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The Renée Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize

The Renée Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize

The Renée Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize is awarded to the best response to the Communication Task produced during each Professional Review session and is open to all candidates who have passed the Chartered or Incorporated Professional Review.

Who was Renée Redfern Hunt?

Miss Renée Redfern Hunt MBE was a devoted examinations officer at ICE from 1945 – when professional interviews were introduced – until a few months before her death in 1981.

The prize was established in her memory.

The award is made twice a year for the periods January – June and July – December, with the winners receiving a £100 cash prize.

What is the nomination process?

Reviewers nominate candidates who have produced a well-structured argument with a high standard of clear and concise English in the response to their communication task.

  • The winner is selected by the awards panel from those nominated during each nomination period.
  • The winner receives a letter of commendation, a prize of £100 and is presented with a certificate at the ICE Annual Awards Ceremony.
  • Nominees' names are published in the NCE magazines and on the ICE website. The winner also gets the opportunity to have their work published in an ICE journal.

Most recent winner

Nicholas Drake

Nicholas Drake CENG MICE, October 2025 winner

Nicholas Drake won the October 2025 Renée Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize Award.

Nicholas is a lead temporary works coordinator with Laing O'Rourke.


 

“I am delighted to have been awarded the Renée Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize for the October 2025 session.

"I enjoyed explaining infrastructure resilience and the impact of climate change to secondary school students, using familiar examples to make the subject relevant and engaging. I hope to inspire greater understanding of civil engineering and its role in society. I look forward to continuing my career and helping deliver sustainable infrastructure that benefits future generations.”

Chair's view

“We are delighted to present the Rennie Redford Hunt award to Nicholas for the best communication task in 2025.

"His essay was interesting, enjoyable to read, and more importantly showed his knowledge and thoughts to ready infrastructure to meet the challenges of the future. In a well-articulated essay, he explained the constraints and opportunities for civil engineers in this important area.

"Nicholas is a deserving winner of this award providing an excellent example of good communication.”

Hear from our previous winners

Find out what it means to win the Renée Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize

Nathan Lavenstein

Nathan Lavenstein

Summer 2025 winner

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Nathan Lavenstein

Nathan Lavenstein won the June 2025 Renée Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize Award.

Nathan is a civil engineer with Mott MacDonald.

On being selected by the judges as the winner, he said:

"I’m very pleased to have been awarded the Renée Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize for the June 2025 review period.

"In my piece, I wrote about how civil engineers have the power and the duty to improve the world via the work they undertake, and the moral responsibility that places on us all to make the right decisions for wider society. It’s an ethos I hope to maintain in my career as a Chartered Civil Engineer."

Chair's view

“Nathan was awarded the Rennie Redford Hunt prize in recognition of an outstanding communication task that demonstrated exceptional clarity, professionalism, insight, and influence in communicating the Institution of Civil Engineers’ presidential themes.

"Nathan’s submission compellingly articulated the importance of making our voices heard for the greater good of the profession, industry, and society, while exemplifying the aspiration for civil engineers to serve as a beacon of excellence. Through thoughtful analysis, persuasive communication, and a strong appreciation of the wider societal role of engineering, he demonstrated the highest standards of technical communication and professional leadership.

"This work stood out for its originality, coherence, and ability to inspire confidence in the value and impact of the engineering profession. The judges commend Nathan for producing a submission of exceptional quality that reflects both the spirit and ambitions of the Institution of Civil Engineers.”

Charles Hough

Charles Hough

February 2025 winner

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Charles Hough

Charles Hough, a project manager at National Grid won the Spring 2025 Rennie Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize.

On winning the medal he said:

“I am delighted to have been awarded the Renée Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize following my successful professional review.

"I look forward to continuing my work with National Grid, to deliver vital infrastructure that enables the connection of clean, renewable energy within the UK."

Judges' view

“Following the February 2025 review sessions, Charles was a very worthy winner of the Renée Redfern Hunt award for the best communication task. He wrote to his local authority outlying the plans for new power connections on the east coast to England. His letter was both informative and caring.

"He explained the background to the energy situation, the impact of fossil fuels, importance of clean and renewable energy, and the rising costs of energy due to world events. Charles gave the reassurance of consulting with all the stakeholders, ensuring environmental compliance and the importance of consulting with the local community to identity their needs.

"This, along with being actively involved in research which will be influencing design standards in the coming years, made his stand out. His passion for the industry was inspiring.

"He also pointed out the benefits to the local area, protection of the environment and the opportunity for construction jobs as the work is carried out. Charles’ letter was well written setting down the issues in a logical sequence and sensitively explaining how the views of the local community will be taken into account, and the environment will be protected.

"This was a good communication task and many congratulations to Charles.”

