Dr Edmund Cadbury Hambly (28 September 1942 – 28 March 1995) was a British structural engineer. Edmund Hambly was born in

Seer Green Seer Green is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, east-north-east of Beaconsfield and south-west of Chalfont St Giles. History The toponym "Seer" is derived from the Norman French for "dry o ...

, near Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire in 1942.The Independent Obituary, 1 May 1995
accessed on 1 December 2007 He went to

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

prior to studying the engineering tripos at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

. He excelled there gaining a

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

degree and claiming the prize in

structural engineering Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and muscles' that create the form and shape of man-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and cal ...

. Staying at Cambridge as a fellow of Emmanuel College he completed his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

following work on soil deformation models. It was here that he met and married Elizabeth Gorham with whom he had three daughters and a son. Hambly left

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

to spend five years working with

Ove Arup and Partners Arup (officially Arup Group Limited) is a British multinational professional services firm headquartered in London which provides design, engineering, architecture, planning, and advisory services across every aspect of the built environment ...

in the design of structures and Gifford and Partners in bridge building. He devised new models and work methods for the approximation of structural behaviour which he published in 1976 in his first book, ''Bridge Deck Behaviour''. In 1974 he set up his own consultancy and worked from his home in Hertfordshire, writing more than 40 technical papers to supplement his income. One of his first contracts was to investigate the design of bridge

foundations Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

for the

Building Research Establishment The Building Research Establishment (BRE) is a centre of building science in the United Kingdom, owned by charitable organisation the BRE Trust. It is a former UK government national laboratory that was privatised in 1997. BRE provides resear ...

, publishing some of his findings in ''Bridge Foundations and Substructures'' in 1979. He was asked by the oil and gas extraction industries to advise upon

offshore platforms Offshore may refer to: Science and technology * Offshore (hydrocarbons) * Offshore construction, construction out at sea * Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well * Of ...

damaged by wave fatigue and collisions. His expertise in the industry was widely recognized and he was created a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Institution of Structural Engineers The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. The Institution has over 30,000 members operating in over 100 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation ...

in 1982, of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1984 and of the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...

in 1991. He also served as chairman of the Offshore Engineering Society between 1989 and 1990.Offshore Engineering Society History
accessed on 1 December 2007 He worked as a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

from 1989 to 1992 lecturing in structural analysis, he wrote his third book, ''Structural Analysis by Example'' (1994) to provide examples of calculations for students. Hambly had a keen interest in the provision of better

social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

and encouraging community spirit as well as a quaker upbringing, he united these beliefs in his service as a trustee to the

Bournville Village Trust Bournville Village Trust is an organisation that was created to maintain and improve the suburb of Bournville, located in Birmingham. However, during the 20th century it expanded its geographical coverage to include developments in Shenley Gre ...

between 1979 and 1988. He was created a

of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

in 1990 and was keen to use this to promote engineering to young people and society as a whole. He was elected vice-president in 1991 and President in 1994.ICE past presidents
He used his inaugural address to show the need to attract students into engineering degrees and to provide more sustainable solutions to engineering problems. However he died in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 28 March 1995, just five months into his one-year presidency. A prize in his honour is awarded annually by the Institution of Civil Engineers for contributions to sustainability in the industry. He was posthumously awarded an honorary

doctorate of science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

by Nottingham University in 1996.University of Nottingham honorary degree list
accessed on 1 December 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hambly, Edmund English civil engineers People educated at Eton College Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers British structural engineers 1942 births 1995 deaths People from Beaconsfield Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Emmanuel College, Cambridge