry tool that is being increasingly used by the Construction Industry in the UK and worldwide being the first of its kind, the next-generation interactive structural design package in Europe and the World to eventually replace the old-fashioned challenging-to-read Eurocode documents in all libraries. Kingston is the only academic institution offered this opportunity to try, evaluate it for academic use and give feedback to BSI and potentially contribute to its future development. It is encouraging to see that for BSI is ‘business as usual' regarding Eurocodes and that they will continue to receive BSI support with or without Brexit. A good message for European and International recruitment