Professor Lord Robert Mair
Emeritus professor of civil engineering and director of research, Cambridge University
Expertise
Bridges, Rail, GeotechnicalLocation
United KingdomMy highlights
Member of the House of Lords
ICE President 2017-2018
Sir Kirby Laing professor of civil engineering 2011-2017
Professor Lord Robert Mair's presidential theme
During his presidential year, Professor Lord Mair celebrated the ICE’s 200th anniversary.
His theme, Transforming Infrastructure, Transforming Lives – Building on 200 years, explored how civil engineers have shaped the world over the last two centuries.
In his presidential address, he looked at how the profession can use technology to improve infrastructure assets, transforming the industry and the societies it serves.
He also set out the opportunity for civil engineers of today to solve current global challenges and encourage the next generation to become engineers.
He explained that civil engineers have often been 'invisible superheroes' as they tackle real problems which impact people, across the world, daily. No other career has such a positive yet unseen benefit for society.
The 200th anniversary of the ICE was an opportunity to showcase the vibrant, rewarding and valuable career of being a civil engineer – just as Sir Joseph Bazalgette and Thomas Telford saw over two centuries ago.
I see a great and vibrant future for our profession – for infrastructure and for the lives of every person on this planet regardless of who they are or where they were born.
The challenge now is to encourage young people from all backgrounds to join us in this profession, one which has the power and the responsibility to literally change the world for the better.
More about Professor Lord Mair
Education and career
Professor Lord Mair specialises principally in tunnels and underground construction. He has acted as a consultant on many high-profile engineering projects all over the world.
He introduced compensation grouting in the UK. This novel technique controls settlement of structures during tunnel construction.
It’s been used on the Jubilee Line project, as well as the Waterloo Escalator Tunnel Project.
Professor Lord Mair read engineering at Clare College, Cambridge, and graduated in 1971.
After working in industry for some years, he returned to Cambridge to do a three-year PhD on tunnelling in soft ground. He was awarded with a PhD for this work in 1979.
He's one of the founding directors of the Geotechnical Consulting Group (GCG), an international consulting company based in London, started in 1983.
Professor Lord Mair was appointed professor of geotechnical engineering at Cambridge University in 1998.
He was a Fellow of St John's College 1998-2001 and a Master of Jesus College 2001-11.
Professor Lord Mair was appointed chief engineering adviser to the Laing O'Rourke Group in 2011.
He was the Sir Kirby Laing professor of civil engineering from 2011-2017.
He became Emeritus professor of civil engineering and director of research at Cambridge University in 2017.
He established the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction. Funded by the government and industry, the centre is pioneering the innovative use of the latest sensor technology in construction.
He has been awarded honorary degrees by the University of Nottingham, the University of Leeds and Imperial College London.
The United States National Academy of Engineering (NAE) elected Professor Lord Mair as a foreign member in 2019 for his contributions to engineering.
Major projects
- Jubilee Line extension for the London Underground
- Channel Tunnel Rail Link (now High Speed 1)
- Crossrail (the Elizabeth Line)
- High Speed 2 (HS2)
- Waterloo Escalator Tunnel Project
- Sizewell C
Professor Lord Mair has also consulted on international projects in the Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Italy, Hong Kong, Turkey, Singapore, Poland and more.
Membership of societies
- Fellow and Past President of the ICE
- Master of Jesus College (2001-2011) and Fellow of St John's College (1998-2001)
- Member of the United States National Academy of Engineering
- Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
- Fellow of the Royal Society
He was appointed commander of the Order of the British empire (CBE) in 2010 and became a life peer in October 2015. His title is Baron Mair, of Cambridge in the County of Cambridgeshire.
