Costain news

University Honours Engineer

22 June 2010

Cranfield University's recent graduation ceremony saw a Costain engineer receive a special accolade.

Mechanical Project Engineer, Richard Crane, who has been with the Group for seven years and works on the United Utilities AMP4 contract based in Warrington, received the prize for the best thesis delivered by a student on a part-time Masters' course on water science. His award-winning topic was 'The fate of copper and zinc in biological wastewater treatment'.

Richard took the course as part of his efforts to become a chartered member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.

Costain sponsored him on the three-year course. "I did the work alongside my normal day job," he said. "It was a hard slog at times, but to become a member of the Institute I required a Masters' degree."

Following on from the work at Cranfield University, funded by United Utilities PLC, two papers are being published in the next issue of the Environmental Technology Journal titled 'Fate and behaviour of copper and zinc in secondary biological wastewater treatment processes: I Evaluation of biomass adsorption capacity' and 'Fate and behaviour of copper and zinc in secondary biological wastewater treatment processes: II Removal at varying sludge age'.

This month (June) Richard received his prize at his department's Welcome Reception prior to the graduation ceremony itself, at which his success was formally announced.