WIT Summer Barbeque 2017

The traditional Wessex Institute of Technology (WIT) BBQ was held over the weekend in the grounds of the Ashurst Lodge Campus, with the participation of many colleagues and members of staff, as well as suppliers and friends of WIT.

The weather – as usual – was exceptionally good, with blue, sunny skies and very warm. The main course was the usual, excellent roasted Hampshire lamb with a variety of salads and side dishes.

The occasion brought together colleagues from many different parts of the world, including the USA and several countries in Europe. Special guests were there, including the New Forest MPs, Mr Christopher Chope, who helped WIT in its initial stages, and Dr Julian Lewis, who has been a most active supporter of the Institute.

Among the attendees were the first two West Point Cadets who are visiting WIT to complete their final year research projects.

Music was provided by the saxophonist duo, DC Saxes, who played a series of delightful pieces, most appropriate for the event, creating just the right atmosphere for a very enjoyable afternoon summer party. They are highly regarded and in great demand.


The annual BBQ is always a very happy occasion and a great way for WIT to express its gratitude to its many collaborators around the world.

ASCE UK Meeting 2017

A meeting of the ASCE/UK Group took place at the Wessex Institute to keep the UK members abreast of new developments in the Society. WIT hosts the ASCE/UK Group and organises events for the members to attend.

This is however the first time that the President of Region 10 (ie which comprises the rest of the world except the USA) participated in a meeting. He is Professor Constantine Memos from the University of Athens.

The meeting started by Carlos A Brebbia, Director of WIT, welcoming the delegates and giving a short presentation on the work carried out at Wessex Institute. He emphasised that the objective of WIT is to disseminate technical knowledge at an international level. He explained the different types of research projects carried out using the latest computational tools developed by the Institute. As the Institute is self-supporting, the emphasis has always been in carrying out research and development work of interest to practitioners.

Carlos also mentioned that in addition to a substantial amount of R&D work for industry, WIT organises a programme of international courses and conferences per year which bring together members of the community. The meetings tend to focus on the exchange of information in a friendly atmosphere.

Those conferences provide as well a substantial number of papers which are offered in Open Access format on the Institute website (www.witpress.com/elibrary). The Publications Division provides an important support of WIT activities.

Following Carlos’ address, the President of the Region 10, Professor Constantine Memos, described some of the activities of the constitutive groups.

Constantine proceeded to give a short presentation on “Sustainability in Coast Studies”. The emphasis was to assess the potential for ecological enhancement through the use of porous breakwaters.

Another technical presentation was by Prof Patrick de Wilde of ASCE (Belgium) and a member of the Board of Directors of WIT, on “Challenges of Implementing State of the Art Structural Codes in a Developing Country”.

Prof Santiago Hernandez from La Coruña University, Fellow of ASCE and member of the Board of Directors of WIT, gave a talk on “Optimum Design of Long Span Bridges”.

The last presentation by Prof Stefano Mambretti from the Politecnico de Milano, and also a member of the Board of Directors at WIT, was on the topic of “Optimisation of Milano Water Supply Network”.

The presentations were followed by discussions and comments from the audience.

After that a light lunch was offered, subsequently an informal meeting of the ASCE/Group to discuss the way forward.