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Mark Cassidy, Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems at UWA, was awarded the Premier’s Early Career Achievement Award on 3 November 2006.

The Premier’s Early Career Achievement is awarded by the Department of Industry and Resources and recognises recipients for their excellence in science education, research and acheivement in helping raise the profile of science and technology endeavours in Western Australia.

Mark commenced his research career as a Rhodes Scholar in 1995 and has since built an international reputation in the field of offshore geotechnical engineering. His research concentrates on the development of engineering models that predict the response of footings under a combination of loads, with application to the design of foundations for offshore oil and gas facilities. Mark’s research contributions have resulted in changes to previously accepted engineering guidelines and are currently being included in International Standards Organization (ISO) codes.

His firm commitment to the development of science is evident by his leading role in the Western Australian Energy Research Alliance (WAERA) pilot project on subsea dehydration and in establishing research aims and directions in the offshore facilities area. This firm commitment has seen Mark secure $1.4 million in public and private research grants for devising novel foundation solutions in Western Australia’s problematic soil conditions.

Mark’s current research thrusts have particular focus on the critical challenges to the future of Australia’s energy developments. With exploration focus shifting off our continental shelf and into water depths exceeding 1000m, Mark is concentrating on modelling the behaviour of steel pipes when used as on-bottom pipelines or as risers to transport oil and gas to/from the seabeds in our deepwater frontiers.