The Institution of Structural Engineers

Computational engineering | 235

Author’s note
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the sholders [sic] of Giants.”
Isaac Newton quoting Bernard of Chartres

While books like this are written by an author, that author is not in a vacuum. This particular book has been three
years in the writing but over 30 years in preparation, aided by colleagues, lecturers, students, customers and
project work. There are many people that I must thank for their assistance and encouragement.

A tonne of thanks must go to Lee Baldwin, my editor, for believing in me and being so flexible about deadlines.
The book’s Steering Group for guidance, encouragement and correction: David Brohn, Gareth Evans, Iain MacLeod,
Paul Jeffries, Stephen Melville, and led by Jon Leach. Thanks also to the additional reviewers who were drafted in at
various times: Paul Shepherd, Ramaseshan Kannan, Richard Feigin, Thomas Li and Will Wild (who also had to put
up with random questions, terrible puns, and my borrowing his parametrics book — I do promise to return it soon).
Without them there would be far more mistakes in the book; those that remain are mine.

I am very privileged to have three inspirational engineers supply forewords: Tristram Carfrae, Chris Wise and
Jon Leach; all leaders in their field and experts in computational engineering.

All my colleagues in the Technical Software Group at Arup Digital Technology, or ‘Oasys Software’ as it is known
externally, for putting up with all my daft questions and suggestions, and especially Stephen Hendry for his patient
explanations, and Thomas Li and Ramaseshan Kannan for their suggestions and feedback on the manuscript.

The graduate structural engineers in Arup’s Building Engineering group in Leeds, who suffer me telling them things
when they would much rather be getting on with their work, or them asking me questions when I would rather get
back to mine. Also, to Matt Lovell and Neil Hooton for some excellent ideas for the book.

The staff and students in the Civil Engineering department at Bradford University, especially Professor Ashraf Ashour
and Dr Mick Honour for letting me loose on their students to teach them structural design and finite element analysis
(I like to think I put the fun back into FEA). Also, to Vassili Toropov and Ozz Querin for letting me talk to the
Leeds University students about optimisation: as you can see the lecture has grown.

There are many others who have contributed to this book, whether they realised it or not: The IStructE’s Digital
Workflows and Computational Design panel for ideas and inspiration; Marcin Karczmarczyk for both encouraging me
and asking challenging questions; Saskia Lear and Andrew Tyas for real-life disasters and near misses; Tim Ibell and
Chris Wise for inciteful conversations and inspiring presentations; Jude Widdowson for explaining how real-life genetic
algorithms work, and a particular thanks to all of you who sent in models that were not behaving correctly: we all
learned from those.

Posthumous thanks to J.E. Gordon, for showing me that engineering books do not have to be dull. Without you this
book would have been quite different (and not about engineering, as I would have done something else with my life).
If you have not yet read his books on structures and materials, wait no longer.

My family: Elle, Jon, Bea and Genni, who might not have followed me into an engineering career but still build my
world. And of course, my wonderful and patient wife Lisa: forgive me for self-isolating while I was writing this.
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| The Institution of Structural Engineers
Computational engineering

Finally, apologies to all of you who do not like engineering books to have jokes. In my defence, they are better than
most jokes in textbooks.

“If we shadows have offended,

think but this – and all is mended –
that you have but slumber’d here
while these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
no more yielding than a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend;
if you pardon, we will mend.”
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream