Dr Fragkoulis Kanavaris receiving his Award from HRH The Princess Royal, with Master Engineer Andrew McNaughton, at the Engineers Trust Awards Dinner on 9 June 2026

Winner 2026 (Medal & £5000 Prize) – Dr Fragkoulis Kanavaris

This innovation directly addresses two of the most challenging decarbonisation issues in infrastructure: the carbon footprint of concrete and the environmental burden of excavation waste. Through a multi-year programme of laboratory research, industrial-scale trials and engineering development starting in 2018, Dr Kanavaris established a robust methodology for transforming London Clay into a reactive supplementary cementitious material compatible with demanding infrastructure applications.

In parallel, Dr Kanavaris and his team designed an innovative on-site calcination facility comprising 21 integrated components capable of processing at least 24 tonnes/day directly at the point of tunnel excavation. This facility represents a first-of-its-kind prototype and provides a blueprint for future installations at major UK and international infrastructure projects.

The Hawley Award, established in 2006, is awarded for the most outstanding Engineering Innovation that delivers demonstrable benefit to the environment and will help to achieve Net Zero Carbon by at least 2050. The aim is to encourage and support UK-resident early career stage graduate engineers or scientists, typically within 10 years of starting their careers and who have personally produced an engineering innovation that arises from work undertaken after graduation from a UK university. The innovation must have demonstrated a prototype or proof of concept with an expectation that the technology will be developed for commercial use.

The Worshipful Company of Engineers Charitable Trust (the Engineers Trust) promotes the contributions of engineers to benefit society, education and research, and the relief of hardship and poverty.

Award photo courtesy of Mark Witter Photography