Rachel Attwood

Rachel Attwood

2024 winner

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Rachel Attwood

Rachell Atwood from Graham Construction won the Spring 2024 Rennie Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize. In her communication task, Racheal addressed the provision of infrastructure to combat the impact of climate change on disadvantaged communities.

On winning the medal she said:

"I am thrilled to be awarded the Renee Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize. I found this communication task very compelling to write; I think the topic really captures the three intertwined pillars of sustainability.

"I currently work as a design coordinator with Graham Construction in the highways sector and I’m really excited for the next steps of my career and being able to make a real difference to the communities served by the projects we deliver."

Judges' view

"Rachel's introduction to the subject matter was excellent, referring to the climate crisis and extreme weather events occurring across the world and how they are affecting health, sanitation and connectivity.

"Rachael referred also to the UK where government initiatives to improve infrastructure were often stalled due to the lack of funding.

"She cited studies that suggest 70% of global carbon emissions are linked to infrastructure, and in the UK, 34% of carbon emissions linked to transportation.

"Rachael wrote about the challenges of combating the impact of climate change including decarbonisation and improving resilience, giving plenty of relevant examples of infrastructure projects in the UK.

"She wrote about nature-based solutions, sustainable development and good decision making when planning new developments.

"She concluded her communication task with an excellent summary of how civil engineers can help combat the adverse impacts of climate change across all communities.

"This was a very impressive answer, well written and very informative and Rachael is a worthy winner of the RRH medal."

Eric Ho

Eric Ho

Autumn 2023 winner

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Eric Ho

Eric Ho from AtkinsRéalis won the Autumn 2023 Rennie Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize. In his communication task, Eric explored stigmas in the industry and how we must overcome them to meet Net Zero.

On winning the medal he said:

"I am overjoyed to be awarded the Renee Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize by the ICE for my written response on how we can improve diversity and inclusion at an organisational and national level.

My next steps are to work alongside AtkinsRéalis and the ICE to overcome the stigmas in our industry, which I believe is a powerful tool to meeting net zero.

Judges' view

"Eric was asked to write a piece by a journalist for inclusion in an industry supplement about how the civil engineering profession can overcome stigmas and start a conversation to make all roles, trades or skills fully open and inclusive.

His structure and organisation of the response was outstanding, limiting the piece to one side of A4 and writing in a three vertical column format. He tackled subjects ranging from the perceived ‘traditional’ image of the civil engineer, neurodiversity, alternative routes into the industry, equity not equality and ended with ‘Next Steps’. His response included key facts and referenced sources, yet was very readable from beginning to end with a clear demonstration of personal argument and critical thinking.

Eric produced an informative and enjoyable communication task response and is a worthy winner of the Rennie Redford Hunt Memorial prize.” Mike Brookes, vice chair

Josef Ashton

Josef Ashton

Spring 2023 winner

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Josef Ashton

Chartered engineer Josef Ashton from Richter Associates Ltd won the Spring 2023 Rennie Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize for the best written communication exercise. His submission was a blog post on whether we can replace engineers with technology, was aimed at an audience with technical knowledge but, without specialist civil engineering knowledge.

On being selected by the judges as the winner, he said:

"After passing my professional review, I was truly honoured to find out I had been awarded the Renee Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize for my written communication exercise. I look forward to continuing my career within the field of engineering as well as becoming more involved with ICE"

Judges' view

"In his communication task, Josef was asked to write a blog on BIM as a key tool in civil engineering for a technical readership, but to those without specialist civil engineering knowledge. In an outstanding report, Josef set out to capture his audience with an ‘eye catching’ approach to entice them to read further.

His explanations on what BIM was and how it could be used as a key tool in civil engineering were very informative. He provided examples of case studies, published reports and many very relevant references. He went on to mention the use of digital twin in 3D modelling and also how the use of BIM helps civil engineers across all of their work including H&S.

Josef’s communication task was very impressive, and he is a worthy winner of the Rennie Redford Hunt Memorial prize.” Bill Gowdy

Jeremy Littlejohn

Jeremy Littlejohn

Autumn 2022 winner

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Jeremy Littlejohn

Chartered engineer Jeremy Littlejohn from Boskalis Westminster Ltd won the Autumn 2022 Rennie Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize for the best written communication exercise.

Jeremy’s communication task was to write to secondary school students to explain the challenge of decarbonisation and net zero in the wider world and particularly in the construction industry, taking into account the tendency to prioritize price, programme and delivery above all else.

On being selected by the judges as the winner, he said:

"After passing my professional review, I was truly honoured to find out I had been awarded the Renee Redfern Hunt Memorial Prize for my written communication exercise. I look forward to continuing my career within the field of Engineering as well as becoming more involved with ICE."

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