Prof Paul Back, CBE, FREng

Career: Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners: joined 1955, assoc 1967-70, ptnr 1970-89, co dir and chief tech dir 1989-95; visiting prof of design Univ of Oxford 1992-1998; worked on Kariba Hydro-Electric Power Station and Dam 1955-60, worked on several hydro-electric projects incl Samanalawewa and Victoria Dam and Hydro-Electric Projects in Sri Lanka and Kariba North Hydro-Electric Power Station Zambia 1970-, advsr to World Bank on Tarbela Dam 1976-, memb Bd of Advsrs Nat Irrigation Admin of the Philippines Magat Dam 1977-, chm Advsy Panel Shaqikou Hydro-Electric Project China 1984-, chm Panel of Enquiry Kantalai Tank failure Sri Lanka 1986, chm Lesotho Highlands Conslts Review Panel for the Katse Dam 1987-, project dir for design and supervision of construction Cardiff Bay Barrage Wales 1989-, chm Advsy Panel on Dam Safety Latvia 1996-, Advsy Panel on Design of Nam Theun 2 Hydro Project in Laos 2000-; chief guest speaker Sri Lanka Assoc for the Advancement of Sci 1989, lectr (Dams in Difficulties) Br Assoc for Advancement of Science 1995; memb Cncl ICE 1989; memb Adjudicating Panel for MacRobert Award for Innovation in Industry Royal Acad of Engrg; Construction News Award of the Year for Victoria Dam Project Sri Lanka (ptnr i/c) 1985; memb Assoc of Consulting Engrs 1971, FICE 1971 (MICE 1961), FREng 1981

Books and Publications: Seismic Design Study of a Double Curvative Arch Dam (jtly, 1969), P K Le Roux Dam - Spillway Design and Energy Dissipators (jtly, 1973), Hydro-Electric Power Generation and Pumped Storage Schemes Utilising the Sea (1978), Aseismic Design of Arch Dams (jtly, 1980), The Influence of Geology on the Design of Victoria Dam Sri Lanka (jtly, 1982), Automatic Flood Routing at Victoria Dam Sri Lanka, Darwinism and the Rise of Degenerate Science (2003)