Dr Ian Sims of St Albans consultants STATS has been presented with the prestigious Engineering Group Award by the Geological Society of London.

The Award is an irregular presentation made as warranted when it is felt someone has made a particular contribution to the Group.

Presenting the Award, Dr John Perry, chairman of the Geological Society\'s Engineering Group, said: "Ian has been a great asset to the Society for many years. He has made an outstanding contribution to the series of Engineering Geology Special Publications on stone, aggregates and other geomaterials. These awards are only given under special circumstances and are only made every few years, so Ian can feel justifiably proud of this achievement."

In response, Ian said: "I am very grateful to have an opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for this honour, which will be a highlight in my career.

"Helping the Engineering Group to achieve some of its admirable objectives in providing state-of-the-art guidance to engineering geologists and related professionals has mostly been a rewarding pleasure and enabled me to make many good friends and acquaintances along the way."

STATS are an independent consultancy practice with allied investigation, testing, monitoring and inspection services. They specialise in the environment, ground engineering, materials used in construction and built structures.

Ian Sims has been a senior member of the STATS\' staff for more than eight years, specialising in materials consultancy.