The book “Shell Structures in Civil and Mechanical Engineering”, authored by Professor Alphose Zingoni of the Department of Civil Engineering, was launched at UCT on 28 March 2018. The event was witnessed by more than 100 attendees, who included guests from industry, national research institutes and local universities, as well as UCT staff and students. The book (464 pages), the first of its kind on the continent, has been published by ICE Publishing (Institution of Civil Engineers, London), and is an updated and expanded version of the original edition published by Thomas Telford in 1997. Prof. Azeem Khan, EBE Deputy Dean for Research, gave some opening remarks, and put the work of Professor Zingoni in the broader context of research and scholarship in the EBE Faculty and within UCT as a whole.   

In his author address, Professor Zingoni acknowledged the role of nature in inspiring the use of shell structures for engineering purposes, and explained why shells are among the most efficient structural forms, with applications ranging from civil, structural and architectural engineering, to mechanical, marine, aerospace and biomedical engineering. In writing this book, Prof. Zingoni has sought to develop the mathematical theories governing the behaviour of thin elastic shells as simply as possible, while giving the reader a deeper insight on the mechanics of the shell, at the same time presenting valuable closed-form solutions for a wide range of practical problems. Professor Zingoni’s book has already received excellent reviews from some of the world’s leading academics and practitioners in the field.

The guest speaker at the event was Dr. Gansen Pillay, NRF Deputy CEO (RISA). In his insightful address, he highlighted the world-class quality of Professor Zingoni’s work, and the international recognition it had brought not only to himself, but also to UCT and the country as a whole. He drew fascinating parallels between the work of Professor Zingoni and certain developments in physics at the macro and nanoscales, and pointed out how shell structures have also played a part in the realisation of some of the country’s big science projects (MeerKAT and SKA).