IStructE's prestigious Gold Medal for 2006 has been awarded to Professor Roger Johnson, FREng MA FIStructE FICE, Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering.

The Gold Medal is the Institution's highest award, presented to an individual for exceptional and outstanding contributions to the advancement of structural engineering.

Professor Johnson has received the Gold Medal in recognition of his truly outstanding international reputation for structural engineering research, gained during an academic career of some 45 years. He is regarded across the world as the leading researcher in composite steel-concrete construction.

Following National Service with the Royal Engineers, 1949-50, Professor Johnson gained a first class honours degree in Mechanical Sciences at Jesus College, Cambridge in 1950-53, where he won the Archibald Denny Prize in Theory of Structures.

In 1959, following a stint at Ove Arup & Partners as a Senior Engineer, he moved into academia as a Lecturer in Engineering back at Cambridge University, where he stayed for 12 years. In 1971 he was made Professor of Civil Engineering at Warwick University, where he is currently Emeritus Professor. He has also held appointments as a Visiting Professor in the USA, Europe and Australia.

Professor Johnson has contributed to around 100 papers on composite construction, others on the properties of concrete and the structural use of adhesives, as well as text books.

His consultancy work has focused on composite construction for a wide range of organisations, including government departments and consultants. He has also been heavily involved in the drafting of codes of practice.

A Member of IStructE since 1957 and a Fellow since 1972, Professor Johnson has won the following Institution awards: Oscar Faber, Guthrie Brown, Henry Adams and Murray Buxton. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1986, and is also a Fellow of ICE and an IABSE member.

IStructE Chief Executive Keith Eaton said of the award: "I'm delighted that the Institution has been able to recognise Roger Johnson's expertise and achievements in this important area. He is recognised internationally in the field of composite construction; for many years he was the Chairman of the Eurocode 4 drafting committee; altogether a very worthy recipient for the 2006 Gold Medal."